Logie who coached the regional side to the ICC Champions Trophy title, was responding to a published report that the ‘Greats’ from the 1983 Clive Lloyd team signed retainer contracts with the WICB, when their services were being sought by top officials from South Africa.

This year tournament will be played on a home-and-away basis ensuring that each of the six teams taking part will play at least 10 games each. A significant change is that the final will be contested over five days.

Among those waiting payment for retainer contracts signed more than 20 years ago include former captains Clive Lloyd and Viv Richards and legends like Gordon Greenidge, Desmond Haynes, Joel Garner and Michael Holding.

The role of West Indies Cricket Board (WICB) coaching manager Darren Holder was called into question this week after he ignored a request by the Antigua Cricket Association (ACA) to conduct a Level One course for coaches on the island.

Chairman of the ACA development committee, Fitzroy Quinlan, sent a letter to the board on November 17 asking for Holder's services to run the coaching course between November 23-28. The WICB replied on November 26 and told the ACA that Holder had been directed to discuss the request and set up an appropriate time to conduct the training.

The West Indies players called to camp in Barbados were all decked out in Digicel gear during an intense session with new coach Australian Bennett King yesterday at the 3W’s Oval.

The team, minus Jamaicans Wavell Hinds and Chris Gayle (the duo was expected in late Wednesday evening), all attended the sessions in full Digicel gear as a compromise with the West Indies Cricket Board (WICB) and the players association.

Saunders, who is acting Chief Justice of the Eastern Caribbean Supreme Court (ECSC), will issue a binding ruling on the disputed Clause 1-K of a previous match/tour contract that has a direct bearing on the current controversy.

That's one of the latest hiccups in negotiations between the WICB and WIPA that has led to a delay in the pre-tour camp scheduled to begin in Barbados today (Monday).

Bennett King must be breathing a sigh of relief after a new round of talks between the WICB and the players' association ensured that a full-strength squad will be in Barbados for the pre-tour camp.

Following the intervention of CARICOM, the two sides agreed to have an independent adjudicator rule on the interpretation of a clause in a previous match/tour contract that would have a direct bearing on the disputed 'Clause 5' that is at the centre of the latest controversy.

The latest Australian to join the West Indies coaching staff is Stephen Partridge, who will replace Andrew Simpsion as the team physiotherapist. Partridge gets a three-year contract and will arrive in the Caribbean this weekend to join the pre-tour camp in Barbados.

Chief executive officer of FICA Tim May has thrown his support behind the West Indies Players' Association (WIPA), arguing that the players cannot possibly be expected to give away their individual rights without adequate compensation.

Just days after insisting that 'Clause 5' of the match/tour contract was non-negotiable, the WICB has accepted an invitation from CARICOM's Dr Keith Mitchell to restart discussions with WIPA. The WICB will be represented by president Teddy Griffith.

Cricket Australia said on Thursday it could consider an alternative team to replace the West Indies in the tournament if the WICB side does not resolve the contract dispute with the players' association.

In a statement, WIPA said the dispute centres around the WICB's stance that it owns the individual rights of the players in the team and, therefore, is allowed to sell those rights without remuneration.

Middle order batsmen Shiv Chanderpaul and Ricardo Powell are among the nine players who have brushed off advice from the West Indies Players Association (WIPA) not to sign the Match and Tour contract for the upcoming one-day series in Australia.

Chanderpaul, who has had a testy relationship with WIPA over the years, joined his Guyanese colleagues Reon King and Narsingh Deonarine in accepting the controversial 'Clause 5' that covers player endorsements and team sponsorship.

Percy Patson back again chaps, wearing my Nike shorts and my Adidas shirt and looking well fit. I must pontificate on the intellectuals running the West Indies game. Come to think of it, never have I presided over the butchery of a word like intellectual as in this case.

First, this is a case which is extremely simple, despite the apparent legal complexity that exists. Cable & Wireless and Digicel are both corporate companies looking out for their best interests.