Chairman of the Caribbean Community (CARICOM) President Bharrat Jagdeo is calling for an early conclusion to the dispute between the West Indies Cricket Board (WICB) and the West Indies Players Association (WIPA).
On July 21 the Guyanese head of state met with WICB President Julian Hunte and President of WIPA Dinanath Ramnarine along with other representatives from the two parties at the Office of the President in Georgetown, following WIPA’s request to him as CARICOM chairman for his intervention in the disagreement.
It was there that President Jagdeo was able to appoint former Commonwealth Secretary General, Sir Shridath Ramphal as a mediator in the process after the two parties had signed a memorandum of understanding (MOU), agreeing to the process. But that was as far as they would go in terms of bringing an end to the impasse.
Under the guidelines of the MOU signed by the WIPA and the WICB, the striking players who include Captain Chris Gayle and the Guyanese pair of Ramnaresh Sarwan and Shivnarine Chanderpaul would make themselves available for team selection.
However, after the WICB selected its teams for the recent Digicel Series and the ICC Champion Trophy without the striking players, Sir Shridath had spoken publicly on his dissatisfaction at the way the WICB and the WIPA were acting in the stalled mediation process.
Speaking exclusively with Stabroek Sport yesterday Jagdeo says that although he is reluctant to give a public opinion on the situation, the matter should be settled quickly.
“I don’t want to really comment on it as yet because it’s still ongoing but I hope that we can come to an early conclusion. I’ve been following the process closely but I’m reluctant to give public comments on it because it’s essentially a process of confidence-building and I don’t want what I say to influence that process,” said Jagdeo.
The West Indies team without the usual stars has been unimpressive ever since and recently handed Bangladesh its only series win in history over the Windies last month.
A number of those same players were named in the 15-man squad selected by the WICB for next month’s ICC Champions trophy in South Africa and this had caused cricketing analysts around the world to state that the West Indies team for this year’s Champions trophy was mediocre.
“I think that we have to settle this process quickly so that we could have the strongest West Indies team representing us around the world; it’s absolutely necessary for the people of this region,” said the CARICOM Chairman when asked to comment on the present West Indies team.
In the latest development Paul Campbell, president of the Jamaica Cricket Association (JCA) and also a director of the WICB, said that the striking players could return for the Test series in Australia in November and December if they participate in the regional limited-overs tournament in October.
