BRIDGETOWN, Barbados, CMC – The West Indies Players Association has turned to CARICOM for help in brokering a solution to the impasse with the West Indies Cricket Board.

In a media release late yesterday, WIPA said it had written to current CARICOM chairman, Guyana’s President Bharrat Jagdeo, asking him to intervene in the dispute that has resulted in the West Indies first choice players refusing to play.

President Bharrat Jagdeo,

“We at WIPA are fully conscious of the importance of cricket to the economy and unity of the region, and the psyche of its peoples – matters in which you and other Heads of Governments are continuously and intrinsically involved,” WIPA wrote in the letter to President Jagdeo on Monday.

“Our players are deeply mindful of this responsibility they shoulder on behalf of this important group of stakeholders. It is, therefore, in this context that we at WIPA wish to have a speedy resolution to these issues.”

WIPA, the Windies players’ union, said President Jagdeo had already communicated with them and the WICB, and a meeting had been scheduled to discuss the matter.

The Dinanath Ramnarine-led WIPA said it was confident CARICOM could find a solution to the latest wrangling which has also resulted in a makeshift squad being assembled for the current two-Test series against Bangladesh.

Last week, a meeting between WIPA and the WICB aimed at finding a solution to the dispute, collapsed after just 23 minutes.