J'ca Last Place a Blessing?

At the risk of raising the ire of readers, I have to say that Jamaica's disastrous Carib Beer season may well end up being a blessing in disguise.

For years, Jamaica's relative success at regional four-day level has masked massive inadequacies. Truth be told, given the level of available talent, Jamaica should have been doing far better than it actually has.

As Robert Haynes tells it, one of the triggers for his decision to walk away from the job of national senior coach was the failure of the Jamaica Cricket Association (JCA) to provide even basic tools such as bowling machines and video aids.

The point has been made in this space before that it is nothing short of disgraceful that the JCA should be borrowing from clubs such as Kingston CC or Melbourne in order to provide the national team with the occasional use of a bowling machine.

I can readily imagine players of an older generation saying 'we didn't have bowling machines in our day'. Well, times have changed. Today, Jamaica like any other first class team, won't be able to compete without what are basic day-to-day tools for opposing teams. That's just the truth as the West Indies have long discovered to our pain and chagrin.

We keep hearing that money is short.

But we have to ask why is money so short? After the success in the four-day season last year for example, why would it have been so difficult for the JCA's marketing committee to find a sponsor to underwrite the cost of team preparation?

For those of us looking on, there is all too often a sense that for the people who administer the game, the on-the-field cricket does not come first and is almost taken for granted.

These are questions which the JCA must address as a matter of the greatest urgency. Jamaica happens to be a proud sporting nation with a huge international reputation for producing world beaters in a range of disciplines not least cricket.

It is against that background that Jamaica's last place finish in the four-day carib beer season must be viewed. The JCA has a responsibility to step up big time.

* In association with Jamaica Observer.