GEORGETOWN, Guyana, CMC – Cricket Australia on Wednesday welcomed news of an agreement between the feuding West Indies board and players that should now pave the way for a full strength West Indies side to tour Australia next month.
James Sutherland, the Cricket Australia (CA) chief executive, said it was pleasing to see reports that there has been a breakthrough in the negotiations between the West Indies Cricket Board (WICB) and the West Indies Players Association (WIPA).
“We are seeking confirmation, but the early reports we are seeing reflect the encouraging private noises we have been hearing from West Indies cricket in recent weeks,” CA chief executive James Sutherland said in a statement.
A joint statement by the WICB and the West Indies Players’ Association (WIPA) on Tuesday said they had settled most of the issues that crippled West Indies cricket for the past three months.
Two issues remain in the balance — regarding the India 2009 Tour and the issue of ‘Team Rights’ – and have been referred to arbitration.
Because of the contracts row, leading West Indies players had made themselves unavailable for the Bangladesh home series that featured a makeshift Windies squad which was also used for the ICC Champions Trophy in South Africa.
The severely depleted West Indies lost both Test and One-Day International series to Bangladesh, failed to win a game at the Champions Trophy last month, and Australian officials had been concerned about staging a home series against a weakened Caribbean side.
