The West Indies Cricket Thread

WI to pull out of India tour

The West Indies tour to India has been called off suddenly due to the ongoing payment structure dispute with the West Indies Cricket Board (WICB) and its players association. The fourth ODI in Dharamsala will be their last game of the series, which was scheduled to have a fifth ODI, a Twenty20 international as well as three Tests.

A press release from the BCCI said it was, "shocked and disappointed" at the decision to abandon the tour had been "taken by the WICB."

"They have withdrawn their team and this (development) has come abruptly. We received an e-mail from Richie Richardson, the West Indies team manager, only this morning," BCCI secretary Sanjay Patel told ESPNcricnfo. A senior BCCI official said the West Indies team management had informed the board of their decision earlier on Friday. According to the official, the BCCI was trying to find another team as a replacement, with Sri Lanka being the favourite.

The BCCI's release said, "The WICB's inability to resolve internal issues with its players and allowing the same to affect an ongoing bilateral series does not reflect well on any of those involved." The withdrawal had, "given little thought to the future of the game, the players and the long standing relations between the BCCI and WICB."

It stated that, "this is a unilateral decision taken by the WICB and its players, in spite of several appeals to the WICB to honour its commitment and complete the series." The BCCI would "pursue all options available" and seek "appropriate action" from the ICC," referring to the abrupt end to the tour, as "such acts of indiscretion."

Before the fourth ODI, Dwayne Bravo, the West Indies ODI captain, had indicated something serious was brewing when he told Ian Bishop, the television commentator, at the toss, unprompted: "Time to make a decision." Bravo was accompanied by the entire West Indies team in the background.

The root cause behind the divide between the West Indies players and the West Indies Players Association (WIPA) had been the memorandum of understanding and the combined bargaining agreement signed between WIPA and WICB in September. Bravo, acting as the player representative, had claimed that WIPA president and CEO Wavell Hinds had kept the players in the dark over the MoU, which he signed without their consent.

On the eve of the first ODI in Kochi, Bravo had warned that if Hinds did not cooperate and respond to the questions raised by the players, a strike or a pullout form the Indian tour could not be ruled out. Though Hinds responded eventually, Bravo has continued to insist that Hinds should step down as CEO and president, and even asked the WICB to not communicate with WIPA till a solution was found. However, WICB president Dave Cameron sent an e-mail letter to Bravo saying the board would only engage with WIPA, adhering to the MoU signed in September.

http://www.espncricinfo.com/india-v-west-indies-2014-15/content/current/story/789919.html
 
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Seen a comment that it was the WI Board and not the players who have called off the tour.
 
As I mentioned earlier I said I hope they bounce back calling off a tour in India must be pretty serious.

Any ideas what will happen for SA if the tour is called off?
 
'We were left with no option' - WICB

The WICB has said it was left with no option but to "discontinue" the tour of India after the players had informed the board through the team management that they would be returning back to the Caribbean.

"The WICB clarifies that players in the West Indies Squad currently in India represented by Mr. Dwayne Bravo indicated to the WICB through the West Indies Team Management that the players have taken a decision to withdraw their services for the remainder of the tour of India," the release said. "As a result of this action by the players the WICB was left with no option but to advise the BCCI that it will no longer be able to provide a West Indies team for the remaining five matches (5th ODI, T20 International, three Test matches)."

The WICB directors have called for an emergency board meeting on October 21 in Barbados to decide all the "ramifications" arising of the players pullout and take any actions if necessary. The WICB did not rule out penalising players but such actions would be discussed at Tuesday's meeting.

After the players' decision had become public as soon as the fourth ODI in Dharamsala had started, BCCI secretary Sanjay Patel issued a bluntly-worded media release, holding the WICB responsible for what he called as an "abrupt" termination of the tour. Patel pointed out that the WICB's inability to resolve the growing differences between players and West Indies Players Association (WIPA) over the payment dispute lead to such a crisis.

Although it had issued a short release earlier in the day stating the WICB did not play any role in the tour being called off, the board issued a ten-point media release late Friday afternoon Caribbean time after an emergency teleconference of its directors. In it the WICB pointed the fingers back at Dwayne Bravo, the West Indies ODI captain, and his players for the "premature" end to the tour.

The WICB said it did think of sending a replacement West Indies team, but that was "not considered acceptable" to the BCCI. "The WICB is understanding of this position," the release said. The WICB took the opportunity to "unreservedly" apologise to the BCCI, the sponsors and the fans both in Caribbean and India.

But the BCCI was completely unapologetic as it bared its angst in a second media release, issued late Friday evening India time. The release was once again signed by Patel, where he listed a timeline of the events about the WICB president Dave Cameron's communications with BCCI. Cameron's various unfulfilled promises about providing an assurance that the dispute would have no repercussion on the India tour, Patel said, "makes it clear all along that the WICB was withdrawing its team if a resolution was not reached in the issue with the players."

But the WICB defended its position. "The WICB clarifies further that as a result of postulations by the players, the tour was under a cloud of uncertainty from the inception. The WICB, acting prudently, advised the host board - BCCI - of the developments and remained in constant contact to provide updates as to the threat of possible player action."

The WICB also revealed a delegation lead by its CEO Michael Muirhead along with Julian Charles (the cricket committee chairman) and WIPA president and CEO Wavell Hinds was supposed to be in India on October 20 to negotiate with the players. "The WICB regrets that the delegation which was pre-scheduled to travel to India to meet with the players on a number of issues will no longer be able to conduct such meeting at which the intention was also to discuss the concerns of the players.

"This meeting was scheduled prior to any issues being raised with the new MOU/CBA and it was intended to acquaint all the parties of how it would roll out. This was necessary as the WICB did not have an opportunity to so do in the Caribbean due to the logistical challenges of assembling all the players prior to departure for the tour of India (some of the players were already in India participating in the Champions League). The WICB CEO, Mr. Muirhead and WIPA President/CEO Mr. Hinds had been in negotiations with regard to finding a mutually agreeable position to allow for the full tour to be completed."

http://www.espncricinfo.com/india-v-west-indies-2014-15/content/current/story/790195.html
 
No matter how you look at this, they really shot themselves in the back. Could not wait until the tour is over? Has money become so much more important than the pride of playing international cricket? Sucks! :mad:
 
McT said:
No matter how you look at this, they really shot themselves in the back. Could not wait until the tour is over? Has money become so much more important than the pride of playing international cricket? Sucks! :mad:
Click to expand...

I remember seeing a stat that the Proteas are on the road 180 days or so of the year. Meaning any player for a national team basically makes their living playing for the national team. If CSA had payment issues, I bet even our players would want to walk away from the tour and play for their franchises...
 
sox63 said:
I remember seeing a stat that the Proteas are on the road 180 days or so of the year. Meaning any player for a national team basically makes their living playing for the national team. If CSA had payment issues, I bet even our players would want to walk away from the tour and play for their franchises...
Click to expand...

I do not disagree. I just think that a tour of India is probably the most lucrative financially... unless the players were being short changed.
 
Windies seek talks with India after legal threat
22 October 2014, 01:26

The West Indies Cricket Board (WICB) will ask for a meeting with their Indian counterparts as they seek to find a way out of the crisis caused by the abandonment of their tour.

Hours after India's powerful board (BCCI) announced they would take legal action against the WICB and were suspending all planned tours of the Caribbean – moves that could have a devastating financial impact on the West Indies – officials gathered at a beachside hotel to deal with the fallout.

The return home of the team after the fourth of five one-day internationals and before three scheduled tests, leftIndia facing losses, according to local media reports, of around $65 million.

After a seven-hour meeting, the WICB issued a statement that was clearly designed to appeal to the BCCI and which did not include any sanctions against players who had quit the tour.

"The West Indies Cricket Board regrets, and is deeply embarrassed, by the premature and unfortunate end to the recent tour of India," the statement read.

"The WICB once again expresses to the BCCI and all stakeholders – especially the cricket-loving public of theWest Indies and India – sorrow for the events leading up to this development.

"The WICB believes a way can be found to repair the damage that has been caused and to ensure similar events do not recur, with the focus being on the betterment of West Indies and world cricket," the statement added.

As well as requesting a meeting with the BCCI, the West Indies board said they had set up a task force to examine the cause of the tour's collapse.

The WICB also vowed to "assure Cricket South Africa that it will use its best endeavours to ensure a successful tour of South Africa as scheduled".

The first of three tests against South Africa is due to start on December 17.

LUCRATIVE DEALS

India were due to tour the Caribbean in 2016 and if that tour is lost, the WICB will miss out on lucrative television and sponsorship deals.

The cause of the conflict was a new 'Memorandum of Understanding' and collective agreement between the WICB and their union, the West Indies Players Association (WIPA), regarding payment for the cricketers which the leading test players said was signed in September without their consent.

The players said the deal would result in a significant loss of earnings while the WICB argue the new arrangement allows for more cricketers across the Caribbean to be given central contracts.

Grenada's Prime Minister Keith Mitchell on Tuesday publicly offered his services as a mediator and said the crisis was bad for the entire Caribbean.

"It is a bit frightening for the region, not just for sport, but for our people, our economies on the whole," he added.

The situation has caused dismay in a region where, despite disappointing performances, there remains a great passion for cricket and pride in West Indies's past achievements.

There appears little sympathy for any of the disputing parties but former pace bowler Michael Holding put the blame at the feet of the WICB.

"The problem with West Indies is that the WICB always pushes things to the brink and waits till the last moment," said Holding, now a television commentator.

© Reuters
http://www.supersport.com/cricket/i...dies_seek_talks_with_India_after_legal_threat
 
I think the WI players probably took a peak at the Indian players paychecks and decided to call it quits.

Why call it off halfway through when I'm sure pay and contracts were negotiated beforehand.
 
WaxLyrical said:
I think the WI players probably took a peak at the Indian players paychecks and decided to call it quits.

Why call it off halfway through when I'm sure pay and contracts were negotiated beforehand.
Click to expand...

It seems the agreement negotiated was signed by the player reps without the players approving the deal
 
WICB standoff with players ends - reports

We may yet have a Windies tour in December :)

WICB standoff with players ends - reports

Tensions between the WICB and the West Indies players have eased, and a way forward found, following meetings over the weekend, Caribbean newspapers have reported. That could mean West Indies' scheduled tour to South Africa in December will go ahead without hiccups.

According to the reports, the WICB and the West Indies Players' Association (WIPA) will now renegotiate the players' contracts, with the players now having a say in payment matters, and WIPA and its chief Wavell Hinds will continue to represent the players' interests. Also, it was reported, a three-man task force has been created to deal with the BCCI's demands off the WICB. The committee reportedly comprises former West Indies cricketer and Barbados politician Wes Hall, Barbados chief justice and former prime minister David Simmons, and lawyer and Trinidad & Tobago politician Kenneth Lalla, and will go to work immediately given the BCCI's 15-day deadline for the WICB to respond to its claim of US$41.97m.

The meeting was said to be attended by WICB president Dave Cameron, players Dwayne Bravo and Denesh Ramdin and their legal representative Ralph Thorne, as well as St Vincent and the Grenadines prime minister Ralph Gonsalves and Grenada prime minister Keith Mitchell.

Reports also said the players were assured at the meeting that they would not be "victimised" for cutting their tour to India short.

West Indies had withdrawn from their tour to India in October with one ODI, one Twenty20 and three Tests pending, due to issues the players had with the payment structures under the Memorandum of Understanding signed between the WICB and WIPA earlier in the year. During the tour to India ODI captain Bravo had written letters on the matter, on behalf of the players, to WIPA chief Hinds and the WICB, saying the players' trust had been breached since they were not privy to the changes being brought in. Several exchanges among the three parties had ensued, and the players finally withdrew from the tour after the Dharamsala ODI since no middle ground was found. Subsequently, the BCCI had suspended bilateral tours to the West Indies and demanded financial compensation.

http://www.espncricinfo.com/westindies/content/current/story/795547.html
 
Devon Smith replaces injured Gayle for SA Tests

A WICB release on Friday simply stated that Gayle "has been replaced due to injury". Gayle last played an international match in September, and despite being touted for a quick recovery from a lower back injury, he did not feature in even a single game during West Indies' curtailed tour of India in October. He did, however, return to competitive cricket by signing up for Lions in the Ram Slam T20 Challenge, scoring two fifties and a hundred in his first three games.

Smith, whose last appearance for West Indies was back in July 2013, has been in fine form in first-class cricket, having stroked two half-centuries and a hundred in his last three games for Windward Islands in the Regional 4 Day Tournament. He has played 33 Tests for West Indies, but none since May 2011, when he was dropped following two low scores against Pakistan.

The WICB also confirmed that fast bowler Sheldon Cottrell will join the squad on Friday. The selection panel had requested that Cottrell play in the third round of the first-class competition to determine his match readiness after he had sustained an injury during West Indies A's tour of South Africa. Cottrell responded by collecting 5 for 42 for Jamaica against Trinidad and Tobago, helping his team to first-innings points.

West Indies will begin their tour with a three-day game in Benoni on December 10, before starting the first of three Test matches on December 17, in Centurion.

http://www.espncricinfo.com/south-africa-v-west-indies-2014-15/content/current/story/806257.html
 
Gayle slams selectors over Bravo, Pollard omissions

After hammering a match-winning 90 that helped West Indies win the Twenty20 series against South Africa, Chris Gayle launched a scathing attack on the West Indies Cricket Board and the Clive Lloyd-led selection panel for dropping the senior pair of Dwayne Bravo and Kieron Pollard from the ODI series and the World Cup. Repeatedly labelling the move as "ridiculous", Gayle felt it was a case of "victimisation" against the two Trinidadian allrounders.

"How can those two guys not be in the team?" Gayle, who is the first current player to raise his voice against the omissions, said during the post-match media conference at Wanderers. "To me it got to be like victimisation when you look at it towards those two guys. Come on, guys. It is just ridiculous. Come on. Ridiculous. Really hurt. Ridiculous. Honestly, it throw me off. We can only talk. We can express our feelings, which I'm doing at this point in time. The squad already is announced. It is just sad.

More from the story here:

http://www.espncricinfo.com/south-africa-v-west-indies-2014-15/content/story/819977.html
 
'There is no axe to grind' - Lloyd

Clive Lloyd, the former West Indies captain and current chairman of selectors, has said that the absence of "exceptional performances" from the pair of Dwayne Bravo and Kieron Pollard, coupled with the selection panel's vision to move forward and look for young talent, were the chief reasons for omitting the two senior allrounders for the ODIs against South Africa and the World Cup.

Lloyd said the decision had been a difficult one and was debated heavily. He insisted that it was not the end of the road for the discarded pair and it was up to the players to regain their spots on the back of performances.

"It was a very difficult decision. I can tell you it went on for two days. We suspended it to give a chance to think about things and so on. There were a lot of discussions," Lloyd told ESPNcricinfo in an exclusive interview on Tuesday. "But then you get to a point where you say, right, this is where we want to go. It is very difficult for people to understand or to accept. But we want to move on.

"I don't think they have had any exceptional performances. Nobody (of the pair) has got exceptional performances as far as (playing for) West Indies is concerned. They have been there and thereabouts. We really and truly want to pick people on what they have done for our cricket and not for anyone else."

Despite being part of the 30 probables for the World Cup, Bravo and Pollard had already been left out of the five-match ODI series against South Africa. Considering their popularity in domestic global Twenty20 competitions, the news created furore not just in the Caribbean, but also outside.

Former West Indies fast bowler and Lloyd's former team-mate Michael Holding raised the question of why Bravo had been dropped when he was part of the ICC ODI Team of the Year for 2014. Pollard and Bravo are fourth and fifth on the list of highest run-scorers for West Indies since the 2011 World Cup.

Lloyd said there were already too many allrounders in the squad and that the selectors had to take a call. He also hinted that the performances of Bravo and Pollard that have registered in the fans' minds had mostly come in the domestic T20 leagues like the IPL.

Lloyd revealed that he had spoken with both players in person last week in Cape Town: "Yes, I spoke to them in Cape Town. They understand what the situation is. Don't forget, these guys have been playing for West Indies for a while. And they will be disappointed. But they have a chance of redeeming themselves and getting back into our cricket in the future. One is 31 (Bravo) and the other is 27 or 28 (Pollard)."

Lloyd also said he did not need to respond to Chris Gayle who called the selectors' move "ridiculous". Gayle had said that he was stunned to hear from Bravo that one reason for the pair being dropped was that the selectors wanted to rebuild the team.

"He (Gayle) might think so, but the point is that he is not a selector. He is a player," Lloyd said. "I have the greatest respect for him. But he will have to read what we are trying to do. He is part of that team that is going forward. Once he has been told what the situation is he will understand what we are doing."

Immediately after Bravo and Pollard were dropped from the South Africa ODI series but included for the T20 leg, the players' lawyer Ralph Thorne said that "a gentle form of ruthlessness" by the WICB led to their exclusion from the World Cup squad. Thorne accused the WICB of victimisation and not honouring the word of the board president Dave Cameron who had said that the players who abandoned the tour of India last October would be treated fairly.

Lloyd said he had explained the reasons, in writing, to all concerned parties, including the WICB, the West Indies Players Association, as well as the players' lawyers. He insisted there was no discrimination by the selection panel.

"No, no. That is not the way I live. I don't believe in things in that nature at all. There is no axe to grind with these guys. There are other people that could have…You know we could have said, "What about X, what about Y?

"This is the combination we came up with. And I am not one of those people who are going to direct to me what to do. I take orders from me, and nobody else. I am not into that situation where I will be worrying about what happened in India. That is past. That is gone. We are moving on."

Lloyd backed his statement by pointing out that the WICB had shortlisted Bravo as one of 12 players to be given a central contract for the 2014-15 season.

"Doesn't that tell you about something? He has been given a central contract. So that means he is not thrown out. That is what we should be talking about. We want people to feel they are still part of our cricket," Lloyd said.

Source: http://www.espncricinfo.com/westindies/content/current/story/820515.html
 
The Windies could have benefited from Bravo and Pollard in the team tonight. Worried for them in CWC, as there seems to be be a big reliance on Gayle to get runs. Gayle got them off to a good start but that's where it ended.
 
Dwayne Bravo quits Tests

Dwayne Bravo, the West Indies allrounder, has announced his retirement from Test cricket, but wants to continue representing the side in limited-overs games. Bravo had not played Tests since December 2010, and his decision comes after he lost the ODI captaincy to Jason Holder and was then axed from the one-day side for the tour of South Africa and also the World Cup.

West Indies had pulled out from their tour of India last year under Bravo's leadership over a payment dispute with their board and players association. His subsequent removal from the squad had led to allegations of victimization from his lawyer, but chairman of selectors Clive Lloyd had said there was no axe to grind. Bravo was picked for the T20 internationals against South Africa and was also given a central contract by the board.

In the statement announcing his retirement, Bravo said it was a "difficult time" for West Indies cricket and those associated with it, but added that he still wanted to "serve" the fraternity with "the pride of being a West Indian."

"Today I am announcing my retirement from Test cricket," Bravo said. "I have already informed the WICB of this decision and also indicated my desire to continue to represent the West Indies in the shorter formats of the game.

"Over the years, with the greatest enthusiasm, I have done my best with the deep awareness that I am ultimately representing the people of the game.

"I recognise that this is a difficult time for all of us. Our people of the region have seen and enjoyed great cricketing days but we will not return to glory until we agree to go forward with our love for the game and the respect of the administrators, players and the public.

"I have experienced the exhilarating joy of victory and the devastating pain of defeat. The joyous memories will remind me of what we are capable of achieving. I want to be part of that mission.

"I thank the cricketing fraternity for their support and look forward to serving you with determination and the pride of being a West Indian."

Bravo scored 2200 runs in 40 Tests at an average of 31.42 with three centuries and picked up 86 wickets at 39.83 with two five-fors.

http://www.espncricinfo.com/westindies/content/story/825559.html
 
I for one am very upset with Supersport, they not showing the Test series between WI and ENG, hearsay is that Trott got a duck in his comeback match, with Bell making 100+
 
Holder ton saves WI on Anderson's record day

England 399 (Bell 143, Root 83, Stokes 79, Roach 4-94) and 333 for 7 dec (Ballance 122, Buttler 59*, Root 59) drew with West Indies 294 (Blackwood 112*, Tredwell 4-47) and 350 for 7 (Holder 103*, Smith 65, Ramdin 57)

Same island, different ground, same result. Six years ago West Indies defied England nine down at the Recreation Ground in Antigua, after the Test was shifted due to the dangerous outfield at the Sir Vivian Richards Stadium, with Daren Powell and Fidel Edwards surviving 10 tension-filled overs on the historic ground. This time the last-wicket pair were not needed as Jason Holder, a 23-year-old on whom so much rests for the future of West Indies cricket, produced an outstanding display of maturity in scoring a maiden first-class hundred in an innings spanning 216 minutes and 149 balls, and with help from Denesh Ramdin and Kemar Roach hauled the team to safety.

James Anderson prized out the seventh wicket shortly before the start of the final hour, finding Ramdin's edge to first slip with a classical leg-cutter, to make him England's leading Test wicket-taker, overtaking Ian Botham's 383 scalps having gone level with Botham during the morning session when Marlon Samuels edged to gully. It broke a stand of 105, leaving England 18 overs to take the final three wickets, but they could not get past the sturdy defence and big hearts of Holder and Roach.

With two overs remaining, Holder went to his hundred with a brace of lofted drives off James Tredwell in three balls, becoming the eighth West Indies batsman to score a Test century at No. 8, then Roach negotiated four balls of the last over from Anderson to prompt Alastair Cook to offer his hand to the undefeated West Indies batsmen meaning England have still had not won overseas since November 2012 in Kolkata.

There were a couple of near misses in the closing stages.

More at source: http://www.espncricinfo.com/west-indies-v-england-2015/content/story/862487.html
 
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