WIPA rejects WICB decision to keep portion of 20/20 fees

Regional players’ union West Indies Players’ Association (WIPA) has disagreed with the West Indies Cricket Board’s (WICB) move to hold on to a third of the half-million US-dollar participation fee for next month’s Airtel Champions League.



In a release last night, WIPA contended that no precedent had been set for the Board to retain any part of the fee and said the decision could affect Guyana’s cricket and its players adversely.



The release stated that WIPA is of the view that retaining such a large sum could have a direct negative impact on Guyanese cricket and its players.



It further says no monies were deducted from the Trinidad board for last year’s participation.



Guyana captured the inaugural Caribbean 20/20 Trophy last month to qualify for the club Champions League in South Africa but the US$500,000 fee paid to the WICB by organisers has become a source of contention.



The WICB announced last week it would retain a third of the participation fee to offset costs of staging last month’s tournament, before passing on the remaining two-thirds to the Guyana Cricket Board.



According to the WICB, the July 22-31 tournament played in Barbados and Trinidad and Tobago was staged at a cost of US$2 million.



However, WIPA, which is headed by president and chief executive Dinanath Ramnarine, contended that no financial figures from the tournament had yet been released to validate the WICB’s claims.



Guyana are scheduled to play their first match in South Africa on September 12 against Royal Challengers Bangalore.