Haynes, WICB Settle 'Eligibility' Lawsuit
Tue, Sep 28, '04
The West Indies Cricket Board (WICB) has settled its long-running legal dispute with Desmond Haynes, a move that clears the way for the former opening batsman to play a more prominent role in the region's cricket development.
Details of the settlement -- believed to be north of US$50,000 -- remains shrouded in secrecy and the WICB is flatly refusing to discuss the matter. "The matter has been settled. There will be no other comment," board spokesman Leonard Robertson said in response to a query from CaribbeanCricket.com.
The dispute was triggered in 1995 when the WICB's controversial eligibility rule was used to exclude the Barbadian batsmen from the home series against Australia. Haynes, who was 39 at the time, had missed one match during that year's regional competition because of a professional contract with Western Province in South Africa and was left out of the West Indies team.
He filed a lawsuit against the WICB contending that the eligibility rule robbed him of his livelihood and sought damages for lost earnings. The case dragged on through the years despite attempts by former WICB president Wes Hall to broker a settlement.
The negotiations restarted again when Teddy Griffith replaced Wes Hall and a deal was reached and approved by the full board at its annual general meeting in Guyana earlier this year.
However, the secretive nature of the truce isn't sitting well with some officials who are demanding accountability from the regional board. At a time when the WICB is struggling to repair its public image, many are questioning why Teddy Griffith has instructed directors not to discuss the settlement or why the board never even issued an official announcement.
"If this was done in good faith to pay off Desi to settle an issue that was going nowhere, they should come out and say so. I don't understand the need for secrecy at all," one official said.
Haynes, who scored 7,487 runs in 116 Tests between 1978 and 1994, is being mentioned for a bigger role in West Indies cricket development, possibly within the board's new new management structure for the senior team.
Haynes was recently involved with coaching opener Daren Ganga and has been vocal about former players playing a more prominent role in the operations of the WICB.
EDITOR'S NOTE: The eligibility rule, which remains in force, requires that players be available for all matches of the domestic first-class and limited-overs tournaments to be eligible for selection to the senior team. Players with injuries or exceptional circumstances were exempt from the rule.
The eligibility rule now reads:
"No player shall be eligible for selection to the West Indies team unless he has made himself available for selection to his national team for all matches in the regional domestic competition which immediately precedes or is concurrent with the selection of the West Indies team for the tour or home series which immediately follows such domestic competition.
"No player shall absent himself from any such match unless he has the prior written approval of the West Indies Cricket Board.
"A selected player will lose his place on the West Indies team, if, after his selection, but prior to the conclusion of the regional domestic competition, he (without prior written approval of the West Indies Cricket Board) makes himself unavailable for the remaining match(es) of his national team."