As expected, Jimmy Rayani, has stepped down from his position as Kenya Cricket Association (KCA) chairman to pursue his role as a director of the ICC executive board. Sharad Ghai, the current fixtures secretary, has taken over from Rayani.Ghai is the man identified by those opposing the KCA as being to blame for many of the ills blighting Kenyan cricket. His appointment is unlikely to do anything to bring the factions closer together. It might do some good, however, in that it could bring matters to a head sooner rather than later.The KCA is looking increasingly isolated, with the majority of grass-roots Kenyan club sides opposed to what they claim is an undemocratic and poorly-run board. The government is also thought to be growing increasingly concerned at the way the KCA is run.Last week, the anti-board faction retained total control of the Coast Cricket Association, the second most powerful group in Kenya behind the Nairobi Provincial Cricket Association. Samir Inamdar, the chairman, and his associates were unanimously re-elected, although three clubs allied to the KCA boycotted the meetings.
Inzamam-ul-Haq has asked for a few practice matches during the preparatory camp for this summer’s tour of England, saying that such outings would help in the comeback of star fast bowler Shoaib Akhtar and prove his fitness.Inzamam believed Shoaib was still just 70-80% fit and a few practice games during the national training camp could prove beneficial for Shoaib, whom he rates as Pakistan’s trump card for the series against England.”Shoaib has been out of the team for some time and is now trying to regain full fitness. But such things take some time and a lot of effort,” said Inzamam, who flew out of the city for Jeddah where he would be leading a Pakistan XI against an Asian XI in two exhibition matches later this week.Inzamam said that it was up to the national selectors to decide whether they wanted to go for any practice games before announcing the final 16 for the English sojourn. He said that he wants Shoaib to regain peak fitness ahead of the tour of England which he termed as a very important assignment.”The tour of England is also very important for us because a good performance there would boost our morale ahead of the World Cup,” he said, adding that Pakistan would need someone of Shoaib’s calibre bowling at full throttle in England.Shoaib is currently working on regaining match fitness after recovering from injured knees. He underwent a twin knee surgery in February. Inzamam refrained to speak on the controversy hovering over the central contract system. He said that the players’ contracts would come up for a review next month and he believes the Pakistan Cricket Board would deal with the issue in a fair manner.Inzamam hoped that his team’s brief tour of Saudi Arabia would help provide a boost to the sport in a region that has millions of Pakistani and Indian expatriates.Several stars from Pakistan and India along with players from Sri Lanka and Bangladesh would feature in the two exhibition matches to be played at Jeddah’s Al-Ahli stadium on May 25 and 26. The event’s organisers are expecting a full house on both days cricket is a huge passion for most of the expatriate population of Saudi Arabia.The Pakistani squad has several top notch players including national team vice-captain Younis Khan, Mohammad Yousuf, Abdul Razzaq, Danish Kaneria, Mohammad Sami and Imran Farhat.The Asian XI has five Indian players and four each from Sri Lanka and Bangladesh. Indian batting star VVS Laxman would lead a side that also has compatriot Ajay Jadeja, who has served a five-year ban for match-fixing. Former Test player Roshan Mahanama, Romesh Kaluwitharana, Kumar Dharmasena and Dilhara Fernando are the prominent Sri Lankans in the team.Inzamam said that he expects some exciting action during the two matches in Jeddah because both sides have the services of a number of capable players.
Timing is everything where cricket is concerned. So it’s fair to say there’s only one side hitting the ball off the middle of the bat at present. While India contorts itself with nefarious issues of TV rights and election intrigues, the Aussies have slipped into cruise control with hardly a clunk through the gears.Glenn McGrath has got wickets, the opening pair have got runs, and even Ricky Ponting’s anointed successor, Michael Clarke, has risen to the acclaim with a polished half-century. If this is the final frontier, then – for the moment at least – it seems someone has forgotten to put the sentries on the gate.Australia’s entry into India has been as smooth as a Mark Nicholas handover. From their opulent base at the world-famous Taj Hotel, a stone’s throw from the bedlam, beggars and balloon salesman who throng around the Gateway of India, the entire squad has been on a charm offensive.Adam Gilchrist set the tone with an light-hearted press conference on the first day; McGrath followed suit by shelving his verbal bouncers, and even Brett Lee has got in on the act, impressing the locals with his grasp of Hindi (although not, it seems, the rowdy enclave at fine leg, who spent this morning informing Lee that he sucked – or some word of that ilk at any rate).And then there’s Shane Warne. He’s been kept under wraps by the management for this warm-up game, although that hasn’t exactly cramped his style. After all, winning the hearts and minds is a 24-hour job in this day and age, so Warne’s (officially-sanctioned) nocturnal habits have been helping the cause no end.On the eve of the match, for instance, he was to be found in the corner of an exclusive restaurant near the team hotel, buttering up a selection of Mumbai’s elite, plus a certain high-profile Indian middle-order batsman. The name of the player (and, incidentally, the name of the bar as well)? Tendulkar. It was just the first of several encounters over the coming weeks, we hope.And two days earlier, Warne’s penchant for propping up bars had been utilised to the max by a certain globally renowned Australian beer giant. After an energetic net session at the Brabourne Stadium, Warne and his entourage retired to the Hotel Intercontinental on the seafront for a “beer and bites” afternoon.With a beer in hand, a local DJ on one side and a “TV stunnah” on the other, Warne was asked a series of questions that ranged from the banal to the fatuous. (“Shane, are Indian women flirtatious?” “Yes”; “Shane, have you any got any Bollywood ambitions?” “Not yet …”) Okay, so the team has been asked to limit its commercial exploits, but keeping Warne out of the pub was always going to be a non-starter.But anyway, let’s get back to the cricket. The game was long dead by the time the third day began, but it was still a pleasure (and a rare one at that) to watch a match at the Brabourne Stadium. One local journalist, who as a boy witnessed Fred Trueman demolish the Indians in 1952, could still recall the days when the ground stood proud and alone on this plot of land, an area that had been reclaimed from the sea and donated to the Cricket Club of India in 1937 by the then-Governor of Bombay, Lord Brabourne.It has since been subsumed by circumstance. The old recreation ground that backed onto it has long gone, to be replaced by a clutter of new (now rather old) buildings. And in 1974-75 it had its Test status abruptly whipped away, when the Bombay Cricket Association erected the functional and not-entirely-graceful Wankhede Stadium, not more than a couple of blocks down the road.It is a great shame, because the Brabourne is a venue steeped in the game’s history, as a tour of the magnificent pavilion will amply testify. Four floors and open-fronted, it is a hive of bars, restaurants and even bedrooms, the walls of which are bedecked with photographs from all eras. There are fading group shots of the various squads to have toured England; a series of stills showing Anil Kumble’s ten-wickets-in-the-innings against Pakistan, and rather randomly, a framed scorecard from a “Grand Cricket Match” of 1893, between the Australians (843 all out), and Oxford & Cambridge (191 and 82 for 1).All this history. But, it’s fair to say, there’s only going to be one timespan on any of the players’ minds this month. Thirty-five years. Australia have made a near-perfect start to their quest, but as they set off for Bangalore tomorrow, they’ll know it’s time for the charm to give way to the offensive.
Muttiah Muralitharan burst out of the blocks in the race to 500 wickets, ripping through Australia’s formidable batting order to leave Sri Lanka in pole position in the opening Test in Galle. Australia, wasting a crucial toss on a bald, sun-baked pitch, were bowled out for just 220 in 68.3 overs. Muralitharan snapped up 6 for 59, his best figures against Australia. Marvan Atapattu finished off the day with a brace of elegant cover-drives, and Kumar Sangakkara smashed Stuart MacGill for a magnificent six in the last over as Sri Lanka closed on 81 for 1 from 22 overs.It was the 40th time in his 86-match career that Murali had taken five wickets in an innings – extending his own world record – and it wiped out Shane Warne’s six-wicket lead as he extended to his career tally to 491 wickets. The chances of Murali reaching 500 in this game remain extremely remote, but Sri Lanka’s cricket board is taking no chances, speeding up the production of souvenir T-shirts and a commemorative award.Darren Lehmann, back in the side after an Achilles-tendon injury, used his experience and prowess against the spinners to hold the innings together with a battling 63. Lehmann added 72 with Damien Martyn (42) for the fourth wicket, and then 52 for the seventh with fellow returnee Warne (23), who was playing his first Test for 12 months after a drugs ban.The Australian innings, though was dominated by incendiary passages of play. First, midway through the afternoon with a small crowd tiring under a fierce sun, three wickets fell for 15 runs to bring the Martyn-Lehmann recovery to an abrupt halt. Then, straight after the tea interval, the last four wickets tumbled for just five runs in the space of 13 balls.Sri Lanka’s dream day continued as Atapattu and Sanath Jayasuriya added 53 for the first wicket. But Warne’s return to the bowling crease gave Australia something to cheer. There was no wonder-ball to relaunch his career, as eight runs were scored off his first over, but an innocuous straight one accounted for Jayasuriya (35), who missed an attempted sweep.Earlier, Sri Lanka opened the bowling with Chaminda Vaas, their only fast bowler, and Kumar Dharmasena, one of six slow men in the XI. Vaas found a smidgin of swing in his first couple of overs, but the pitch was back-breakingly slow from a fast-bowler’s perspective and, although Hayden offered a difficult return chance on 19, the spinners were always going to hold the key.Justin Langer was the first spin casualty of the series as he rocked onto the back foot and tried to punch Dharmasena through the off side. He was deceived by the low bounce of the offbreak, and Sangakkara took a juggling catch off the toe of the bat (31 for 1).Ricky Ponting, who had finally assumed the Test leadership from Steve Waugh, showed his aggressive intentions immediately. He had batted superbly in the one-day series, clocking up four consecutive fifties, and he started in an equally business-like manner here as 31 runs were added in 39 balls.Muralitharan was drafted into the attack with immediate success, courtesy of an athletic, full-stretch catch by Upul Chandana, sprinting around from a deepish square leg. Hayden, who had top-edged an attempted sweep, had scored 41 from 46 balls, with six fours. The introduction of Chandana was equally successful, this time accounting for the prized scalp of Ponting, stumped by two metres after being lured down the pitch by a flighted legbreak (76 for 3).Martyn and Lehmann steadied the innings for a while, adding 72 in 131 balls for the fourth wicket either side of lunch. Like their colleagues back in the dressing-room, they endeavoured to be positive whenever given an opportunity to score. Lehmann was the bolder, shuffling down the wicket to the slow bowlers as often as he could, even to Muralitharan, whom he lifted for six over long-on.As the partnership started to reach sizeable proportions, Sri Lanka slipped back onto the defensive. Dharmasena operated with a 7-2 field against Martyn, who hasn’t scored a Test century for 25 months. The ploy worked, as he paddle-swept an offbreak straight into the hands of Mahela Jayawardene at leg slip. Martyn had scored 42 from 81 balls and hit three fours (148 for 4).Muralitharan, called back into the attack for a second spell, then spun Sri Lanka firmly back into the driving-seat: Andrew Symonds was adjudged to have edged a fizzing offbreak via his pads to Jayawardene at slip for a debut duck, and Adam Gilchrist’s poor run continued as he toe-ended an awkward sweep to Dharmasena, running in from deep square (163 for 6).Sri Lanka were firmly in charge now, as three wickets had tumbled for 15. But Lehmann, dropped at silly point when 30 off Muralitharan, battled hard, along with Warne. Lehmann chugged past fifty for the fifth time in his career while Warne, riding his luck against Muralitharan, smacked four meaty fours in a valuable cameo.They carried Australia within sight of a competitive score by tea. But Muralitharan ensured that was never achieved after Lehmann fidgeted too far across his stumps, leaving them exposed. Vaas’s offcutter feathered Warne’s outside edge, and Murali mopped up the rabbits: Kasprowicz was bowled through the gate, and Stuart MacGill made a complete hash of a straight one, to leave Murali on a hat-trick in the second innings.
LEFT SIDE: “Where the left side, the left side, the left side and werehere.”MIDDLE: “Where the middle, the middle, the middle and were here.”RIGHT SIDE: “Where the right side, the right side, the right side and werehere.”ALL TOGETHER: “You’re the Sri Lankans, the Sri Lankans, the Sri Lankans andyou’re over there.”According to the Barmy Army melody (and it is not a hard one) you eithersupport England or you don’t. Broken into three bays upon Yabba’s Hill,Sydney Cricket Ground, the Barmy Army do their best to upset opposing fans,and during the England v Sri Lanka game, this Australian journalist learnt alot about the English spirit.Spending time with the Barmy Army is a multitude of melody mixed withgenerous serves of humour. Being able to take a joke is important whenaround the Barmy Army. This I soon discovered after enquires were made aboutmy favourite player and my response of Steve Waugh brought about a smile anda knowing look between members that made me think perhaps there was a betteranswer.Soon I was serenaded with a few Steve Waugh songs – Waugh: what is he goodfor and one about the current Test skipper not making the plane to Jamaicaand going into obscurity just like Mark.I assumed they would be cheeky and to the point. And I also assumed theywould be good fun. I wanted the fun and was not sure whether my thick skincould handle the criticism but luckily today Australia was not playing. (Forif the green and gold¹s were playing my skin would be thinner and theinsults would bring a defensive nature about myself.)Although, these boys and girls can sling mud better than any supporter groupI have known, they also respect and support their own to the death. SteveHarmison bowled a shocking first over; dot, wide, wide, wide, dot, dot, noball, dot, wide, three and six. Not the most impressive over from apromising young bowler but what impressed me was the support given by theArmy. Coming back to his fielding position in front of the Army they clappedand chanted OeStevo¹ as if the lanky quick had just taken a wicket.But being in the Barmy Army means you must also be cheeky.A few bays over to the left a contingent of Sri Lankan supporters haveamassed. Today they have brought with them drums, cymbals and horns to joinin with their clapping and singing as the Sri Lankans do good things.At every run, the horn blare, the cymbals crash and the drums are beaten -for this the Barmy Army really have no comeback. But wait, they start up aruckus chant of “You¹ve only got one song” and take off their shoes and bangthem above their heads to imitate the Sri Lankans. The Sri Lankans playlouder with the entire orchestra joining in. Generous laughter ripples fromthe surrounding England supporters and one journalist as I laugh at them.I find myself laughing a lot. They poke fun at everyone includingthemselves, and me, but they have an affable nature and it¹s not done in amalicious way at all.It¹s fun and done with good taste – they mean nothing by it. Today the pointof their chants is Sri Lanka, next week it may be Australia and in a coupleof months it will be the entire world – well those unfortunates who will goup against England and the Barmy Army at the World Cup.And today the aim is also directed at the Sydney Cricket Ground itself.According to the Barmy Army – it is curry day. When they were here for theTest, the SCG did not sell curry. But today because England is playing SriLanka curry is on sale. So the first commandment is to eat all the curry sothe Sri Lankans are forced to eat pies and chips.With only a small number remaining they may well fall short of the target.In addition to eating all the curry, the Army has made up a tune to go handin hand with Curry Day. Soon OeThe 12 days of Christmas¹ becomes OeThe 12curries of Sydney¹.The song written on a piece of paper at the pub this morning by two of themembers is soon rushed to a local Internet café where 200 copies are madeand then distributed to Army troops. The song is sung with gusto as Englandtries to keep the total as low as possible.The Barmy Army though is more than a bunch of English people who gettogether to sing songs and annoy the fellow spectators. During the week, thelads went up against the Kings Cross World Bar side in a match of cricket.With three balls to spare from a 30-over-a-side match played at CentennialPark, the Barmy Army XXI beat a World Bar XIX with all the money raised fromthe match going towards the Leukemia Foundation – it also gave England theirsecond win against Australia this tour.The time spent with the Barmy Army was fun and entertaining. They lovecricket and enjoy a joke along with a beer whether it is on the left, rightor in the middle.
Indian captain Saurav Ganguly on Sunday put up a brave face followingyet another failure with the bat and drew solace from the fact that heclaimed two wickets in the triangular one-day series match againstZimbabwe.”If not with the bat, at least with the ball I had something,” saidGanguly after India’s comprehensive nine wicket win over Zimbabwe. “Itwas good I had a couple of wickets and a catch from the game.”Expressing satisfaction with his team’s performance, Ganguly said, “Webowled and batted well. It’s just one game and we still have fourleft, including the final. It will be all-important because we havenot been doing well in finals.”Ganguly admitted it was an important toss to win. “The toss wasimportant because the wicket was doing a bit. Our bowlers bowledpretty well and they (Zimbabwe) didn’t bat that well. I thought it(toss) would make a difference but I never thought it would make somuch of difference,” he said. “It was a good wicket when India wentinto bat. You rarely get such wickets with so much of life in thefirst session in a one-day match. I had seen it in Toronto whenwickets had so much life and I saw it today.”
An update has emerged on Rangers and Gio van Bronckhorst’s plans for the future of the number one position at Ibrox…
What’s the talk?
According to the Daily Mail, the Gers are one of the teams plotting a swoop for a player in the second division of English football.
It’s thought that Rangers want to sign England stopper Sam Johnstone when the window opens in a few months’ time.
The report claims that they are looking at potential replacements for 40-year-old shot-stopper Allan McGregor and have identified the West Brom man as a player who could come in.
He is out of contract at the end of the season and a number of Premier League sides are set to battle the Glasgow giants for his signature. The Daily Mail state that Tottenham, Newcastle, West Ham and Southampton are all eyeing the Baggies star up.
Bargain
Van Bronckhorst is plotting a swoop for the 29-year-old and Ross Wilson must ensure that he can get this deal over the line as it would be a bargain signing for the Gers.
He is available for £0 in the summer because of his contractual situation at The Hawthorns, with his £18k-per-week wages being the only issue for Rangers. Nine of the current squad are reportedly on as much per week or more than the ex-Manchester Unite man, which suggests that the club can afford his wages.
The shot-stopper would be a bargain addition as he has proven his quality south of the border. Steve Bruce, who managed him at Aston Villa, previously showered Johnstone with praise. He said:
“We all knew he was a top class goalkeeper and he’s looking the part now.
“He’s a diamond – first in, last out. He’s a typical goalkeeper who wants to learn. A big pat on the back to my coach, Walshy, too. He’s worked hard with him and has always said to me ‘take him, he’s the best young goalkeeper in the country’.”
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Micah Richards once dubbed the monster as being “exceptional” on Match of the Day and his form in the Premier League for the Baggies backed that up. In the 2020/21 campaign, he averaged an impressive SofaScore rating of 7.01 across 37 matches, making zero errors directly leading to goals and saving 69% of the shots against him.
McGregor, meanwhile, has averaged a SofaScore rating of 6.80 in the Premiership. He has saved 68% of the shots on target against him and made three errors directly leading to goals, which suggests that he is more prone to making mistakes than the Englishman.
Therefore, bringing Johnstone in would improve the Rangers XI as he is more reliable between the sticks and he has proven his quality at the top level. He is also 11 years younger than McGregor and this means that he could be the Gers number one for many, many, years to come.
AND in other news, GvB can save Rangers millions with “brave” 48-goal teen who’s “clinical and calm”…
Shivnarine Chanderpaul might have picked up a host of honours at the West Indies Players’ Association awards but in doing so he infuriated both his own team and his opponents in their ongoing Carib Beer Series match. Chanderpaul was unbeaten on 78 at stumps on the first day of Guyana’s home game against Windward Islands when he departed for the awards ceremony in Trinidad.However, neither Guyana’s manager Carl Moore nor their coach Albert Smith was able to explain Chanderpaul’s absence and he was deemed “retired out”. Smith said it was disappointing the batsman had not discussed the situation with the team’s management.”He is our most dependable batsman and has done so much for West Indiescricket as a top-class batsman,” Smith told . “But if he knew he was just using this game for some practice and would then leave the guys he should have at least informed me as the coach and maybe allowed one of the youngsters to play.”The situation so incensed the Windward Islands that when they started their innings after lunch they refused to let Guyana use a substitute fielder. The Windward Islands manager Lockhart Sebastien was furious at the seemingly blasé attitude to a first-class game.”This is not a curry goat match,” Sebastien said. “This is a first-class encounter and things like this are allowed to happen and we wonder why West Indies cricket is in the state that it is in.”Chanderpaul told Devon [Smith] yesterday [Saturday] that he was here just to take a knock but we assumed he was joking. If he knew he had to leave then he should not have played and given one of the other youngsters a chance.”
Darren Gough suffered a broken hand – and will be out for a month – after turning back the clock and taking his best figures for seven years as Yorkshire made Kent follow-on at Tunbridge Wells. Geraint Jones (62) and Andrew Hall (77) added 126 to give Kent hope of staging a fight back, but Gough ran through the lower-order having earlier claimed Neil Dexter. However, trying to stop a straight drive from Ryan McLaren, Gough suffered his injury although still managed to remove McLaren after the blow. But two balls into his 17th over was forced off as his hand began to swell. Trailing by 259, Joe Denly fell went for 9 before Robert Key and Martin van Jaarsveld responded with an unbroken stand of 135. Key, who reached 62 in the first innings, batted for another three hours but needs to continue his rearguard on the final day. “It is a sickening blow,” said Gough following the x-ray which proved a broken metacarpal, “and the only consolation is that we have just one Championship match against Sussex at Headingley next week before the start of the Twenty20 Cup. I think I should be fit to return once these games have ended.”Chris Adams’ blistering 103 set Hampshire an unlikely 500 to beat Sussex on the third day at Arundel. Murray Goodwin fell for 99, but Adams motored onwards cracking 11 fours and three sixes in his 95-ball 103 as Sussex declared on 360 for 5. The two Hampshire openers, Michael Brown and Jimmy Adams, both fell cheaply leaving Hampshire struggling on 133 for 2, with Michael Lumb unbeaten on 62, still requiring a further 367 to win.Lancashire set up the platform to have a final-day push for victory after building on a lead of 55 with a positive second innings, extending their advantage to 365, against Durham at Chester-le-Street. Another five-wicket haul for Muttiah Muralitharan secured Lancashire the useful lead then Paul Horton (56) and Mark Chilton opened with a stand of 92. The healthy progress was maintain by Stuart Law’s 69-ball 61. Durham, though, continued to chip away and at 215 for 6 there was a chance to keep the target down to something manageable. But Luke Sutton (41) and Dominic Cork (48) added 90 and the home side face a day of trying to repel the mastery of Muralitharan.Surrey’s middle-order collapsed on the third day against Worcestershire at New Road, slipping to 370 all out. Surrey were going nicely with Jon Batty notching 114 and Mark Ramprakash 84, putting on 165 for the second wicket. However, both fell in quick succession as Surrey slipped from 271 for 2 to 370 all out – still trailing Worcestershire’s mammoth 701 by 331 runs. Kyle Hogg, on loan from Lancashire, and Gareth Batty each took three wickets. Following on, Surrey lost Jon Batty for 13, going to stumps at 59 for 1 with one day remaining in which to salvage a draw.
Division Two
4th dayDean Cosker took 5 for 69 as Glamorgan registered their first Championship win of the season, over Nottinghamshire, who they beat by 55 runs on the final day at Swansea. After bowling out Glamorgan for 263, Nottinghamshire were set 263 from 72 overs but collapsed to 207 all out. Jason Gallian and Bilal Shafayat fell cheaply before Mark Wagh (50) and David Hussey (63) gave hope of Nottinghamshire chasing down their target. However, from 115 for 4 they slumped dramatically, Wagh falling to Cosker and Robert Croft picking up David Hussey. Graeme Swann struck a fighting 37 before Alex Wharf wrapped up the innings with two quick wickets.Gloucestershire’s match against Derbyshire ended in a draw at Derby, after the visitors racked up an imposing 441 to deny Derbyshire’s push for victory. Hamish Marshall fell without adding to his overnight 120, and Alex Gidman couldn’t add another century, falling four short. But Mark Hardinges held up Derbyshire’s march and, finding useful allies in David Brown (43) and Carl Greenidge, posted his fourth first-class hundred. This left Derbyshire 200 to win from 28 overs, and they finishing on 40 for 1 from 15 overs.3rd daySomerset wrapped up the most comprehensive of wins over Leicestershire at Taunton with Charl Willoughby picking up the final two wickets. Stuart Broad and David Masters (31*) delayed the inevitable, extending their ninth-wicket stand to 48, but Willoughby yorked Broad for 35 to signal the end. Nick Walker, the No. 11, lasted eight balls, to hand Somerset an innings-and-259-run win.Essex continued to boss proceedings at Chelmsford and have teed up a winning position for the fourth day. Although rain washed out most of the morning, there was still time to bowl out Northamptonshire for 241 – James Middlebrook leading the way with 4 for 53 – and then take two more scalps as the visitors followed on. Northants face an uphill battle to save the match, still trailing by 297 runs with eight wickets remaining, and hopes will rest largely on Stephen Peters, who is unbeaten 51, and the in-form Lance Klusener, who was left stranded on 70 in the first innings.
Dinanath Ramnarine, the West Indies Players Association (WIPA) president, has said that the West Indies Cricket Board (WICB) is slowing down the process of trying to conclude an agreement over long-standing issues.Speaking in an interview with CMC Cricket Plus on the fourth day of the Carib Beer Series final between Barbados and Trinidad and Tobago at Guaracara Park, Ramnarine said a recent letter from Ken Gordon, the WICB president, appeared not to rubber-stamp an agreement that had been earlier reached with other WICB executives.”One of the constraints that we have is that you would have heard around February 6, the chief executive of the WICB basically saying we reached agreement on the collective labour agreement, the code of conduct and the memorandum of understanding,” Ramnarine said. “I recently received a letter from the president of the board basically saying those agreements were drafts. Our position is that we signed off on the agreement. There wasn’t a signature, but it was agreed across the table.”The two parties met last Thursday in an effort to try and resolve issues that have plagued West Indies cricket over the past two years. “What [has] frustrated the whole process in dealing with the WICB is every time we negotiate with them and you reach an agreement across the table, the next meeting everything changes,” Ramnarine said.Recently, Clive Lloyd, chairman of the WICB’s cricket committee, called on WIPA to try and reach an agreement over retainer contracts by mid-April. Ramnarine said, however, WIPA would not rush to sign a contract for the sake of signing.”The gist of it and the question we have to ask ourselves is if we sign the retainer contracts, are the players going to be better off. We are not going to be pressured by anybody into signing a retainer contract because we are the only team that does not have a retainer contract. We will sign the retainer contract once we believe that it is a fair and reasonable contract and it is in the best interest of the player,” said Ramnarine. “We are not going to be put under pressure by anybody. I don’t have any pressure from my members. They are well aware of what is taking place and are very supportive.”