BRIDGETOWN (CMC):

Coach John Dyson took the West Indies through a solid training session at Kensington Oval yesterday while their players' union boss was engrossed in a lengthy meeting with the West Indies Cricket Board (WICB) over contentious issues.

After arriving in Barbados on Monday for a crucial pair of one-day international (ODI) matches against England this weekend, the players were given a rest Tuesday but were back to work in blazing sunshine yesterday afternoon at Kensington Oval, venue for the third and fourth ODIs tomorrow and Sunday.

As they were training, West Indies Players Association (WIPA) president Dinanath Ramnarine remained locked in a second day of meetings with the WICB to iron out their latest conflict.

No distraction

Dyson fended off questions about these off-field distractions by suggesting that while the WIPA issue was an intrusion on the cricket focus, his squad's preparation has not been affected.

"Thankfully, the distractions haven't interfered with our preparation for the match, we've still got two good days of practice ahead of us and that should put us in good stead for Friday's first game," he told reporters ahead of the training session.

The players engaged in industrial action last week when Ramnarine quit as a WICB director, announcing the governing body's "lack of movement on several key player issues" as the reason for his decision.

West Indies players boycotted a scheduled cocktail reception ahead of the first ODI during which they covered the Digicel logos on the team gear with duct tape, while three regional matches were postponed because of a player-strike.

Ramnarine said he was forced to leave the WICB position to protest the governing body's failure to deal with the issue of retainer contracts and first-class fees, injury payments to players, non-implementation of updated anti-doping policy and the non-payment of players for the recently concluded New Zealand series.

"Ideally, distractions like that we can do without and just concentrate on the cricket or concentrate on having a rest," Dyson said yesterday. "There are times on a long tour like this that you actually do need to give the players a couple of days of no cricket, to recharge their batteries and get them fully fit for the next game."

Positive

Dyson spoke positively about the team's mindset going into the third ODI, with the series level at 1-1.

"I am confident that we can play well here in Barbados. It's an excellent wicket as we know, the team enjoys playing here, it's got tremendous atmosphere as well when it's packed and there's a lot of people in. So we're looking forward to an exciting weekend of cricket."