JAM T20 to rebuild interest

Jermaine Lannaman, Gleaner Writer

Jamaica Cricket Association (JCA) president, Lyndel Wright, hopes the reintroduction of a national Twenty20 tournament will go a long way in renewing interest and participation in the sport.

The tournament, which was launched yesterday at Sabina Park and will now be called JAM T20, will be held starting next weekend.

Among the new features of this year's event will be live and delayed television coverage, game day attractions and the use of selected community-based venues, so as to stimulate spectator interest.

"We could be witnessing the start of a journey that will lead to the revival of interest and participation in cricket in Jamaica with the staging of this tournament," said Wright at yesterday's launch, which saw the unveiling of Television Jamaica as one of the tournament's associate sponsor.

"Cricket is still one of, if not the favourite sport for many Jamaicans. However, in recent years we have struggled to get the support we want," declared Wright.

"With the staging of this T20 tournament, which has caught on like wildfire around the world, we hope that it will be able to catch the imagination of the people who will come out and support it."

The tournament, which in coming days is expected to have at least two other sponsors, will see 24 teams taking part incluing Social Development Commission National Twenty20 champions Old Harbour and guest team Portmore.

The competing teams will be divided into six zones, with the zonal winners and the two best second-place teams advancing to the quarterfinals.

The venues that have been earmarked are Ultimate Cricket Ground in St Ann, Paradise in Montego Bay, Manley Morne in St Elizabeth, Bridgeport and the Spanish Town Prison Oval in St Catherine, and the JDF and Melbourne in Kingston and St Andrew.

"The JCA recognises that in order for us to do better in regional Twenty20 competitions we have to play more T20 matches at home, and this tournament is geared towards that," said JCA secretary Fritz Harris.

"In addition, what we are pushing for is not just matches but events whereby on game days spectators will be entertained.

"JAM T20 is here to stay as we plan to take the brand all the way to India where brand Jamaica and our cricket can benefit greatly," he added.

Courtney Campbell, chairman of the JCA's marketing committee, pointed to the utilisation of various media platforms that will be used to add value to the tournament.

"We recognised the need to bring back cricket to the people and into their homes, and in order to get this done, we will be carrying delayed broadcast of the preliminaries and live broadcast of the final on Television Jamaica (TVJ) and TVJ-SN," said Campbell.

"We also plan to implement an online media campaign with the presence of Facebook and Twitter and other social media networks."

Meanwhile, Anika Smith, senior marketing co-ordinator of the RJR Communication's Group, operators of TVJ, said her company's was proud to be associated with the event.

"We are excited about sponsoring the tournament, and indeed proud to be associated. TVJ is known for broadcasting first rate events and we believe that in the JAM T20 this is one such event," she said.

"We will be promoting the tournament across our multimedia platforms of radio, television and the Internet, and plan to make it a memorable experience for all."

The winners of the tournament are slated to take home $300,000 as the first prize offer, and cumulatively over $500,000, given that there will be incentives for participation, recording victories and appearing in the quarterfinals, semifinals and final.

St Catherine CC are the defending champions.