Barbados Prime Minister Owen Arthur said some Caribbean leaders have overstepped their bounds by allegedly trying to impose their views on cricket officials in a sponsorship dispute between two telecommunications companies. The West Indies Cricket Board earlier this month ruled that seven star players, including captain Brian Lara, were ineligible for the upcoming home series against South Africa and Pakistan because they had endorsement contracts with Cable & Wireless, in conflict with the board's chief sponsor, and telecommunications rival, Digicel. The WICB on Saturday opened the door for their possible selection, saying the players' contracts were being examined to make sure they would not cause the players or WICB to be in breach of the US$20 million (euro14.9 million) deal with Digicel. The decision came one day after Grenada Prime Minister Keith Mitchell, who is chairman of CARICOM'S prime ministerial sub-committee on cricket, said there was no longer any reason to exclude the seven players, even though they still have Cable & Wireless endorsement contracts. Arthur dissociated himself from the eight-member sub-committee, which comprises Mitchell, Caribbean Community Deputy Secretary-General Edward Greene, former WICB vice-president Clarvis Joseph, and the sports ministers of Antigua, Barbados,Guyana, Jamaica, and Trinidad and Tobago. The sub-committee "seems to be arrogating powers to itself to impose on the board commercial arrangements between the board and other entities. I do not believe the committee has any authority to do so," Arthur said, in a letter addressed to Mitchell and leaked to The Associated Press. A source close to Mitchell on Monday confirmed receipt of the letter. Digicel has rejected the sub-committee's recommendations, saying that to limit the players' connection to cricket in Cable & Wireless advertisements would not protect Digicel's investment in West Indies cricket. Cable & Wireless was reluctant to endorse all of the sub-committee's recommendations, because they threatened to undermine its sponsorship of the 2007 World Cup in the West Indies. Reprinted from jamaicaobserver.com