Cric Buzz: WICB close to solving players' pay dispute issue

West Indies Cricket Board president Dave Cameron might have sounded defiant after the board meeting last week but it is being reported now that the members have forged an agreement to end the players' pay dispute that led to the West Indies team's abrupt pull-out from the India tour.

It is learnt that the WICB and the West Indies Players' Association (WIPA) will now renegotiate the cricketers' contracts, with the players now having a say in payment matters.

Also the WIPA chief Wavell Hinds will continue to represent the players' interests. Cameron, though, is still critical of the players' behaviour, calling it irresponsible on his twitter handle.

"They've criticised you. They've doubted you. They've lied on you. They've done all they can do, but one thing they can't do is stop you," he tweeted after the meeting.

The BCCI has served the WICB a claim of Rs 250 crore ($42 million) for a loss of revenue for the withdrawal of the team after the fourth ODI on October 17, which left Cameron and company red faced.

In an e-mail to Cameron, captain Dwayne Bravo, spokesman for the players in India, charged that WICB's failure to heed their appeal and to find a resolution to the payment-structure dispute was a "grave injustice".

Cameron openly slammed the act on his Facebook page, "This feels like an act of terrorism. You destroy a region's heritage over an internal dispute. You don't threaten the offender as yet. Unbelievable."

Cummins to make comeback in T20 series 

Young Australian paceman Pat Cummins gets a chance to relaunch his injury-blighted international career in Wednesday's Twenty20 series opener against South Africa in Adelaide.

Cummins, 21, will play his first international for more than two years as fifth-ranked Australia take on the third-rated Proteas in the first of three T20 matches.

The New South Wales fast bowler has missed three consecutive Australian summers with lower back stress fractures, but Australia skipper Aaron Finch expects Cummins to issue a reminder of his talents.

"When you have got a guy as skillful as Pat in your squad, it adds a real lot of depth," Finch told reporters.

"He can bat, bowl, is brilliant in the field. So for Australian cricket to have him back is a real asset. He is someone who can swing the ball, and in Twenty20 it's about taking wickets and he's a definite wicket-taker.

"When you have that asset, it just gives you so much at the top of the order with the ball. If you can knock over good players early in this format, it goes a long way to winning."

‘Key player for Australia’ 

South Africa captain J.P. Duminy said the Proteas were wary of Cummins, who took seven wickets and scored the winning runs in his sole Test match against South Africa three years ago.

"I was pretty impressed with what I came up against there," Duminy said of Cummins.

"We have seen some good spurts from him over different formats and obviously he's another guy that has been hindered by injury.

"I'm sure he's on the way back in terms of bowling confidence. Definitely a key player for them and a player that we definitely are wary of."