In The Papers Today (Sept 16, 05)

Fazeer Mohammed, writing in the Trinidad Express, appears resigned to the tail-chasing antics of an inept West Indies Cricket Board WICB by declaring that the identity crisis of fictional character Doris is of greater interest to him than events which will most probably transpire on the cricket front in the coming weeks.

Mohammed warns that we are in for a steady diet of more of the same from the crew at Factory Road. He writes that as players assemble for camp ahead of the Australia tour with no apparent resolution to the contract crisis, and as the official stance on the Lucky Report is released with little or no regard to the recommendations made within, there is no end in sight for the charade.

Commenting on Ken Gordon's new role as chairman of the Cricket World Cup 2007 board of directors, it is suggested that the WICB president has his hands full already and the task of salvaging West Indies cricket from its current state of ruin is tough enough without added distractions.

Vinode Mamchan's piece in the Trinidad Guardian tells the familiar tale of the West Indies Players Association (WIPA) submitting an urgent request for a meeting with Ken Gordon. The request comes in the wake of WIPA once again being frozen out by the Board in the development of contracts for the Australia tour.

According to the report, players are increasingly frustrated that the same contentious issues that resulted in them declining to tour Sri Lanka earlier in the year are threatening their participation in the Test series against Australia. One unnamed contender was so aggravated by the events he labelled Ken Gordon's Board as stupid, sick, unconcerned and foolish."

The Guardian otherwise zones in on national issues with Naz Yacoob running a preview of the final of the Angostura Limited Overs Inter Zone competition which will be contested by a Denesh Ramdin-led Central team and a Merv Dillon-led North/East side. The game will provide important match practice to a number of contenders for selection to the national side for the President's Cup.

Yacoob also updates on politics in the lead up to the T&T Cricket Board general election, highlighting another success for Deryck Murray's "Friends of Cricket" movement.

The Caribbean Broadcasting Corporation reports that the WICB will publicise the Lucky Report and make its official statement on the findings today. The release was originally scheduled for yesterday but the Board had a teleconference to participate in and therefore did not have time.

A press release from Cricket World Cup 2007 informs us that preparations for the event are progressing ahead of schedule and are further advanced than they were ahead of the 2003 event in South Africa. CWC 2007 Event Director Nigel Rushman is said to be proud of efforts to date, noting that the logistics of having nine different countries involved are complicated.

CWC 2007 officials met last week at Venue Summit VI in St Kitts, where the focus was on integrating different departments. Venue Development Director and Chief Operating Officer Don Lockerbie declared the gathering a success, and whilst encouraged by progress made to date he warned against complacency.

The World Cup is 18 months away but realistically, some venues have just eight months to be ready for action. The Digicel 2006 Home Series will be used as a trial event for the CWC 2007, with areas including transportation, media management, stadium accreditation and pitch performance being scrutinised.

In separate World Cup news, the St Kitts and Nevis Democrat newspaper announces that construction of Warner Park is on schedule and the facility will be ready by the deadline of March 31, 2006.

Hardbeat News reports that Grenadian Prime Minister Keith Mitchell plans to hold a meeting of the Prime Ministerial Cricket Subcommittee in his home country before the end of September. Also weighing in was Baldwin Spencer, Prime Minister of Antigua & Barbuda, who is quoted as saying "And so whatever we do we have to ensure that the difficulties at this time are resolved."

Jamaican newspapers are apparently having trouble finding newsworthy regional cricket stories with the Observer containing a report on the current Zimbabwe-India Test match and the Gleaner resorting to reprinting the 2006 Home Series schedule and an irrelevant From the Boundary piece that recounts England's rise from the Ashes.

Heading south to the mainland, the Guyana Chronicle has a unique offering in the form news that Courtney Walsh will be guest of honour at the Jamaican Consulate General's 'Evening of Cricket Nostalgia' in Toronto this coming weekend.

Walsh will be in the Canada for a week, and faces a packed schedule that includes attending an art exhibition sponsored by the Jamaican Consulate, appearing on a local television and radio, newspaper interviews, autograph sessions and watching the Toronto and District Cricket Association one day final.

Sean Devers updates on Guyana's domestic cricket scene in the Kaieteur News, with a piece on the El Dorado Inter-County limited overs competition that starts this weekend. According to the report, Guyana Cricket Board boss Chetram Singh has said the competition will be used by Guyana national selectors as they prepare to name the squad to represent the country in the President's Cup.

Players who do not make themselves available for the inter-county competition will not be considered for selection to the national team, regardless of if they are recognised West Indies representatives. Last minute negotiations are underway to provide live ball-by-ball commentary on local radio.

Bermuda's Royal Gazette excitedly reports that it will host a 20/20 Classic tournament in April 2006 that has already attracted West Indians including Viv Richards, Joel Garner, Curtly Ambrose, Courtney Walsh, / Larry Gomes, Collis King and Richie Richardson. The paper ponders the conflict of interest that surrounds Gus Logie turning out for West Indies against Bermuda, whose national team he is employed to coach.

In addition to the West Indies stars lining up, the tournament will see stiff competition between players including Aravinda De Silva, Hashan Tillekeratna, Arjuna Ranatunga, Chris Cairns, Gary Kirsten, Merv Hughes, Mike Gatting and Devon Malcolm.

Meanwhile, over in South Africa, the Cape Times reports that Brian Lara, in town alongside Chris Gayle to play in this weekend's Jacque Kallis Invitational tournament, is honoured to be playing on the same team as the man responsible for organising the benefit matches.

Lara also offers his views on the contract dispute back home saying, "We have to be hopeful that things can improve. It is pretty embarrassing the state that West Indies cricket is in at the moment. We can't put out our best team. At the end of the day, everybody is losing."

Haydn Gill, in the Barbados Nation, delves into the program players will follow during their preparation camp for the tour of Australia and reveals that it includes an 'interactive day' during which the encamped men will meet with ICC officials for a run down on some of the major issues affecting the current day game.

The aim is to educate the players on the ICC regulations including the code of conduct, anti-doping, anti-racism and anti-corruption as well as cover regional issues such as player insurance.

The Barbados Advocate has constructed a piece based on an interview with FICA CEO Tim May which focuses on remuneration for cricketers. May talks about international cricketers being among the lowest paid sportsmen in the world, and goes into more detail on what is required to resolve the West Indies contract crisis once and for all.

He believes that a fresh approach is required, confident that if new avenues are explored then a resolution will soon follow. He reaffirms that FICA will support WIPA as they endeavour to end the stand-off, as West Indies and international cricket cannot afford to be missing its best talent.