Guyana board, players reach settlement over CLT20

The Guyana Cricket Board (GCB) has reached a settlement with its players which ends the impasse between the board and the West Indies Players' Association (WIPA) - the representative body for cricketers in the region - over the distribution of the participation fee for the Champions League Twenty20 and issues concerning the team's image rights for the tournament.

Guyana qualified for the Champions League by winning the Caribbean T20, but a dispute over contract negotiations between the GCB and the players association raised doubts about their participation in the tournament.

The crisis grew when the GCB secured an injunction against WIPA from the acting Chief Justice of the country, barring WIPA from making alterations to the board's contract with the tournament organisers. The injunction and the escalating controversy prompted the intervention of the Guyanese government, leading to a settlement after a meeting between Chetram Singh, the GCB president, and Ramnaresh Sarwan, the Guyana captain.

The WIPA had objected to the WICB's decision to keep a third of the participation fee - US$500,000 - claiming that "retaining such a large sum could have a direct negative impact on Guyanese cricket and its players". It reportedly alleged the GCB had not responded to its proposal of distributing the remaining two-thirds. Also, the image rights of the team members were claimed by the West Indies Players Management Company (WIPMACOL), which is said to have sought the WIPA's involvement in the GCB's agreement over the same with the Champions League.

The issue however seems to have been resolved now, allowing Guyana to concentrate on the Champions League. "We consider this the end of any problem with contracts and are now focusing on our preparation and training camp for South Africa," Singh told the Sunday Express after his meeting with Sarwan. "Once there is an agreement, the injunction is not important... that is of no importance whatever, I don't know what the legal term is but we consider it over." The details of the settlement are not yet known.

The impasse served as a repeat of a similar breakdown in negotiations between the Trinidad and Tobago Cricket Board and WIPA prior to the inaugural Champions League last year in India.