(Jamaica Gleaner) The Jamaica Cricket Association (JCA) is expected to, before the end of the month, conduct a long-awaited mediation meeting with West Indies batsman Chris Gayle in a bid to stem the ongoing dispute between himself and the West Indies Cricket Board (WICB).
The meeting, which had been on the table since late last year, has been on hold due to a misunderstanding between the JCA and the WICB, as it relates to their respective roles and responsibilities in the process leading up to the talks.
However, according to JCA secretary Fritz Harris, the misunderstanding was sorted out at a WICB board meeting last weekend, and all parties were looking forward to the matter being addressed soon.
Solution
“As expressed first when we proposed the idea, we believe that mediation can go a long way in finding a solution to the problems affecting both parties,” said Harris.
“We are, therefore, happy that everything now seems to be in place for the meeting to go ahead in short order, and the hope is that it will take place before the end of the month,” he declared.
Harris, however, refused to say who is expected to chair the meeting, saying that a couple of persons have been proposed and it appears that both parties seem to be reaching an agreement.
JCA President Lyndel Wright, during a radio interview recently, had said among those being considered to chair the meeting was WICB Disciplinary Committee chairman and International Cricket Council Code of Conduct Commission member, Justice Adrian Saunders.
The Gleaner also understands that former Prime Minister P.J. Patterson is among the listing.
Gayle and the WICB have been at loggerheads since last April when, during a local radio interview, he criticised members of the WICB and West Indies coaching staff.
The WICB has since said that he will not be considered for selection unless he apologises or withdraw his statements, which Gayle refused to do.
