‘South Africa still welcome’

Jamaica Cricket Association (JCA) President Wilford Heaven says that the country still intends to host a Test match at some point this year in spite of concerns regarding growing active COVID-19 cases.

In a Gleaner interview on January 18, Heaven said that Jamaica hopes to host South Africa in a Test match. Amid reports that South Africa expressed concerns about playing in the island, Cricket West Indies (CWI) CEO Johnny Grave told Nationwide News Network that they communicated to both Australia and South Africa that they intend to get through the Sri Lanka series, now under way in Antigua, then assess the situation in the various territories.

While still committed to hosting an international match this year, Heaven says the opponent may not be South Africa, but that decision is still to be determined by CWI.

“I am aware that CWI had a discussion on the Future International Tours’ itinerary and it’s likely that we may see the South African tour take place in Trinidad and Tobago, which is the proposal at the moment, but that will be determined by the decision at the different levels of authority,” Heaven told The Gleaner. “But details are being finalised between CWI and South Africa. Jamaica is at this point expressing an interest for one of the Tests that will take place late in the year when we expect the spread of the virus to be contained.”

According to the schedule, June, July and August are dates that have been blocked for the home tours against Australia and Pakistan while no date has been finalised for the South Africa series.

Jamaica reported 558 new cases on Sunday and an increase in the number of fatalities to 536 as the country’s active case total increased to 18,801. By comparison, Trinidad’s total number of cases is almost 8,000 with more than 7,500 recovers and 140 deaths to date.

READY TO ENACT PROTOCOLS

The Government authorised the return of sports on a case-by-case basis in February, with all proposals to be forwarded to the Ministry of Sport with final approval to be given by the Office of Disaster Preparedness and Emergency Management. JCA Cricket Operations Officer Courtney Francis says that the potential South African tour, as well as the 2022 Under-19 World Cup in the West Indies were included in protocols sent to the Ministry of Sport. While Francis says that he is neither optimistic nor doubtful about the chances the association has of receiving the approval, the association will be ready to enact the protocols when and if approval is given.

“The Ministry of Sport, based on the information that I have at hand, has approved those,” Francis said. “However, they have to send it over to the ODPEM and the Ministry of Health to give that approval. They will not comment on it until the 23rd [of March] when the new Disaster Risk Management Enforcement [extension] is up.

“All our members are aware as to where in the process [we are]. As soon as we get the approval, we know what to do to ensure that we can operate in a safe environment.”

Meanwhile, CWI Medical Advisory Committee member Dr Akshai Mansingh says that Jamaica is in a position to accommodate an international match while operating in a controlled environment because of various options to house the players, and to provide the necessities.

“The ability to host international or regional cricket in a biosecure bubble is stronger than most other countries because we have so many properties where we can construct this bubble,” Mansingh said. “The advantage of Jamaica, and indeed the Caribbean, is that we can provide properties where you don’t feel as confined and restricted because all the amenities are within the property. So if it comes to having to do that, then it is not beyond Jamaica’s ambitions to host international cricket.”

daniel.wheeler@gleanerjm.com