National T10 to signal restart of JCA competitions

The National T10 cricket competition which is scheduled to begin on April 19, will signal the restart of the Jamaica Cricket Association (JCA) competitions.

O’Neil Cruickshank, the JCA’s head of cricket operations and development, told The Gleaner that this competition will feature six invited teams consisting of local players.

All matches will be played at Sabina Park, with the competitions scheduled to be concluded on May 5.

“All of us at the JCA are elated at the fact that we have been given the go-ahead to resume the sport,” said Cruickshank.

“Our members and all the stakeholders in cricket have been looking forward to it. Cricket was played in the Social Development Commission competition last year, but, for JCA-led competitions, it is a relief and it is welcomed,” he said.

DEVASTATING IMPACT

There has been no JCA competition in Jamaica over the past two years and, according to Cruickshank, this has had a devastating impact on the development of the sport locally.

“We have suffered in the past two years, particularly in the area of development, because our youngsters have missed out due to the COVID-19 pandemic, and, in some cases, they were not allowed to be in training,” he said.

“However, now that we are heading back, we can now begin to put our work out there,” Cruickshank said.

He added that the sponsors for this T10 competition are from overseas and therefore more details of the tournament will be announced at a later date.

However, he pointed out that the JCA is still awaiting permission from the Government for the resumption of their islandwide parish competitions.

“We have not gotten the go-ahead for the inter-parish competitions, but I am sure that we will get the approvals for this pretty soon, and therefore we will have a full roll-out of all our JCA-run competitions shortly,” Cruickshank said.