According to Jamaica Cricket Association (JCA) secretary Fritz Harris, the withdrawal of three teams from the local 50 overs competition is “understandable”, after it was announced recently that clubs and parishes would have to absorb certain expenses, including travelling and field preparation costs.

The east Kingston-based Lucas Cricket Club has joined rural area counterparts Manchester and Portland in pulling out of the One-Day competition, which is scheduled to start tomorrow.

Harris, who told the Observer last week that the JCA and the parishes and clubs would partner to handle the cost of the running of the competition, said the local body expected there to be financial challenges.

“We could no longer cover all that expense so the decision was made to share the burden. Some of the teams have no money and they have withdrawn and that has affected the competition but the withdrawals are understandable. We at the board knew it would have been a challenge,” he said.

With just 19 teams, including title holders St Ann, remaining in the competition, Zones A, B and C will have five participants, while Zone D, of which Lucas was a part, has been whittled down to four.

Harris conceded that more needs to be done to help the clubs and parishes to independently generate revenue.

“It is a tough situation and the JCA can no longer ignore what is happening in our clubs and parishes. We need to meet with clubs and work out funding programmes that can be sustained,” he said.

Another change this year will see red balls and white clothing being used, instead of the white balls and coloured clothing, which is customary in the shorter versions of the game. The JCA had identified economic factors and time constraint as the main reasons for this move.