The West Indies Cricket Board (WICB) has written individually to all players involved in the West Indies Players' Association (WIPA) strike action.

The board has informed each player that his actions were in breach of Rule 6 of the WICB Code of Conduct which states: "Players and team officials must not at any time engage in behaviour unbecoming that could bring the game of cricket into disrepute or be harmful to the interests of cricket."

required to respond

Each letter also notes that "In accordance with Section 3, Rule 2.1(e) of the Code of Conduct the said player is required to submit a response within 10 days. Breaches alleged by the board are as follows, and have been cited where relevant to a player's participation in the strike action:

(i) On July 4, 2009, failure to attend the Official Ticket Launch of ICC WT20 2010 at the Beausejour Indoor Facility in St Lucia.

(ii) On July 7, 2009 refusal to travel to St Vincent from St Lucia for the 1st Test match between the West Indies and Bangladesh on July 9, 2009.

(iii) Refusal to make yourself available to represent the West Indies team, as per your selection, for the 1st Test Match between the West Indies and Bangladesh on July 9, 2009.

Additionally, those players on retainer have been informed that their action breached that contract and therefore those payments have been "suspended immediately until such time as you indicate in writing to the WICB your resumption of obligations under the contract."

The correspondence is the first occasion on which WICB has communicated formally with players on this matter. The board has also written to WIPA asserting that the strike action breaches the Memorandum of Under-standing (MOU) and the Collective Bargaining Agreement between the two entities, and has requested that the ongoing dispute be referred to immediate mediation.

Meanwhile, payments are currently in progress to all players who represented the West Indies in the recent tour to England; the ICC WT20 2009; and the four one-day internationals versus India.