West Indian players to attend training camp

BRIDGETOWN, NOVEMBER 27 (AP)

The dispute between the West Indian players and the board appeared closer to being resolved after the sixteen players dropped earlier were allowed to attend a three-week training camp in Barbados from November 30.

The latest development came about after Keith Mitchell, the Grenada prime minister, mediated in talks between the players and the board. Mitchell, who is also the chairman of the Caribbean Community, and Reginald Farley, the Barbados sports minister, met representatives from both parties separately and then together

The board had earlier dropped 16 players after they refused to sign a controversial contract which prevented them from promoting any company which was a rival of Digicel, a telecommunications company which had signed a US$20million deal with the West Indian board. However, many players had earlier signed individual deals with Cable & Wireless, a rival company. The board wanted the players to terminate those contracts for free, which the players refused to do, leading to the standoff. The dispute threatened to jeopardise West Indies' participation in the VB Series, with Cricket Australia insisting on a full-strength line-up for the tournament.