JCA holds talks with WI Board

Jermaine Lannaman, Gleaner Writer

Newly elected president of the Jamaica Cricket Association (JCA), Lyndel Wright, said last Sunday's meeting between members of his association and the West Indies Cricket Board (WICB) was an overwhelming success.

According to Wright, the meeting, which was requested by the newly elected executive of the JCA, addressed a number of issues important to the development of the game in Jamaica and West Indies.

As it was a first, Wright recommended that a similar initiative take place with other countries around the region.

Among the issues that were tackled included cricket development, player management and industrial relations, funding for regional tournaments and international matches, governance structure and operations, communications, and the Chris Gayle issue.

"The JCA asked for this meeting with the WICB so as to ensure that our full Board has a clear understanding - directly from the Board of the WICB - what some of the critical issues in West Indies cricket are and what the approaches are in tackling these issues," said Wright.

"While we thought this meeting was important for the JCA, we are convinced that it would be useful for the WICB to conduct such meetings with all the other territorial boards, so that they too can benefit from direct contact and information sharing with the WICB," he added.

WICB representatives who attended the meeting included president, Dr Julian Hunte; vice-president, Dave Cameron; directors Conde Riley, Gregory Shillingford, Baldath Mahabir, Dr Allen Sammy, corporate secretary, Stephen Camacho; chief executive officer, Dr Ernest Hilaire and director of cricket, Tony Howard.

The JCA, in the meantime, was represented by Wright, vice-president, Milton Henry; secretary, Fritz Harris; directors Wavell Hinds, Junior Stewart and Deltonio Williams, assistant secretary, Ian Brown and assistant treasurer, Maurice Clarke.

"The WICB views it as most important to conduct these dialogues with our constituent bodies, so that we have commonality of understanding throughout the region on the critical issues," he explained.