It is the result of a long-running feud between the players and the board. It started years ago over the renegotiation of match fees. Dave Richardson, of the ICC, and Tim May, then chief executive of the international players’ union, Fica, struck a deal between the players and the board. The players’ union rejected it, the matter went to arbitration and the courts found in favour of the cricket board. The deal agreed by Wavell Hinds, the current president and chief executive of the West Indies Players’ Association, is at the heart of this current dispute is strikingly close to the one negotiated by Richardson and May.