JCA’s presidential fate decided today
BOTH incumbent President Wilford “Billy” Heaven and challenger Dr Donovan Bennett are exuding confidence heading into the Jamaica Cricket Association (JCA) election.
The election, which is to follow the association’s annual general meeting (AGM), is to be held at Jamaica Conference Centre in Kingston on Thursday. The AGM is set to begin 11:00 am.
Heaven, the chief executive officer of the State-run CHASE Fund, is looking to become the country’s cricket boss for a fifth-straight term. He has been at the JCA’s helm for over a decade.
He defeated Milton Henry for the top job in 2013, then turned back the challenges of Fritz Harris in 2016, and Mark Neita in 2019. He was returned unopposed in 2021.
Heaven has defended the work of his Administration, saying there have been strides in improving the association’s financial standing.
“We perhaps have the strongest governance framework in sports. Our transparency, our accountability, our compliance, is second to none,” he said.
He said the next step under his leadership is to improve the results on the field.
“We believe that we need to bring the cricket up to a level, but that’s where the focus is right now because we’ve sorted out all the other areas effectively,” he added
Bennett, the chairman of the Cricket West Indies medical panel, is the first vice-president to Heaven.
Bennett had previously told the Jamaica Observer that the country’s decline as a cricketing force in the region is the main reason for him throwing his hat in the ring.
More recently, in a letter dated April 7, 2024 which was addressed to member clubs and parish associations, Bennett said the decision to challenge Heaven “was not an easy one, or one that was lightly made”.
Bennett, who promised he would be a “transformational leader”, said his mind was made up after he was urged by “individuals and stakeholders across the cricket fraternity and the general Jamaican landscape”. He said “the realisation and admittance that Jamaica’s cricket was far too important to be considered dormant by many” was a pulling factor.
