THE most intriguing questions about an election are not about who won, but why people voted the way they did and what the results mean. These questions are not always easily answered.

Dr Donovan Bennett, who was elected as new president of Jamaica Cricket Association (JCA), believes that the previous board’s decisions on the way to move cricket forward were not acted upon adequately. He said that despite having good plans, the Wilford “Billy” Heaven-led team failed to implement these plans effectively, which has contributed to their demise.

Bennett, JCA’s first vice-president for 11 years, earned 67 votes out of 97 delegates to Heaven’s 30 votes, for the top job in the cricket arena. The general election was held on Thursday at Jamaica Conference Centre.

“During my time as first vice-president the cricket didn’t develop, as board decisions were not followed,” Bennett told the Jamaica Observer. “The problem with the past board was that a lot of good plans were made but the implementation was poor.

“It was a very hard decision to challenge for the presidency because I was always supportive of Heaven, and we had a good relationship, but it got to the stage where I had to balance that relationship with what I thought needed to be done to leave the game to what it was before.”

Heaven had been at the JCA helm for over a decade. He defeated Milton Henry for the top job in 2023; Fritz Harris in 2016; and Mark Neita in 2019, then returned unopposed in 2021.

Bennett attributed his victory to his extensive work and success at the youth level in Jamaican cricket. He highlighted the overwhelming results of the election as an endorsement of his vision to rebuild Jamaican cricket from the ground up.

“I think it is my track record,” he said. “I think it is the fact that I have worked at St Elizabeth Technical High School and ran the programme there for nearly 25 years, and we were very successful. We won a lot more than we lost, and we also produced some tremendous players during that period of time.

“I think people appreciated that, and I think that was one of the driving forces that ended up with me being elected president. I am humbled, and I am also cognizant of what lies ahead because there is a lot to be done. The problems are enormous, and I know that I can’t solve them alone so the thing now is to get together a group of people from all over the island to join in and put in the effort to bring this thing [the cricket] back. No one person can do it — it has to be a team effort.”

Heaven said that he was initially confident about winning the election, which was influenced by positive feedback received on the ground. However, despite the confidence, Heaven acknowledged the unpredictability of elections and congratulated Bennett and his team on their victory.

Heaven emphasised that his values of integrity, honesty, and decency were paramount, even above winning the elections. Heaven also highlighted the refusal to engage in actions that would compromise these values, underlying a commitment to ethical conduct in his campaign.

“Those who know me know that it’s not ‘winning at all costs’,” he said. “My integrity, my honesty, and my decency — all of those qualities come before winning an election and so there were certain things that I would not do, and did not do.

“We are leaving a strong legacy in our governance, framework, accountability, transparency, and compliance, and we hope that these will continue to be the case at the JCA. We have made strides as well in cricket development; I hope they will take up the baton and really run with it, so to speak, and so that over the years we can build on what we have established there as the foundation for cricket development in Jamaica.”

Wavell Hinds, a former West Indian international cricketer, said it is now a wait-and-see approach to gauge the effectiveness of Bennett’s leadership against his manifesto. He also acknowledged Heaven’s contribution to the sport and called for continuous discussion to resolve cricket’s challenges, encapsulating a hopeful, cautious outlook for the future.

“I started on the JCA team in 2013, and I left the team after the first term because I felt that things weren’t going in the right direction as per the agreed manifesto that we sold to the cricketing public and the Jamaican public at large,” Hinds said.

“I had to be true to myself to say that I couldn’t continue in that vein, but that didn’t stop me from contributing to cricket. Since then to now I was then vice-president; when I left, I am now president of Kensington for the last four years, and we look forward to continuing.

“The voters have spoken and they are the ones who are ultimately the shareholders, and they control the fabric of cricket. I don’t think it was done in any disrespectful manner as I think the elections were done gracefully.

“Mr Heaven’s contribution was recognised rightfully, and I too want to recognise him for his contribution to Jamaican cricket and also as a director at the cricket West Indies level. When Dr Bennett gets into office and starts to execute, then we will have something to measure what his manifesto says as compared to what actually plays out in the cricketing landscape.”