WEST INDIES' tour of Sri Lanka could be in jeopardy if a quick solution is not found to the latest crisis in a prolonged contract row.

With just over a week before the team is scheduled to leave the Caribbean, the top brass of the West Indies Cricket Board (WICB) will put their heads together today to decide on the next step in response to some players' refusal to sign match/tour contracts.

After only three players responded positively to Tuesday's stipulated deadline, the WICB remained mum on the issue yesterday.

Sources, however, told THE NATION the board's executive committee, comprising president Teddy Griffith, vice-president Val Banks, chief executive officer Roger Brathwaite, chief finance officer Barry Thomas, directors Stephen Alleyne, Chetram Singh and Richard deSouza, would link up via teleconference this morning to formulate the board's position.

The sources also revealed that the three players who signed the contracts were batsman Shivnarine Chanderpaul, fast bowler Daren Powell and 19-year-old uncapped wicketkeeper Denesh Ramdin.

It was the third time in the past eight months that a contract dispute had raised its head.

Last Friday talks between the WICB and the West Indies Players' Association (WIPA) broke down over differences with the contentious Clause 5 that had been in dispute since last November ahead of the VB Series in Australia.

Clause 5 related to sponsorship and endorsements.

The players were also concerned about a guaranteed tour fee of US$50 000, significantly less than the US$200 000 they shared for the trip to Australia.

With the team scheduled to depart the Caribbean on July 1, the WICB had proposed to WIPA that the issue of Clause 5 be submitted immediately to independent adjudicator, Justice Adrian Saunders, for a binding determination, while the tour proceeded under similar terms and conditions to the match/tour contract the players had signed prior to the recently concluded Digicel home Series against South Africa and Pakistan.