West Indies Cricket Board (WICB) chief executive, Ernest Hilaire has chided players union president, Dinanath Ramnarine over his public criticism of the shortened regional first-class season, and says the board had taken a financially prudent decision in cutting back on the number of matches in next year's championship.
Offering a staunch defence of the WICB's move to reduce the number of rounds in the tournament by half, Hilaire said the regional governing body for cricket was acting responsibly in managing the finances at its disposal, and noted that an extended regional season would not have been feasible money-wise.
Further, Hilaire said that while the WICB and the West Indies Players' Association (WIPA) had not reached an agreement on the length of the season, the board needed to press ahead with administering the game in the region.
Earlier this week, Ramnarine criticised the seven-round championship, labelling it "insufficient" for the needs of players and calling for a review of the fixtures especially since the WICB and WIPA had failed to reach agreement on the issue.
In a release yesterday, Hilaire said he was disappointed in Ramnarine's response, denouncing the players' union's approach to the matter.
"After the recent dispute with WIPA, it was publicly expressed by the WICB that it would be seeking to establish a relationship based on mutual trust, respect and cooperation," Hilaire said.
"As CEO, I expressed a desire for maturing our relationship by moving from a situation where every disagreement or difference becomes a public spat."
He continued: "It is unfortunate that behaviour patterns cannot change so easily and as WIPA has not got its way on this matter, it seeks public announcement of its position and creates the context for a public fight.
"It is ironic that WIPA is calling for a meeting and doing so not through the established and respected procedures but through the public medium."
Home-and-away basis
This year's first-class cham-pionship consisted of 14 rounds with each of the seven sides playing each other twice, on a home-and-away basis.
Hilaire contended, however, that this format was not sustainable financially as it had cost the WICB US$3.5 million in a year when fees for players and officials had also been increased. Next year, the championship will comprise seven rounds with each round hosted in one territory.
"The strategic consideration centres on the optimisation of the limited resources of the WICB," said the recently installed WICB top official.
"Let us start with the fundamentals. It is a basic law of financial management that you spend what you have the capacity to earn. To do otherwise is to court with financial disaster."