BRIDGETOWN (CMC):

Regional cricketers boycotted what was to have been the opening day of the 11th round of matches in the WICB Regional four-day tournament yesterday because of a conflict with the West Indies Cricket Board (WICB).

On Thursday, West Indies Players Association (WIPA) president Dinanath Ramnarine quit as a director of the WICB, claiming his position had become untenable because of the WICB's lack of movement on several key players issues.

In solidarity with Ramnarine and WIPA's position, players involved in matches in Barbados, St Vincent and Jamaica did not arrive for those fixtures.

But CMC understands from senior officials of two territorial boards that the WICB has proposed that matches would commence today and be of three days' duration.

Chief executive officer of Barbados Cricket Association Roland Toppin said on the Association's website (bcacricket.org) that he had received word from a WICB official that the matches were to start today and would be reduced by one day.

President of the WICB, Julian Hunte, was attending the first One-Day international (ODI) between West Indies and England at the Guyana National Stadium and said he first got word of the industrial action early yesterday.

"You are well aware that players have not attended the regional matches and the players in the One-Day International were wearing duct tape over the Digicel logo on their sleeves in protest," Hunte told the CMC Sports Wire.

Hunte confirmed that he had spoken to Ramnarine and that an important meeting with WIPA officials would be held next week.

"We understand that WIPA has identified a number of areas about which they feel aggrieved and has arranged a meeting for Barbados on Tuesday to resolve all outstanding issues," he said. "It will be premature for us to speak about the issues that have been submitted for our consideration, but I believe we will also want the players to be in attendance at the meeting on Tuesday because things have reached the stage where we need to involve them so that they can hear both sides."

An attempt to reach Ramnarine at WIPA's office in Port-of-Spain, Trinidad, for a response was unsuccessful.

Appointed to the WICB two years ago under Hunte, Ramnarine charged that the WICB had failed to deal with the issue of retainer contracts and first-class fees, injury payments to players, non-implementation of updated anti-doping policies and the non-payment of players for the recently concluded New Zealand series.

Matches affected are Trinidad and Tobago against the Windward Islands at Arnos Vale in St Vincent, Barbados facing the Leeward Islands at North Stars in Barbados, and Jamaica at home to Combined Campuses & Colleges at Sabina Park.