India v West Indies, 2014-15

	The West Indian team stand behind Dwayne Bravo at the toss as a mark of solidarity to protest against players' new contracts © BCCI Enlarge
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One-day internationals (4): India 2, West Indies 1
The match-up between the 50-over world champions and the World Twenty20 winners of 2012 should have been mouth-watering, and good preparation for both sides' World Cup campaigns. But it was overshadowed from the start by bickering between the West Indian players, their union and their board. When no agreement could be brokered about the players' new contracts - and with a one-day international, a Twenty20 game and three Tests still to go - the team packed their bags and went home. India were enraged.

The first public signs of trouble came on the eve of the opening one-day international in Kochi. Dwayne Bravo, the West Indies one-day captain, and Dwayne Smith were fresh from a successful Champions League campaign with Chennai Super Kings, and initially spoke about the importance of doing well against the World Cup holders. But then the team boycotted their scheduled training session and pre-match conference, and a pullout was threatened: it wasn't until Sanjay Patel, the BCCI secretary, flew down to Kerala on the morning of the match that the tourists relented.

The players were seething about contracts which, they claimed, cut their pay by around 75%: they spent most of the tour in teleconferences, drafting letters and exchanging emails with the West Indies Cricket Board and the West Indies Players' Association. Their main grievance was that WIPA's chief executive, the former Test batsman Wavell Hinds, appeared to have agreed the new conditions without consulting them. The board, meanwhile, insisted they had been asked to negotiate with WIPA only, and had duly done so.

Bravo's letter to the embattled Hinds - he referred to his former team-mate as "Mr Hinds" throughout - claimed the players' morale was at an "all-time low", although there was little sign of that as they won the first match by a whopping margin. The series seemed to have been set up nicely. But there was no solution to the impasse.

Nothing changed during two rounds of negotiations with the WICB, who were eventually unable to provide their Indian counterparts with a guarantee that the tour could continue. The third-match washout at Visakhapatnam gave everyone breathing space but, by the time the series moved to Dharmasala, a quaint town in the Himalayan foothills, the tension was palpable.

The match was a sell-out, so a cancellation could have led to crowd trouble. In a meeting shortly before the start, Anurag Thakur - president of the Himachal Pradesh Cricket Association - persuaded the tourists to play. Bravo's team showed their solidarity by lining up behind him at the toss. It was evident their focus wasn't on the cricket, and India's eventual win was hardly a surprise: the West Indians were as cold as the weather.

They refused to play on. "We were truly hoping that the WICB together with WIPA and/or the players would do everything in their power to seriously address the concerns of the players," Bravo wrote in an email to the board's chief executive Dave Cameron. "Regrettably, this has not happened. We cannot be party to this grave injustice. The players regretfully wish to advise that they can no longer accept this situation, which has affected each and every player in a very negative way. The players are under tremendous stress and undue pressure.

We have informed the manager and coach of our decision to return home, with the hope that these issues will be addressed to the satisfaction of all." The recriminations soon began: the boards locked horns, and the BCCI threatened to sue the WICB for loss of income estimated at £27m, suspending bilateral series with West Indies. The Sri Lankans were swiftly whistled up for a replacement one-day series.

In the play that was possible, only Marlon Samuels of the tourists enhanced his reputation. Making a comeback after being dropped during the home series against New Zealand, he hit two centuries in three innings. It later emerged that he was not a member of WIPA, and had largely kept quiet during the protracted negotiations.

Even before the shenanigans, West Indies were without two of their biggest names: Chris Gayle was missing with a back injury, while Sunil Narine was withdrawn after his bowling action was reported during the Champions League. India enjoyed Virat Kohli's return to form after his experiences in England, but were less happy that their World Cup preparations had been hijacked.

Match reports for

Tour Match: India A v West Indians at Brabourne, Oct 3, 2014
Report | Scorecard

Tour Match: India A v West Indians at Wankhede, Oct 5, 2014
Report | Scorecard

1st ODI: India v West Indies at Kochi, Oct 8, 2014
Report | Scorecard

2nd ODI: India v West Indies at Delhi, Oct 11, 2014
Report | Scorecard

3rd ODI: India v West Indies at Visakhapatnam, Oct 14, 2014
Report | Scorecard

4th ODI: India v West Indies at Dharamsala, Oct 17, 2014
Report | Scorecard

5th ODI: India v West Indies at Eden Gardens, Oct 20, 2014
Scorecard

Only T20I: India v West Indies at Cuttack, Oct 22, 2014
Scorecard

Tour Match: Indian Board President's XI v West Indians at Kanpur, Oct 25-27, 2014
Scorecard

1st Test: India v West Indies at Hyderabad, Oct 30-Nov 3, 2014
Scorecard

2nd Test: India v West Indies at Bengaluru, Nov 7-11, 2014
Scorecard

3rd Test: India v West Indies at Ahmedabad, Nov 15-19, 2014
Scorecard