Back to the Bargaining Table

It's back to the bargaining table for the West Indies Cricket Board (WICB) and the players' association.

Just days after insisting that 'Clause 5' of the match/tour contract was non-negotiable, the WICB has accepted an invitation from CARICOM's Dr Keith Mitchell to restart discussions with WIPA. The WICB will be represented by president Teddy Griffith.

The new round of talks will be held in Grenada on Friday November 26.

It is the first time Griffith himself will participate in the discussions. He has micro-managed the process with the WICB's five-man Executive Committee every step of the way but CEO Roger Brathwaite and CCOO Zorol Barthley were the public face of the board throughout the negotiations.

His decision to meet with WIPA is seen as a big breakthrough and signals a willingness by the board to get the issue resolved.

Grenada's Prime Minister Dr Keith Mitchell, in his capacity as chairman of the Caribbean Community?s Prime Ministerial sub-committee on Cricket, has offered to mediate the dispute and both sides have now accepted.

Dr Mitchell has been a successful mediator in settling at least one major crisis in the Caribbean. After the 1997 general elections in Guyana, violence erupted after the opposition PNC challenged the results. Dr Mitchell flew into Guyana on a whirlwind visit and convinced the rival political parties to compromise on a peaceful solution.