Mediation ends without a deal; Ramphal blames 'one party'

Tue, Sep 1, '09

 

West Indies cricket stumbled to yet another crisis with word out of Barbados that mediation proceedings led by Sir Sridath Ramphal failed to produce an agreement.

According to a statement from the Caricom Secretariat, Ramphal blamed "one party" for killing a potential deal. From the Caricom statement:

"Sir Shridath explained that twenty-four (24) hours before the end, he believed that Agreement between the Board and WIPA was at hand; and that he had actually invoked assistance of various kinds to make implementation of the Agreement feasible. However, all that changed dramatically when one Party introduced an entirely new document and refused to negotiate on any other."

A clearly disappointed Ramphal said that it was another bad day for West Indian cricket which, without fundamental changes, it's now likely to deteriorate further.

A source close to the negotiations said the WICB killed a deal that was negotiated by vice president Dave Cameron.   

Cameron agreed to the framework for a deal during the mediation proceedings but, when he reported to the full board of directors, he was told he had no authority to conclude an agreement.

The WICB returned to the negotiation table with a brand-new document questioning the bona-fides and relevance of the West Indies Players' Association (WIPA) and refused to negotiate any further.