Wavell Hinds refuses to resign as WIPA president

Wavell Hinds

Kingston (Jamaica), Oct 10 (IANS/CMC) West Indies Players' Association (WIPA) president Wavell Hinds said he will not resign in the wake of a fall-out with the cricketers who are currently on tour to India.

The players, led by skipper Dwayne Bravo, have demanded Hinds' resignation with other WIPA officials because of conflict of interest, reports CMC.

In a letter to Hinds, Bravo said the players have lost confidence in the president because of the collective bargaining agreement/memorandum of understanding (CBA/MOU) he signed with the West Indies Cricket Board (WICB) on their behalf.

"I must take this opportunity to remind you that there is a process embedded in WIPA's memorandum and articles of association regarding the election and removal of officers, and that your call for some members of the current executive and board to resign is not supported by that process," said Hinds in his letter to Bravo.

"We were placed here by the rules of our association, and will leave only according to the will of the majority of our membership as provided in those rules."

Hinds, also WIPA's chief executive, serves as Jamaica's chairman of selectors and is a board member of the Jamaica Cricket Association.

"There will be no resignation by any member of the current executive," declared Hinds.

The players protested the new terms of WIPA's CBA/MOU deal with the WICB by threatening action on the eve of the first One-Day International against India in Kochi Wednesday.

They argued that the new agreement reduced their income and that their Test, ODI and Twenty20 fees had been decreased by 75 percent.

They also claimed that their International Cricket Council (ICC) fees have been decreased by "close to 100 percent" and that they would not be compensated for the use of their rights under the new deal.

Hinds' letter to Bravo dismisses those claims as false and said the new agreement reflects a 15 percent across the board increase in match fees and retainer contracts that range from 12.5 percent to 25 percent, with the introduction of two new contract categories.

The WIPA president has also disputed Bravo's claims that the players' union is receiving, in addition to the three percent of all players earnings, a sum of $500,000 annually from WICB once the new agreement remains.

"The assertion is wrong on two counts: WIPA does not receive three percent of all players' earnings. In fact there are many of our members who contribute nothing to the association by way of dues - including a number of them who are currently on tour in India," said Hinds.

"May I also remind you that it was this current WIPA executive which (at the request of some 'senior players') reduced the percentage of players' earnings to be paid over as dues from the previous five percent to the current three percent."