Following the end of a marathon emergency board meeting, the West Indies Cricket Board expressed "sorrow" for the events that lead to West Indies aborting their tour of India last week and decided to request an immediate meeting with the BCCI to arrest the slide in trust expressed publicly by the Indian board.
The WICB also plans to set up a task force that would meet both the players and its representative West Indies Players Association (WIPA), both of whom have been locked in an impasse over the new combined business agreement and memorandum of understanding which was signed in September. The task force will meet with all parties before reporting its findings to the WICB board.
Although the WICB stated that it would act "expeditiously as the situation would allow", the statement did not mention the exact timeline when the task force would return its findings. There was also no mention of who would form part of this task force. "WICB believes that a way can be found to repair the damage that has been caused and to ensure that similar events do not recur, with the focus being on the betterment of West Indies and world cricket."
The meeting in Barbados was always going to be crucial, but it assumed critical importance once the BCCI working committee, which met on Tuesday morning in Hyderabad, decided to exercise the legal route against the WICB for its role in the India tour getting terminated. That meeting had lasted less than an hour and was attended by ICC chairman N Srinivasan, who is currently suspended from his role as BCCI president but attended in his capacity as president of the Tamil Nadu Cricket Association.
In contrast the WICB meeting lasted for about seven hours, at the end of which a short statement was issued stating it was "mindful" of the BCCI decision. "The West Indies Cricket Board regrets, and is deeply embarrassed by the premature and unfortunate end to the recent tour of India," the statement issued by the WICB communications head Imran Khan, said. "The WICB once again expresses to the BCCI and all stakeholders - especially the cricket loving public of the West Indies and India - sorrow for the events leading up to this development."
On Monday two directors had told ESPNCricinfo that the only possible avenue left for the WICB to salvage the deteriorating situation was to meet the BCCI. "In light of the longstanding good relationship between WICB and BCCI, which goes back decades and has produced numerous mutual benefits, the WICB looks forward to meeting with the BCCI to discuss these decisions which can have serious implications for West Indies cricket," the WICB statement said.
The directors also were in favour of taking strict disciplinary action against the players, but there was no mention of any sanctions today against Dwayne Bravo, the West Indies ODI captain, who lead the revolt and was instrumental in the team returning mid-way from the India tour.
Most directors did not respond to calls at the end of Tuesday's meeting, instead allowing the statement to declare their intent. The WICB will also schedule "an urgent debriefing" with the West Indies team management comprising team manager Richie Richardson, team director Richard Pybus, interim head coach Stuart Williams and possibly chairman of selectors Clive Lloyd.
The WICB board also took the opportunity to "assure Cricket South Africa that it will use its best endeavours to ensure a successful tour of South Africa as scheduled." West Indies are scheduled to tour South Africa in December for a three-Test series with the first match scheduled from December 17.
(Cricinfo)
