Statement by The Honourable Gaston Browne Prime Minister of Antigua and Barbuda and Chairman of the Caribbean Community (CARICOM)

As Chairman of the Caribbean Community, (CARICOM) I join the people of the Caribbean in expressing profound disappointment over the current state of affairs of West Indian cricket.
The abrupt termination of the tour of India is a matter of deep distress, particularly as it has damaged the reputation of West Indian cricket and disrupted long-standing arrangements by other countries and cricket authorities. 

CARICOM governments are not aware of the circumstances of the division between the Board and the players and, therefore, make no pronouncement about them.  
However, Governments regret that the West Indies Cricket Board and the players did not settle their differences before the tour of India began.  The display of these domestic differences in such an internationally public way does no credit to West Indian cricket in its entirety.
We urge the Board and the players to work swiftly to effect a lasting settlement to their disputes bearing in mind the importance of Cricket to the people of the West Indies to whom they have a national and regional responsibility. 

CARICOM governments stand ready to intervene at the invitation of the Board and the players should they consider such intervention to be necessary.
In the meantime, we call on the parties to be mindful that they have an obligation to the West Indian people, to other countries and authorities with whom contracts have been signed, and to safeguarding the high standards which the West Indian people rightfully expect. (Ends)