The West Indies Cricket Board (WICB) need to soften their stance and take a more inclusive approach to resolve the pay dispute with players, former captain Jimmy Adams has said. The West Indies fielded a weakened side in the first Test against Bangladesh at Kingstown after the 13 selected cricketers refused to play till their contractual issues were resolved. The WICB on Sunday threw their weight behind the makeshift team, even suggesting that they could become regulars.
With the board taking a hardline approach, the West Indies Players Association (WIPA) secretary Adams has waded in. He told the Jamaica Observer yesterday there was nothing the players could do. "The board's approach to signing contracts is to approach you two weeks before a tour and say 'these are the terms', without any discussion," he said. "We say we are supposed to negotiate the contracts and when you look at certain clauses in the contracts it's unacceptable.
"They don't deal with some of the outstanding issues. They then say they came to WIPA and WIPA didn't agree. That's not how it goes." The sides will have till the end of August to resolve the issues in time for the ICC Champions Trophy in South Africa. The tourists, meanwhile, were having problems of their own. Bangladesh yesterday called up fast bowler Nazmul Hossain as cover for their injured captain Mashrafe Mortaza for the second Test. Mortaza, who sustained a knee injury while bowling on the third day of the first Test and had to be helped off the field, and was unavailable for the remainder of the game. He is, however, likely to play in the second Test from July 17-21.
West Indies were 66 for two at lunch on the final day after being set a target of 276 runs to win the first Test. But the highlight of the day so far was medium-pacer Darren Sammy's five for 70 that restricted Bangladesh to 345. * With agencies
