Hit with 75% pay cut, WI team threatens series boycott

The West Indies team has never enjoyed a great equation with its parent body - the West Indies Cricket Board (WICB) - and on Monday the internal squabbling between them came to the fore.

The team, currently in India for a full-fledged tour of five ODIs, three Tests and a Twenty20 International, has decided that the day before the first ODI is the right time to revolt against their board and refused to practise in Kochi. What should have been a domestic issue has now ended up threatening the series in India.

WICB officials and team management told Mirror that the dispute is over payments to the players. A senior West Indian player said the board has cut each player's fee by over 75 per cent and in some cases by even 1,000 per cent, though we do not know how that is possible.

The decision was apparently conveyed to the players after they reached India. Predictably, the players are up in arms against the board and have threatened to boycott the series. What has made things worse is the tacit support of the West Indies Players Association (WIPA), led by former international Wavell Hinds, to the board's decision. The players, disowned by their own union, have decided to strike back on the eve of an important series.

"The problem is that the union is not backing the players. We hope they sort out the mess and start playing," a former West Indian international, conversant with the developments, told this paper from Barbados. Clive Lloyd, a respected figure domestically as well as internationally, is learnt to be sympathetic to the players' cause. Being the chairman of the selection panel, Lloyd is currently in India and is believed to be involved in negotiations between the warring parties.

Meanwhile in Kochi, the team stayed indoors at a five-star facility and captain Dwayne Bravo did not even come out for the formal unveiling of the ODI trophy. Only the Indian side had a practice session. While there was no immediate confirmation if the visitors will boycott the first ODI at the Jawaharlal Nehru Stadium, there is no assertion from the team management either that Bravo & Co will take the field.

"There is a match tomorrow," was all a spokesman for the team told Mirror from Kochi without clearly indicating whether the team will play the game. When asked if the team was boycotting the series because of payment issues, the spokesman refused to comment. "I'm not at a liberty to discuss that matter," was his curt reply.

The Board of Control for Cricket India (BCCI) is in a fix over its next move and is not sure how to handle the internal matters of another board. "We've nothing to do with their problems but we have not been assured by the visiting team management that they will play tomorrow," a top BCCI official said. "Hope good sense prevails over the striking players."
mumbaimirror.com