West Indies Cricket Board Thanks its Players for Showing Professionalism

St John's, Antigua: The West Indies Cricket Board (WICB) has thanked and congratulated the Dwayne Bravo-led side for showing professionalism and for their sterling performance in the first ODI against India in Kochi.

The touring West Indies team put behind an acrimonious pay dispute with their Board to spank number one ranked India by a huge margin of 124 runs in the first ODI and take a 1-0 lead in the five-match series at the Nehru Stadium in Kochi on Wednesday.

"As is known, the match was under a cloud of possible disruption through withdrawal of player services, and the WICB, the BCCI and all our partners and stakeholders and especially cricket fans are no doubt delighted that a reasoned approach was taken in ensuring that the match was played," the WICB said in a statement.

"West Indies fans and the WICB are equally pleased with the result which was achieved through an obvious total team effort."

The WICB further said it hoped the players would continue to show professionalism and complete the full tour of India.

"The WICB looks forward to the successful staging of the following four ODIs and the full tour of India as the team continues to prepare for the ICC Cricket World Cup 2015," it said.

A cloud of uncertainty shrouded over the first ODI but hours before the start of the match the West Indian players had decided not to boycott the series opener over what they perceived to be an unjust payment agreement signed by the West Indies Players Association (WIPA) and WICB.

However, the matter is far from over with the players insisting that they reserve the right to take the "best course of action" if the dispute is not resolved.