Desmond Haynes wants end to WICB, players spat

Bridgetown (Barbados), Nov 15 (IANS/CMC) Legendary former West Indies opener Desmond Haynes wants an end to the bickering between the West Indies Cricket Board (WICB) and its players.

The 58-year-old Haynes, whose illustrious career marked the high point of West Indies cricket during the late 1970s and 1980s, said the stakeholders needed to stop the "blaming game" and get the matter resolved as quickly as possible, reports CMC.

“I would like to see some unity. I would like to see us get it sorted from all angles,” Haynes was quoted as saying by the Barbados Today online newspaper Friday.

“I would hope that we as a people would not look at a blaming game, but look at trying to find solutions.”

The Barbadian finished his career with 7487 runs from 116 Tests and 8648 runs from 238 One-Day Internationals. 

He is regarded as one of the finest openers to have played the game in either format.

Haynes, who recently served as a batting consultant to the West Indies team, said the regional side could return to the top of world cricket but warned the process would be a long one.

“I would like to see us back on top most definitely, number one in the world but it’s going to take some time,” Haynes acknowledged.

West Indies players, the WICB and players union, WIPA, have been locked in a dispute ever since the one-day players abruptly quit the tour of India last month over a contracts row.

A definitive resolution to the crisis is yet to be announced.