Crucial meeting today on Jamaica leg of SA tour

Jermaine Lannaman, Gleaner Writer

Security concerns could force officials to play the Jamaica leg of the 2010 Digicel Home Series featuring South Africa elsewhere.

Officials of the West Indies Cricket Board (WICB) and the Jamaica Cricket Association (JCA) will meet today to decide whether two matches set for Sabina Park will go ahead as scheduled.

The meeting is a result of the on-going limited state of emergency which was declared for the Corporate Area on Sunday after violence erupted in the volatile west Kingston area.

"We are watching the situation and have given ourselves up until tomorrow before we make a decision as to whether or not to go ahead or cancel our leg of the tour," JCA president and WICB director, Paul Campbell said yesterday.

"We have been discussing and looking into a number of things," he added.

Campbell said the discussions thus far have included all major stakeholders, including officials from the government, notably the Ministry of National Security, the WICB and the JCA.

The state of emergency is expected to remain in place for one month. Jamaica is slated to host the fifth and final Digicel one-day international next Thursday, June 3 at Sabina Park, and the first Digicel test between June 10-14, also at Sabina Park.