ST JOHN’S, Antigua, CMC – The West Indies Cricket Board (WICB) says it foresees an “amicable” resolution to its current impasse with the Indian Cricket Board, as the deadline arrived Friday for the regional board to outline a compensation plan of how it will settle the multi-million claim made by the BCCI.
Last month, the BCCI wrote to the WICB claiming US$42 million in damages from the abandoned one-day tour of India, and also gave the WICB 15 days in which to respond or face legal action.
However, the WICB in statement late Thursday said its president Dave Cameron had met with BCCI officials recently and had initiated talks geared towards finding a “mutually agreeable resolution”.
“The WICB is pleased to report that the parties are making progress with regard to the premature end to the tour of India,” the WICB statement said.
“President Dave Cameron met and had preliminary talks with officials from the BCCI while attending an ICC meeting in Dubai recently. The WICB has also officially responded to the letter received from the BCCI.
“The WICB remains confident that an amicable and mutually agreeable resolution can be had.”
The board is desperately trying to avoid forking out the multi-million dollar settlement, and wrote to the BCCI last week indicating it was bankrupt and also apologising for the abrupt end to the one-day tour last month.
In the letter, the contents of which were revealed in Indian media, the WICB also urged finding a resolution through the ICC Disputes Committee.
The recent tour was cut short after the fourth One-Day International of the intended six-match series, when upset West Indies players refused to play over a contracts row with their union, the West Indies Players Association.
Their action also forced the WICB to cancel the scheduled three-Test series, with the BCCI unwilling to accept a replacement second string squad.
A furious BCCI cast full blame on the WICB for the abandonment.
St Vincent’s Prime Minister Dr Ralph Gonsalves, who mediated the dispute between the players, WIPA and the WICB, on Monday proposed what he termed a “grand settlement” to end the impasse with the BCCI.
In it, he urged the WICB to undergo governance reform and improve its relationship with the players, and also urged the BCCI to withdraw its multi-million claim “in the interest of cricket in Indian and the Caribbean and world cricket”.