Windies board, players' association talks progress

Bridgetown (Barbados), June 22 (IANS/CMC) The West Indies Cricket Board (WICB) says "significant progress" has been made in talks with the West Indies Players Association (WIPA) on the controversial Collective Bargaining Agreement (CBA), following nearly three days of meetings here last week.

The WICB and WIPA sat down with a three-man mediation team from the International Cricket Council (ICC) and the Federation of International Cricketers Association (WICB) to hammer out a solution to the long-running issue that has plagued relations between both parties, Caribbean Media Corporation (CMC) reports.

And though the board was upbeat about the ongoing negotiations, it cautioned there was still plenty work left to be done before a full deal could be reached.

"WICB and WIPA met in Barbados for two-and-half days in the presence of ICC and FICA and made significant progress on various issues," the WICB's corporate communications officer Imran Khan told CMC Sports.

"Further time is necessary for work to be carried out over the coming weeks and no further comment will be made at this stage."

Discussions over a new CBA and a Memorandum of Understanding started last year but proved contentious and ended up the Trinidad and Tobago High Court earlier this year, with a judge ruling that the CBA would remain intact until a new agreement was brokered.

Both WIPA and the WICB, in a joint statement prior to the latest round of negotiations, said the involvement of ICC and FICA was "in a bid to chart a positive way forward for what has been a difficult issue to resolve."

The ICC was represented by Dave Richardson, the general manager-cricket, and acting legal head Iain Higgins, while FICA was represented by chief executive Tim May.

Richardson is set to replace Haroon Lorgat as the CEO of the ICC next month.

The WICB's negotiation team comprised CEO Ernest Hilaire and legal officer Alanna Medford while WIPA was represented by Dave Kissoon, director Michael Hall and ex-WIPA chief Dinanath Ramnarine.

The CBA and MOU govern players' rights and were first signed six years ago between Ramnarine and then WICB president Ken Gordon.

--IANS/CMC

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