PRESIDENT Bharrat Jagdeo, Chairman of CARICOM, met representatives of the West Indies Cricket Board (WICB) and the West Indies Players Association (WIPA), and Sir Shridath Ramphal who has been the appointed mediator in the impasse.

Yesterday H.E. Jagdeo held meetings with presidents of WIPA and WICB, Dinanauth Ramnarine and Dr Julian Hunte respectively, at his Shiv Chanderpaul Drive office and from all indications talks have borne some fruit. After three hours of talks, both Hunte and Ramnarine reported that “they have reached agreement on immediate mediation of the dispute between them”.

A press release from the Office of the President (OP) stated, while the mediation will derive its authority from the agreement of the parties, both the “WICB and WIPA thanked the Chairman for his good office”. In addition, the parties have jointly invited Ramphal, former Commonwealth Secretary General, to be mediator.

The press release from OP stated: “They have done so on the basis of their mutual acceptance of the importance and urgency of resolving the immediate differences between them, and setting their relations on a path of lasting cooperation. Both parties have taken this step mindful of the interests of their respective organisations, but conscious also of their wider responsibilities to the people of the WI and the international sport of cricket.”

Speaking to Ramnarine after talks yesterday he stated that no date has been set for mediation talks. But it was noted that “in light of the mediation agreement which the parties expect to lead to the resolution of outstanding issues all the players will make themselves available for selection”.

Further, the WIPA and WICB will each nominate a facilitator from among their membership to assist Sir Ramphal in his interaction with the parties. President Jagdeo welcomed the concurrence of both parties in the process and said that it was a good sign that “they had themselves agreed on mediation”.

He took time out to wish the mediation process well and said that CARICOM would always stand ready to assist if required.

WICB and WIPA have been embroiled in controversy over players’ contracts and salaries. Hence regular senior players have been on a strike from the beginning of the current tour of Bangladesh in the Caribbean, forcing the WICB to field a second strength West Indies team.