10 July,2009 08:40 AM IST | | Agencies
The standoff between the West Indies Cricket Board (WICB) and the West Indies Players' Association (WIPA) over player contracts continued as a meeting between the two bodies failed yesterday.
A WICB statement stated after the meeting read: "WICB impressed upon WIPA that it was not prepared, consistent with good industrial relations practices, to negotiate under duress, and insisted that before any negotiations, the players' strike would first have to end. WIPA refused and the meeting which had begun at 9.37 am (Trinidadu00a0 time, 6.30 pm IST) concluded at 10 am. As an act of good faith, WICB has determined that, in the best interest of West Indies cricket, it will pay to its former players the sums it had offered to pay during its previous negotiations with WIPA," the statement added.
Meanwhile, openers Tamim Iqbal and Imrul Kayes gave Bangladesh a solid start in the 18.5 overs that were possible before rain prompted an early close to the first Test against a second-string West Indies side. Tamim was on 14 and Kayes on 26 as Bangladesh totalled 42 without loss.
