The Independent Voice of West Indies Cricket
In a joint statement released today, Digicel and the WICB gave a breakdown for the amounts paid to the board by Digicel. In addition to the $19.75 million, the statement says that an additional sum of up to $6.65 million is allocated for player incentives. As reported by Simon Crosskill a brokerage company will receive 10% of the possible $26.4 million total, covering a five year period.
The full text of the statement follows:
Dear Sir,
It is with grave sadness I undertake writing an account of what transpired during the last game of our A Team tour here in Sri Lanka (29th-1st July 05). The entire West Indies A Team is very confused and frustrated with the current impasse between the WICB and WIPA. This situation has totally destroyed the unity, trust and respect within the team. It would appear that unfortunately all the planning and hard work of the management team on tour is in danger of going down the drain.
The West Indies Players Association (WIPA) has denied a claim that the West Indies Cricket Board (WICB) indicated it was willing to pay the players between US$80,000 to US$90,000 as tour guarantee for the Sri Lankan series.
On Thursday night, the WICB issued a press release stating that it has sent a signed copy of the Collective Labour Agreement to the West Indies Players Association President and Chief Executive Officer Dinanath Ramnarine.
The public back-and-forth between the West Indies Cricket Board (WICB) and the players' association is showing no signs of letting up.
In a statement issued Thursday, the WICB announced it has has sent a signed copy of the Collective Labour Agreement to WIPA and criticised president Dinanath Ramnarine for several statements made in a recent correspondence that was released to the public.
Our arguments and disagreements carry us deep into the night. Sometimes we agree to disagree; most times we just fade away. Those close to us know that it is over cricket, of course. There is, however, one bruising battle that never ends, waged over a single question: Who is great and who is genius?
Let?s strip the argument of all its pretenses. What we are really asking is this: Was Vivian Richards a genius or a great player; is Brian Lara a great player or a genius?