GEORGETOWN, Guyana, CMC – A settlement has been reached in the dispute between the Guyana Cricket Board and the national team ahead of the lucrative Champions League Twenty20 to be staged in South Africa next month.
Acting Sports Minister Irfaan Ali brokered a deal between the two sides on Friday, which clears the way for the national team to focus on its preparation for the competition.
“We have agreed on several issues, and now everyone should be focussing on giving the team the best chance to be successful in South Africa,” said GCB President Chetram Singh, following the meeting that also included team captain Ramnaresh Sarwan.
The GCB has agreed to split the participation fee of over US $300,000, which will be forwarded from the West Indies Cricket, and any prize money won in South Africa will see the players collectively pocket 75 per cent.
Singh noted it was a deal similar to Trinidad & Tobago’s last year, when they played in the CLT20, and a proposed offer from the players filed through the West Indies Players Association two weeks ago, but some of the finer points were not exactly the same.
“It is a bit different,” he said in an interview with the Trinidad Express newspaper. “There are a lot of finer points about who gets money.”
He however, refused to give further details, citing a confidentiality clause, which formed part of the agreement.
Last week, the GCB filed an ex-parte injunction against the West Indies Players Association, and its Executive President Dinanath Ramnarine to prevent them from interfering in the negotiations between the CLT20 organisers, the GCB, and the players.
“We consider this the end of any problem with contracts, and are now focussing on our preparation and training camp for South Africa,” he said.
“Once there is an agreement, the injunction is not important. That is of no importance whatsoever. I don’t know what the legal term is, but we consider it over.”
He added: “We are going to find a sponsor for the team, and most likely that sponsor will be an overseas company. I want us to all focus on the positives since this is our biggest opportunity for cricketing glory on the world stage.”
Singh also admitted there was much to do in a short space of time, and part of the preparations for the CLT20 would include matches against T&T and a possible rematch with Barbados, whom Guyana beat in the Caribbean T20 Final three Saturdays ago to qualify for the tournament in South Africa.
“We were supposed to have an executive meeting [on Saturday], but it will now take place on Tuesday, and several things concerning Guyana’s preparation will be discussed,” he said.
“We will look at a proposal to have Roger Harper [former Guyana and West Indies player and coach] work with the present coaching staff before the team leaves, and also at the possibility of having a practice game or two in Barbados before we leave for South Africa.”
