Jamaica Cricket Association (JCA) president Lyndel Wright says he wants the local board to be a “part of the process” in resolving the prolonged stand-off between the West Indies Cricket Board (WICB) and hard-hitting opener Chris Gayle.

Wright, who is also a WICB director, insists that the JCA should be invited to meetings between the two to help to rectify the issues and added that, in the future, territorial boards should always play a role in resolving matters relating to its players.

“We want to be a part of the process. Once a territory has a player in a particular discussion with the WICB for whatever reasons — disciplinary or not — that board should also be a part of those meetings. We believe that a territorial board should have a representative present at any meeting when their player is involved,” he told the Observer yesterday.

Gayle, 31, lit up the 2011 Indian Premier League (IPL) Twenty20 competition with several match-winning knocks, but had been sidelined by the Board pending an explanation of comments he made in a radio interview in April.

Gayle, WICB officials, and representatives from the West Indies Players Association (WIPA) met in Jamaica on June 14, but no resolution was found after a near four-hour-long conference that was described as “very contentious at times”. According to the reports, discussions between WIPA president Dinanath Ramnarine and WICB chief executive officer Dr Ernest Hilaire became tempestuous and the meeting ended in acrimony.

Just last week, Gayle, through WIPA, released a strongly worded document to the media emphasising his passion for and commitment to West Indies cricket, criticising WICB board members of undermining him and calling on the JCA hierarchy and CARICOM leaders to step in and end the impasse.

“I understand that the WICB and the Jamaica Board met and my matter was discussed but nobody has told me anything and I can only assume without any positive feedback, there has been no resolution. I would have thought that from the beginning of this whole attempt to discredit me that the Board would have done or said something on my behalf. I don’t want them to cover up for me but at least to ensure that I received natural justice and was able to respond to my accusers. They have all been silent.

“…the Jamaica Cricket Association, they have let me down badly, even though I did meet with the new president of the JCA, Mr Wright and (also) Mr Hinds, but nothing has been done. I appeal to the Heads of Government of CARICOM to do something about this situation. West Indies cricket and West Indies cricketers need help,” part of Gayle’s statement read.

Following claims in some quarters that the Board may be deliberately delaying the process, Wright says he does not agree and added that, contrary to popular belief, his administration has also been trying to bring the matter to a close.

“I don’t think the WICB is delaying the issue but what we need to do is meet and bring matters to the table so that it can all be resolved. What we are getting are reports from WICB’s side or from WIPA’s side and the JCA should not just be relying on what is reported by the different parties. This concerns the JCA because he is a player from Jamaica and we must be kept abreast of what is happening,” said Wright.

“We have tried to help and we initiated a meeting with Gayle and (WIPA vice-president) Wavell Hinds. We had a general discussion on things but I can’t reveal anything specific. We went to the ear of the West Indies Board and they told us that they want to have another meeting with Gayle because the original one prematurely ended because of the issue with Ramnarine and Dr Hilaire.”

Tension between the WICB and Gayle became public when the left-hander, who was then captain of the regional team, declined a central retainer contract last year.

The situation worsened when the Jamaican was left out of squads to face Pakistan and India in the 2011 Digicel home series. During that time, Gayle requested and was granted a No Objection Certificate (NOC) from the Board to join the Indian Premier League (IPL) outfit, Royal Challengers Bangalore.

The WICB had contended that Gayle was initially omitted because he was in the midst of a rehabilitation programme due to an abdominal injury sustained at the ICC World Cup earlier this year.