ST. JOHN’S, Antigua-DISPUTES continue to flair between the West Indies Players Association (WIPA) and the region’s cricket board (WICB), this time over the number of matches to be played in the four-day first-class season of 2010.
In response to a December 23 statement issued by WIPA indicating that they were displeased the 2010 regional season only consists of one round instead of two, WICB Chief Executive Officer Dr. Ernest Hilaire said he was displeased to see the WIPA airing their grievances in a public format.
“After the recent dispute with WIPA, it was publicly expressed by the WICB that it would be seeking to establish a relationship based on mutual trust, respect and co-operation. As CEO, I expressed a desire for maturing our relationship by moving from a situation where every disagreement or difference becomes a public spat,” Hilaire stated.
WIPA argued that there is strong support throughout the Caribbean for the regional four-day tournament to be held over the course of two rounds with no fewer than 12 matches being played per year.
“There are complaints from all quarters about the players playing too much limited overs cricket and there is some validity to that. As such we are adamant that the four day tournament should be two rounds in order to better prepare the players for international Test cricket,” WIPA President and CEO Dinanath Ramnarine said.
While many of the top West Indies players have been accused of focusing on the limited overs formats of the game, Hilaire said that the “limited resources” of the WICB must be allocated appropriately if the game is going to make much needed advancements in the international community.
“The WICB has limited resources which have been further affected by the global economic crisis. This places a major challenge to balance the critical components of a cricket development programme with the limited resources that are available in the present circumstances. Let us not pretend that WICB has unlimited resources.”
In 2009, the WICB made a decision to foot a US $3.5 million bill for a 14-round four-day tournament due to lack of sponsorship. Hilaire said that the administrative body cannot afford to have such an undertaking this year, as it hopes to move forward with development plans now that the long dispute over player contracts and retainer fees has ended.
The WICB CEO said that the saved revenue from the regional tournament would be used toward building an ‘A’ Team programme, funding international matches for a wider variety of players and establishing a “High Performance Centre” among other things.
Both the WICB and the WIPA have agreed to have future talks to outline their positions regarding the length of the upcoming four-day tournament.
Antigua News