THE war of words within the Jamaica Cricket Association (JCA) hierarchy continued unabated yesterday ahead of the annual general meeting later this month.

There has been a public spat within the JCA since the board of directors voted 10-6 last Tuesday to support Barbadian Joel Garner ahead of Jamaican incumbent Whycliffe ‘Dave’ Cameron for the post of West Indies Cricket Board president.

The turmoil took a dramatic turn on Friday when a draft resolution was circulated, proposing a no-confidence motion against JCA president Wilford ‘Billy’ Heaven.

The document bore the signature of St James Cricket Association president Cecil Fletcher and was seconded by Gautam Kumaraswamy of Kensington Cricket Club. The motion, listing six reasons Heaven should step aside, is to be tabled at the association’s AGM on February 17.

Among the reasons was the alleged “manipulated process used to support” West Indies cricket legend Garner.

Following recent comments attributed to JCA first vice-president Dr Donovan Bennett, who is a supporter of Heaven, JCA director Wayne Lewis has expressed his displeasure, saying the latest utterances only serve to further split the board.

Speaking to the Jamaica Observer yesterday, Lewis chided Bennett for claiming that the directors on the losing side of the vote were behind the no-confidence motion .

“It is most irresponsible, the decision he [Bennett] has made to come public and criticise, according to him, the members who voted for ‘Dave’ Cameron,” said Lewis.

“Where is the evidence to substantiate that those are the ones responsible for the no-confidence motion? That is just dividing the board more and creating more animosity within the board,” added Lewis, who is a former Jamaica batsman.

He also urged Bennett to declare the “compelling reasons” Heaven had for going with Garner.

But when the Observer contacted Bennett yesterday, he remained steadfast in his defence of Heaven.

“I support the president 100 per cent on this,” said Bennett.

“He would not have liked having to vote against a Jamaican in the process, but he had to do what was right for cricket. He had compelling reasons and I have too,” Bennett said.

Lewis argued that Heaven should bring members together to iron out differences.

“We really need to come together and have a meeting to thrash out our differences maybe at a retreat. We really need to sit together, all 19 of us and lay blame where it is to be blamed,” he said.

But Bennett was sceptical.

“How can we foster a harmonious relationship on the board when we have a democratic vote and [when] a certain section loses… they leak to the press and they make a mockery of the whole democratic process?” he asked.

Lewis argued that prior to last Tuesday’s directors’ vote there was an absence of even-handedness in the approach of the JCA leadership. He appeared to suggest the vote should have been delayed to allow both Cameron and Garner to make presentations to board members and answer questions. He noted that while Cameron made a presentation, the failure of a telephone link meant Garner was not heard from. Yet, Lewis said, the directors were required to vote just the same.

Heaven and Bennett are Jamaica’s two representatives on the WICB board of directors.

The WICB’s AGM and election for president are slated for March 7 in Jamaica.

— Sanjay Myers