Sri Lankan players join ICC sponsorship row

Sri Lanka's cricketers have refused to sign the International Cricket Council contract that is threatening the participation of leading Asian players in the ICC Champions Trophy next month.

The Sri Lanka team returned home after the Morocco Cup 2002 on Friday and player representatives met with the Board of Control for Cricket in Sri Lanka (BCCSL) to voice their concerns.

The BCCSL is urging the players to sign the controversial ICC contract designed to prevent `ambush marketing' during the ICC Champions Trophy and the ICC World Cup, but the players will not do so unless key conditions are met.

BCCSL chief executive Anura Tennekoon confirmed the players' refusal to sign, saying: "They declined to sign the contracts pending clarification to certain matters".

Newspapers in Sri Lanka on Sunday claimed that the players were demanding 30% of the revenue accrued by the BCCSL from the ICC Champions Trophy and ICC World Cup as compensation.

An anonymous player is quoted in the Sunday Times as saying: "If the players are not permitted to endorse any products and expected only to promote a selected product they should be compensated and remunerated accordingly."

The players have requested that the cricket board negotiate with former Sri Lanka fast bowler Graeme Labrooy, a representative from the Sri Lanka Cricketers' Association (SLCA), who has been discussing the issue with the world players' body (FICA).

Labrooy has also insisted that: "Any future contract signed with the ICC that involves the players must have their consent."

But despite the players' reluctance to sign the contract, they are expected to do so, at least for the ICC Champions Trophy, considering the fact that Sri Lanka is hosting the tournament and that few of the players currently endorse international brands.

During the past week the Australian, English, New Zealand and South African cricket boards reached agreement with their respective player associations, ensuring that their top players will participate in the 12-team tournament starting Sept 12.

However, the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) has not been able to persuade its star players, who are not contracted to the BCCI and earn the majority of their income from endorsement deals, to sign the ICC agreement.