JAMAICA Cricket Association (JCA) President Dr Donovan Bennett says the voting annual general meeting (AGM) is likely to be held in October, after it was previously postponed.

The JCA annual meeting and election were to have been held in May but were pushed back pending ratification of proposed governance changes to its constitution.

Bennett told the Jamaica Observer that the board will get the opportunity to ratify the changes in just over two weeks.

“We will have a special meeting in September to deal with matters that we have had hanging around for years. Immediately after that September 10 meeting we will set a date for the AGM. I imagine that we will have the voting AGM in October,” he said.

Bennett, who had previously served as JCA vice-president, swept to power in April 2024 when he defeated the incumbent President Wilford “Billy” Heaven.

He admitted that, ideally, he had wanted the elections to be held months ago, but those plans had to be put aside.

“I would have preferred to have had the AGM exactly after two years — which would have been about March/April — but it didn’t happen.

“The AGM is not constitutionally due until December but… we don’t want to take it down to the last,” he said.

Sabina Park, headquarters of the Jamaica Cricket Association (Photo: Garfield Robinson)

Though choosing to not outline granular details, Bennett insisted the constitutional changes are important for the greater good of cricket in Jamaica.

“It’s a matter of our constitution and [about] what we have and what we need to have,” he said, noting there are current glaring governance loopholes in how the JCA can regulate clubs and parish associations.

The JCA president said he is eager to be given a fresh mandate in his bid to improve the struggling sport in the country, and by extension the region.

“I get the impression there are some positive movements in the game, so I’m just hoping we can accelerate that process because we really want to get back to the top as soon as possible. It’s very important for West Indies cricket that Jamaica does well. Jamaica has the largest economy and the largest population so it stands to reason that if Jamaica does well then West indies cricket will do well,” he argued.

BENNETT… I get the impression there are some positive movements in the game (Photo: Garfield Robinson)

While Bennett is likely to return to the top post unopposed, there is intrigue surrounding the first vice-president job. Both the incumbent Fritz Harris, the Clarendon Cricket Association president, and Nehemiah Perry, former West Indies off spinner and current head of Kingston Cricket Club, were previously nominated.

However, Bennett confirmed that the nomination process will be redone ahead of the rescheduled elections.

— Sanjay Myers