At the end of the day, this latest dispute in West Indies cricket is all about branding.

Following yesterday’s release of the 32-man training squad ahead of the US$20million showdown with England in Antigua, it will be interesting to see how the dispute resolution process between Digicel and the West Indies Cricket Board unfolds, and how many of the details leak through closed doors.

This is really no different from the controversy earlier this year when Caribbean Airlines, in an act that betrayed either slavish loyalty to a political party or mind-boggling naiivete and outright stupidity, determined that the Balisier flower should be among the many quintessentially Caribbean images adorning the tails of its fleet of aircraft.

Confronted by a severe media backlash, a reaction fuelled, it has to be said, by political opponents seeking to make considerable capital at government’s expense, the Caribbean Airlines public relations machinery started referring to the image as that of the ’Heliconia Bihai’.

It was really a classic case of playing smart with stupidness, for in referring to the bloom by a more scientific name (I won’t say proper name, because what makes Helconia Bihai any more proper than Balisier?) the PR people were trying to pretend that their perception of the flower was only, and should only, be from one of aesthetics and recognition as a regional symbol, and had nothing whatsoever to do with the almost subconscious association that most of us have in Trinidad and Tobago with the Balisier and the PNM.

I say trying to pretend and not pretending, because they failed miserably in their attempt at pretence with most people, except of course, the diehard PNMites, seeing right through the pitiful charade to the extent that they had to remove the thing from the planes eventually.

So in this case, who is trying to pull a fast one here? Are Digicel farse and out of place to insist that their rights as official sponsors of West Indies cricket and the West Indies team are being infringed and that they should have been properly consulted before the WICB gave its wholehearted support to Sir Allen Stanford’s money-spinning venture?

Is this all part of a top-level powerplay in which Sir Allen who, having seen the phenomenal success of the first season of the Indian Premier League, is prepared to throw even more of his millions around to ensure that his name is reflexively identified with the increasingly popular Twenty20 version of the game?

Have the top administrators of the WICB been caught out of their crease in lunging at the tantalising delivery tossed up by the Texan billionaire, prompting the Irish-based telecommunications company to call for the third umpire?

All fancy lyrics aside, the final squad under the branding of the Stanford Superstars to face England on November 1 will really be a West Indian XI in everything but name. I mean, seriously, do you really expect Chris Gayle to be omitted or that US Virgin Islander Aldermond Lesmond (he is in the training squad) will get the wicketkeeping spot?

So while the opposing legal representatives will be engaging in the sort of verbal gymnastics that would see them sweep the medal rostrum in Beijing were it an Olympic sport, the fact of the matter is that the best West Indian cricketers on show at the two editions of the Stanford 20/20 so far-the very same players who would be representing the region were they preparing for the Twenty20 World Cup-will be donning Mr Stanford’s uniforms and prancing around in even more lively fashion  (remember, it’s US$1 million per player on the winning team) against the Englishmen in just over three months’ time.

But then, what do I know? Shortpants didn’t say the law is an ass for nothing, so if some cannot see the association of the Trinity Cross as a religious symbol and others accept that the amnesty to the Jamaat al Muslimeen was not granted under duress, then the only thing you can say is that any number can play should a definitive legal ruling be required.

You would really hope that it doesn’t come down to that, because we’ve had so many disputes, arbitrations, acrimony, rancour and subterfuge involving Digicel, Cable and Wireless, the WICB and the West Indies Players Association as to have everyone in the region who follows West Indies cricket thoroughly fed up and disillusioned with it all.

However, the signs aren’t all that encouraging, for in activating the dispute resolution process, the Digicel people seem to feel that quiet diplomacy with key personnel at the WICB hasn’t gotten them anywhere.

The spectacle of both sides digging their heels in on the issue and trading barbs publicly would be very, very unfortunate.

Given the way things almost always have to descend to the most base level around here before a resolution is crafted, though, such a confrontation may be inevitable.

This is not about taking sides, but accepting certain blindingly obvious realities and working out a sensible compromise.

Digicel are saying they’re all for the Stanford concept and all for the further development and promotion of West Indies cricket, so long as their rights are protected.

Sir Allen is talking again about a crusade to get our cricket back to the top where it belongs.

Is so? Okay, well let’s see how those statements can still be justified if ’bacchanal’ is branded all over West Indies cricket again in the coming weeks.

fazeer2001@hotmail.com