A team with no name
FOUR rounds of the new West Indies Cricket Board (WICB) professional four-day tournament have gone by and stakeholders of the Jamaica Franchise are yet to confirm a name.
Meanwhile, Guyana Jaguars, Barbados Pride, Trinidad & Tobago Red Force, Windward Islands Volcanoes and Leeward Islands Hurricanes have all acquired franchise names.
Jamaica Cricket Association (JCA) president Wilford ‘Billy’ Heaven said discussions are being sought with the United States-based Chalak Mitra Group (CMG), the franchise owners of former Caribbean Premier League (CPL) Twenty20 (T20) champions Jamaica Tallawahs, to use that name.
“We are trying to get the owners of the Jamaica Tallawahs to allow us to use the name,” said Heaven, who is also deputy chairman of the Jamaica Franchise’s board of directors.
“That would further help to develop the brand and also make it become a household name rather than once a year [during the CPL] you hear ‘Jamaica Tallawahs’.
“We are seeking to discuss that possibility, but at the same time, we are working on another name if that doesn’t work. We are also working through some other options to come up with a name.”
The JCA boss said a decision could be made by next month, but insisted that strategic thinking has to go into the naming of the Franchise.
“Off the top of my head I’m looking to have it by the end of January. We are not bound by a timeframe right now, but we want to make sure we have a name that means something, not just something we pick up by-the-way,” said Heaven.
The WICB Professional Cricket League (PCL), which began in November, is on a break until February 2015. The Jamaica Franchise are currently second in the six-team standings.
The board of directors for the Jamaica Franchise is chaired by Don Wehby. Other directors include Dennis Hickey, executive director of the Tourism Product Development Company (TPDCo); Wayne Sutherland, treasurer of the JCA; Dr Akshai Mansingh, a JCA director; and attorney-at-law Delano Franklyn.
– Sanjay Myers
HEAVEN… we are trying to get the owners of the Tallawahs to allow us to use the name
