Dear Editor,
If I were a West Indian cricketer I would make every effort to persuade other cricketers to demand a different type of contract from the WICB. Such a contract must have substantially the following provisions, or at least deal with the issues that arise from these kinds of provisions.
Description of the parties: That the WICB is a private corporation, and that I am a professional cricketer.
Status of the WICB: There would be an acknowledgement that the WICB has historically been the de facto manager of West Indian cricketers when they are engaged in international cricket, and that I have been chosen to represent the region known for cricketing purposes as the West Indies.
Source of revenue: There would be an acknowledgement of all the sources of revenue of the WICB and the use to which these funds can legally be allocated.
Good faith requirement: There would be a provision requiring the WICB to negotiate with me either directly or through my representative in good faith in arriving at an appropriate figure for my remuneration, with a requirement that the WICB provide me or my representative with an audited statement of income and expenses for the prior year and a reliable statement of projected income and expenses for the following year.
Relationship of the parties: The parties will agree to treat each other with respect in their dealings.
Obligation of fitness: I will agree to meet whatever reasonable standard of fitness is required by the WICB, provided such standard is an objective one, in the sense that whether I meet the standard or not can be verified by a qualified third party.
Player assistance: The WICB will agree to have available for my assistance at a minimum, a head coach, a batting coach, a bowling coach, a fielding coach, a physician, a physiotherapist, a sports psychologist, and statistician-video specialist.
Termination of player’s right to play: I would acknowledge the WICB’s right to appoint a person or persons to determine when I shall or shall not be included in a squad or playing eleven, provided that since I am representing the West Indies and not the WICB, under no circumstances shall my eligibility for selection be determined by criteria other than the interests of the region. If a dispute arises about the criteria issue I shall not be removed from the squad or playing eleven until that issue has been resolved by mediation or arbitration.
Player`s rights when injured: There would be unambiguous provisions dealing with the rights and duties of both parties in the event of player injury, and such provisions must be skewed in favour of the player.
Mediation and arbitration: In order to have speedy resolution of disputes, the agreements should rely heavily on mediation and arbitration.
Yours faithfully,
Romain Pitt
