WIPA wants better scheduling of international cricket

West Indies Players Association (WIPA) president Wavell Hinds says better scheduling of international games is need to ease the burden of players missing national duties due to franchise cricket.

Hinds’ comments come after the West Indies Cricket Board (WICB) moved to levy 20% of the contract fee on any Caribbean player wishing to participate in an overseas T20 tournament.

“The WICB’s 20% levy imposition on West Indian cricketers is not the way to go. I think the main issue is the structure and scheduling of international cricket which in itself brings about persons and players moving around from tournament to tournament trying to earn a living in a very meaningful way,” noted Hinds.

However, WICB CEO Michael Muirhead says the intended level would not affect players. “We were never targeting the players. We were always targeting the boards who get the benefits because they are the ones that commercialise and gets the benefits from them. So we thought it fair that it should be the franchise/cricket boards that come forward with some compensation,” said Muirhead.