WIBC, players association reach agreement

by PHILIP SPOONER

BRIAN LARA WAS SMILING, Ken Gordon was smiling, Bennett King too was smiling, and all the members of the West Indies team looked pleased.

That was the scene yesterday evening at Grantley Adams International Airport, as for the first time in recent memory, a Windies side left the region for a major tour without a conflict between the West Indies Cricket Board (WICB) and the West Indies Players Association (WIPA).{{more}}

On Monday, the WICB and WIPA reached agreement on the collective bargaining agreement, a memorandum of understanding and a code of conduct for players and officials, thereby putting smiles on everyone’s face as the side headed to Malaysia for the DLF

Super Series with India and Australia.

“What it means is that we have signed off on all the outstanding matters that have engaged our attention for the last few years and we are starting what we would like to think is a new dispensation in our relations,” Gordon told the DAILY NATION yesterday.

“We have a formula, where when we disagree we will put it in train and have it resolved. From now onward there will be no public bickering on issues. You can say that West Indies cricket has reached a new level of maturity.”

Clive Lloyd, the legendary former West Indies captain who is also head of the WICB’s cricket committee, said he was pleased that there was “peace” in the game in the Caribbean and urged the team to be good ambassadors for the region and the game now that the conflicts had been resolved.