Trinidad cricket board condemns Windies players pull out

Port-of-Spain, Oct 29 (IANS/CMC) The Trinidad and Tobago Cricket Board (TTCB) has condemned the recent decision by the West Indies cricketers to abort their tour of India.

The condemnation came in the form of a motion moved during the 58th annual general meeting of the TTCB in Couva over the weekend, reports CMC.

The motion came after a three-hour long meeting punctuated with heated moments but was met with strong support.

"While our board recognises the rights of the players, we feel that the decision to abruptly end the tour has brought collective shame to the people of the Caribbean while also bringing the game into disrepute," the motion read.

"We acknowledge that the stain of this action will be difficult to erase and our board pledges its full support to the West Indies Cricket Board (WICB) in its efforts to mitigate the myriad negative repercussions that will emanate from same."

There was one notable dissenting voice to the motion in former president of the West Indies Players' Association (WIPA) Dinanath Ramnarine.

Ramnarine, a controversial figure, attended the meeting with ex-national captain Daren Ganga whose bid to unseat incumbent TTCB president Azim Bassarath in national executive elections one year ago, was unsuccessful.

The West Indies cricketers, pulled out of the India tour after the fourth One-Day International (ODI) in Dharamsala, shocking the international cricketing world, despite a fifth and final ODI, a Twenty20 match and three Tests still to be played. They lost the five-match ODI series 2-1.

They pulled out protesting the terms and conditions of the Collective Bargaining Agreement (CBA), signed recently between the WICB and WIPA.

Players have argued it results in a drastic reduction in their earnings and have called for a return to the old CBA.

--IANS/CMC