Aanensen set to quit as WICB CEO

Bruce Aanensen is on his way out the door as chief executive officer of the West Indies Cricket Board (WICB).

The Trinidadian banker, who was handpicked by Ken Gordon to run the board's management unit in Antigua, has offered to resign as CEO in a disagreement with the new administration over World Cup payments to players.

The board of directors will meet on Wednesday August 22nd to discuss -- and likely accept -- the resignation offer.

Aanensen, hired in February this year after Roland Toppin suddenly changed his mind about the job, has made it clear he was not happy with the appointment of WIPA chief Dinanath Ramnarine as a WICB director.

Coming so soon after his public spat with Ramnarine, Aanensen felt the decision undermined his ability to effectively manage the WICB operations.

However, the straw that broke the camel's back was the decision by new WICB president Julian Hunte to work with WIPA to settle all outstanding issues -- including non-payment of World Cup earnings to players.

Hunte directed Aanensen to issue contracts to the players based on the World Cup arbitration ruling that payment be computed based on tiered structure but, after fast bowler Daren Powell complained that he never agreed to different pay scales, Aanensen declared the World Cup contracts null and void.

Hunte, who is keen to improve the board's relationship with WIPA and send the 20/20 World Cup touring party off without any outstanding disagreements, has been working behind the scenes to get the players paid but Aanensen has been firm in his belief that issuing the payments will put him in legal hot water.

In his resignation offer, he cited being between a rock and a hard place -- facing dismissal if he refused the president's directive or facing legal problems if he went ahead and issued payments.

Hunte views Powell's complaint as a WIPA issue, arguing that if Powell has a problem with the payment structure, he should take up that matter with the association that bargained on his behalf.

During the arbitration proceedings, WIPA argued for a tiered payment structure (senior players on a higher pay scale) but Powell believes this has robbed him of about US$60,000 in World Cup earnings.

The problem with that argument, according to WIPA, is that Powell cannot pick and choose when he wants the association to represent him. Powell, a source said, is happy to collect the 22% negotiated by WIPA but does not want to association to have a say on the distribution of the pool.

"If he doesn't want WIPA's representation, then he should take the 3% the WICB was offering. He can't want WIPA to get 22% for him, then decide that he doesn't want WIPA when it suits him," one source explained.

Another big problem for Aanensen is the Digicel contract renewal that was rushed through at the last minute, in spite of objections from half the WICB directors.

Aanensen aggressively pushed for the Digicel renewal and, at the last WICB AGM, Ken Gordon was forced to use a casting vote to break a deadlock over whether to renew the sponsorship contract.

During those deliberations, Aanensen advised the board to ignore a recommendation of the FAC (finance and audit committee) to hold off on renewing the contract until the new president took office.

The rush to renew the deal has never been properly explained.