Guyana President Bharat Jagdeo will hold separate meetings later today in his nation's capital with officials from the West Indies Cricket Board (WICB) and the West Indies Players' Association (WIPA) in an attempt to settle their bitter dispute.
Guyana President Bharat Jagdeo will hold separate meetings later today in his nation's capital with officials from the West Indies Cricket Board (WICB) and the West Indies Players' Association (WIPA) in an attempt to settle their bitter dispute.
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Attorney-at-law Gerard Pinard, a member of the WICB's negotiating team, confirmed today's meeting with President Jagdeo, chairman of the Heads of Government of the Caribbean Community (CARICOM), which is similar in its function to the African Union.
"WIPA had asked President Jagdeo as chairman of CARICOM to intervene in the current dispute and as a matter of courtesy he has also extended an invitation to the WICB to meet with him," said Pinard in an interview with the Caribbean Media Corporation, the regional news agency.
"We are not meeting together with WIPA. We will meet at 12 noon, and they will meet at another time during the day."
He added: "When the President of Guyana and the chairman of CARICOM invites you to a meeting you have to go and meet with him.
"We are hoping for the best to come out of this situation and we will be going into that meeting with a totally open mind."
Pinard will be accompanied by WICB President Julian Hunte, WICB Vice President Dave Cameron, WICB Legal Officer Alana Medford, and legal consultant Derek Ali.
No details have been released about the WIPA representatives who will attend the meeting, but Executive President Dinanath Ramnarine is likely to head the list.
The latest dispute erupted two weeks ago, when 13 of the leading players made themselves unavailable for the first Test against Bangladesh in St Vincent citing pay and contract issues.