When the meeting broke up, Courtney Walsh, president of the West Indies Players' Association, issued a terse statement.

``Negotiations are still going on. We will be having further meetings tonight and tomorrow morning,'' said the statement.

``I'm going back to my hotel to talk to the rest of the players.''

Walsh's statement ended an extraordinary day which began with West Indies Cricket Board president Pat Rousseau checking in from Barbados before going straight into a meeting with Walsh, Jimmy Adams and the two men he sacked from the tour - captain Brian Lara and his deputy Carl Hooper.

The players were insistent that the two controversial batsmen had to be reinstated after a pay dispute.

Rousseau had previously been adamant that no compromise was possible.

It emerged from Lara's agent Barrie Gill that a leading firm of City solicitors had been brought in on Friday to try to help break the deadlock.

Gill said: ``We brought Collyer-Bristow in to advise the players. We still hope the players will be on the plane tomorrow so that they can be ready for the first match on Tuesday.''

South African cricket chief Ali Bacher said: ``I remain optimistic. The negotiations are taking longer than I would have liked but I'm sure things will be resolved.

``The West Indian Board have conveyed the sticking points to me, but it's not for me to comment.''

The saga took another twist today when it was revealed that a sponsor had been found for the tourists.

A deal has been struck by former South African wicketkeeper David Richardson, who was approached by the WICB.

Richardson, a qualified lawyer, now has the only sports marketing company, ESPM, based in Johannesburg. He told Bacher that the deal had been done on Friday.

Speaking in South Africa, Richardson said that his firm had been appointed by the WICB to help raise sponsorship long before the current dispute began.

Richardson stressed that the deal had nothing to do with the United Cricket Board of South Africa.

``This has nothing to do with them. The sponsors will be a West Indian Board sponsor.

``The fact that it is a South African company and the money is coming out of South Africa is not really the point.''

But Richardson strongly hinted that sacked team captain Brian Lara and vice-captain Carl Hooper would be vital to the deal and would have to be reinstated.

Meanwhile SABC television sports chief Edward Griffiths said the presence of the two star batsman was vital for full coverage of the tour.

The national broadcaster holds the right to screen world tour matches.

Griffiths said: ``We won't put up with anything less than a full strength side. We owe it to our sponsors, viewers and advertisers.''