West Indies cricket in crisis
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Observer Reporter
Sunday, March 06, 2005
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Grenada's prime minister Keith Mitchell remained optimistic yesterday that he could coax all sides to a compromise and avert a major crisis in West Indies cricket even as he accused regional administrators of "raising the temperature" with Friday night's ban on the selection of seven players, including captain and star batsman, Brian Lara, in a contract and endorsement dispute.
Mitchell, who heads the Caribbean Community's (Caricom) prime ministerial sub-committee on cricket, has called all the parties involved in the dispute to a meeting tomorrow in the Grenadian capital of St George's.
Last night Lara, in a statement that was less than explicit on the issues, called for "dialogue, with goodwill, sensitivity and generosity of thought" and said that he was willing to play any role it was thought fit for him.
"I suggest that a lot of sincere apologies - private apologies - would prove the way forward, and once an apology is offered, let the issue be dropped once and for all," he said.
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| Griffith. gave ultimatum to players |
But Lara, who said that this statement was prepared on Wednesday, and had been read then to senior officials of the WICB, did not explain to, or by whom, and for what apologies might be owed, but indicated that he too, if it was felt he should, was willing to say sorry.
"Let us not delight in making others squirm by humiliating them or embarrassing them in public," he said. "Let us do everything to create a win/win situation and prevent a lose/lose situation."
Teddy Griffith, the president of the West Indies Cricket Board, announced that the regional selectors have been told not to consider the seven - Lara, Ramnaresh Sarwan, Chris Gayle, Fidel Edwards, Dwayne Bravo, Dwayne Smith and Ravi Rampaul - until they satisfied the board that their personal endorsement contracts with the telecoms provider, Cable & Wireless, did not conflict with a team sponsorship deal WICB has with C&W's growing Caribbean rival, Digicel.
Griffith also laid down an ultimatum for other players, who may be considered by the selectors for imminent tours by Pakistan and South Africa to announce their availability by Friday and their acceptance of the fee package that the WICB has placed on the table.
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| Mitchell. I am reasonably sure that we should have a sufficient compromise |
Although he did not specifically say so, Griffith, a Barbadian who once worked at Jamaica's central bank and played cricket for Jamaica as well as his home territory, suggested that failure of the players to commit would lead to the abandonment of the tours.
Yesterday, Cable & Wireless branded the board's action as a "great injustice" to cricket fans as well as the players with whom it has the private endorsement deals, while Mitchell suggested that Griffith breached undertakings that all sides would do nothing to inflame tensions.
". I was indeed surprised that Teddy chose to go public at that particular time," Mitchell said in an interview broadcast on radio stations in Jamaica and Barbados yesterday. "I didn't think it helped the process of the negotiation that we are engaging in at this particular time.
"In fact, I think there were some compromises being put forward and appeared to be seriously considered. We alerted him and all the persons involved as to what was taking place. He assured the meeting that he would do nothing to do injury to the negotiating process. I am not so sure that we achieved that by that pronouncement (on Friday night)."
Nonetheless, Mitchell felt that headway could still be made at the St George's meeting at which Griffith, as well as representatives of the West Indies Players Association (WIPA), the trade union of regional cricketers, and the sponsoring companies, Digicel and C&W, will be present.
"I've been in touch with all the parties and that's why I'm reasonably confident, given the understanding of the importance of this and of what can happen if we do not find a solution," Mitchell said.
"I am reasonably sure that we should have a sufficient compromise that can lead to a solution which means that the West Indies Cricket Board can have the proper funding that it requires that in fact the sponsors can have sponsorship as they wish to have and that in fact we have the best possible West Indies team here for the tour of the Caribbean."
The WICB has been at loggerheads with the senior players for several months over a retainer contract and match fees. The issue has been complicated by the dispute over the sponsorship/endorsement deals.
The board and WIPA remain wide apart on the compensation package under the retainer arrangement as well as match fees and appearance and performance bonuses, which nearly scuttled the participation by the West Indies team in last month's VB series in Australia that involved that country and Pakistan.
It was Mitchell who brokered an 11th-hour compromise for the agreement, but the financially-strapped WICB, according to Griffith, had to put up US$200,000 of its own cash, outside of the sponsorship arrangement.
But much of the immediate crisis is centred on the sponsorship issue and the right of players to enter private endorsement deals.
A Jamaica-based, Irish-owned company that has aggressively gained market share in the region's telecoms business where Cable & Wireless once enjoyed a monopoly in the English-speaking Caribbean, Digicel last year entered a US$20-million deal to sponsor the West Indies team for five years.
C&W had previously sponsored the team for 18 years on home tours, but gave up the sponsorship when it could not reach new terms with the WICB and later declined to match other offers to the board.
Cable & Wireless announced that it would concentrate its efforts on being a title sponsor for the Cricket World Cup to be hosted in the West Indies in 2007, but at the same time entered the private endorsement agreements with the players.
The WICB was concerned that these agreements would conflict with its Digicel sponsorship package, but last November Mitchell's committee held that the players could enter the agreements.
However, a Digicel report on the Australian tour suggested that the company's representative was treated with disdain by senior players and that some team members were reluctant to fulfil sponsorship obligations.
In Friday night's statement, Griffith complained that neither Cable & Wireless nor the players have produced their agreements, excluding the financial details, for review.
In was against this backdrop and the possibility that "the continued exploitation of these players' images may cause the WICB to be in breach of its obligations to its sponsor" that the board had sidelined the seven until the issues were clarified, Griffith said. The board did not want the players to be passed-off as the West Indies team.
On Friday, Cable & Wireless offered a partial compromise, with its senior vice-president for corporate marketing in the Caribbean announcing that the company would refrain from using the word team or the title West Indies team in its advertisements.
It would also eliminate all advertising and marketing activities outside the Caribbean surrounding tours by the West Indies team.
In yesterday's statement, the company suggested that Griffith should know the obligations of those players signed to Cable & Wireless.
Even before the WICB deal with Digicel, it had sent Griffith a player contract, it said.
A Cable & Wireless spokesman in Jamaica suggested that the company has, up to now, had no formal request from the WICB - as opposed to Griffith - for specific contract documents. "However, as the WICB is fully aware, these are personal endorsement contracts which we cannot legally share without the consent of the other party to the contract," C&W said in its statement.
Teddy Griffith's timeline of events that led to Cable & Wireless losing the Home Series sponsorship contract.
. In July 2003, the West Indies Cricket Board (WICB) and Cable & Wireless began discussions on the renewal of the Home Series sponsorship contract.
. In September 2003, WICB and Cable & Wireless reached an agreement on the terms of a new three-year sponsorship, subject to contract and subject to approval of the WICB.
. In November 2003 Cable & Wireless produced a draft contract, which was rejected by WICB since conditions not discussed or agreed upon during negotiations had been included.
. In December 2003, WICB invoked its rights under the contract to enter into negotiations with third parties.
. On March 1, 2004, WICB, having obtained an offer of alternative sponsorship, and in compliance with the Cable & Wireless sponsorship contract, called on Cable & Wireless to exercise its first-option rights and take up the sponsorship on the same terms as the third-party offer.
. On March 2, 2004 Cable & Wireless requested the name of the third-party sponsor, which WICB declined to supply. At the same time, WICB granted Cable & Wireless an extension of time to make a decision to match the offer made by the third party.
. On March 16, 2004, Cable & Wireless formally declined to exercise its first option rights.
How they differ
The Retainer is a guaranteed payment to the player for the period of the Retainer contract, typically a year. The payment is designed, among other things, to allow the contracted player to focus on his cricket year round whether or not he is selected to play for the West Indies team. Another impact of the retainer contract is to provide greater security for the contracted player in the event of injury.
The Board's proposal for compensation of players under contract consists of three (3) categories, as follows:
Category A - US$79,200 per annum
Category B - US$31,680 per annum
Category C - US$26,400 per annum
The West Indies Players' Association has countered with the following proposal:
Category A+ - US$135,000 per annum
Category A - US$110,000 per annum
Category B - US$ 50,000 per annum
Category C - US$ 35,000 per annum
Based on the above and assuming a Retained Squad of sixteen (16) players the annual cost of the WICB proposal would be US$712,800 as against US$1,035,000 being proposed by WIPA - a difference of US$322,200 annually, or 45% above the WICB offer.
Match Fees
The Match Fee is the amount, over and above the Retainer Contract fee, received by each player selected to play for the West Indies Team in a Test Match or a One Day International.
The Board's proposal for compensation to players by way of Match Fees under a Retainer Contract arrangement is again based on three (3) categories, as follows:
Test Match Fees ODI Fees
Category A - US$3,600 per match US$1,440 per match
Category B - US$3,000 per match US$1,200 per match
Category C - US$2,500 per match US$1,000 per match
The West Indies Players' Association has countered with the following proposal:
Test Match Fees ODI Fees
Category A+ - US$6,000 per match US$2,500 per match
Category A - US$5,000 per match US$2,000 per match
Category B - US$4,000 per match US$1,500 per match
Category C - US$3,000 per match US$1,200 per match
Based on the above and assuming a squad of sixteen (16) players playing 16 test matches and 27 ODIs, as for example in the year 2003/2004, the annual cost of the WICB proposal would be US$1.3 million as against US$1.7 million being proposed by WIPA- a difference of US$0.4 million annually and 32.5% above the WICB offer.
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