JCA Overview
Our cricket continues to play a strong and pivotal role in Jamaica’s sporting excellence. This passion and obsession with the game is encapsulated in the legacy of achievements by many great sporting icons including George Headley, Lawrence Rowe, James Adams, Ambassadors Hon. Michael Holding OJ and Hon. Courtney Walsh OJ to name a few. Nowadays, the baton for future greatness has been passed onto our world-rated players including inspirational West Indies Captain Christopher Gayle and fast bowling star Jerome Taylor.
The Jamaica and West Indies cricket fraternity stand proud our achievement in successfully hosting the recently concluded 2007 ICC Cricket World Cup. The entire globe was captivated by a fantastic opening ceremony organized right here in Jamaica along with 49 days of cricket performance by world stars. Let us remind ourselves that this was by far, the largest sporting event ever held in the Caribbean. Our aim is to ensure that the tremendous World Cup legacy will further enhance the passion and to rekindle the interest in cricket especially at the school and community levels. We plan to carry on and extend the National 2020 community league that brought so much joy and camaraderie to communities throughout the length and breath of this nation. The amalgamation of the men’s and women’s game also offers a wonderful opportunity to shift new boundaries.
This year Jamaican teams proved at all levels that we are simply end unequivocally, the best cricketing nation in the Caribbean, and brought pride to the Jamaican people. The Senior Team won 3 of 4 regional titles on offer including the KFC Cup One-day tournament as well as the Carib Beer Regional 4-day Championships. While the 2020 championships eluded us, the growth and performance in this exciting version of the game will be a point of focus going forward. At the age-group level our U19 team regained the TCL one-day championships and the U15 team was crowned regional 2008 Champions. Not to be outdone, this year, our Visually Impaired Team has successfully defended their regional title in Barbados. Jamaica now fully expects to match the challenge of sustaining a continued legacy in our regional and international performances. This as the JCA will continue to strengthen the development program and drive the popularity of the game at all levels.
The JCA sees many opportunities in cricket making even a greater contribution to national development and growing our economy. Cricket in Jamaica is still associated with positive values including teamwork and individual discipline. The JCA believes that these values are critical to national development and would therefore wish to better represent these cricket virtues to the wider society. We also believe that apart from values and attitudes, cricket can be used to enhance the country’s tourism product and contribute to the development of a more healthy society. The tenets of cricket are such that is likely to impact on all aspects of the human development. Sport mirrors life, and no sport epitomizes this more than cricket. In recognizing the value of cricket to our nation, the JCA has created a comprehensive plan to drive the game and assist in nation building.
For the goals of the JCA to be realized, there are some identifiable critical approaches for success. Numbered among these are:
- Achieve financial sustainability of the sport, through prudent development and management.
- Continue developing community driven cricket participation as a contribution to community development and camaraderie.
- Enhancement of Jamaica’s sports tourism product
- Communicate the tenets and values of cricket to enhance nation building
- Strengthen the schools’ cricket programs for both our boys and girls.
- Comprehensive and structured development program at all levels of cricket including coaching, mentoring and infrastructure development.
- Fully integrate women’s cricket
- Provide administrative leadership and service at all levels
