Shine The Light On High School Cricket
Sat, Jan 26, '19
In a little over a month from now, (February 28 to be exact), the nation will know whether Mark Neita would have been successful in his bid to unseat Wilford “Billy” Heaven as president of the Jamaica Cricket Association (JCA). I will have more to say on that election as the date gets closer. For now, though, I would advise that whoever wins takes up the matter of the waning interest in high-school cricket in Jamaica. No matter what other lofty plans they may have, if the issue of the rapidly declining participation in cricket in high schools is not addressed, then cricket in Jamaica will never make it to the heights that we all want it to.
I accept that high-school cricket, strictly speaking, comes under the auspices of the Inter-secondary Schools Sports Association (ISSA), but the JCA will have to show initiative, and together with the high-school body, come up with a formula to make more high schools play cricket. A few years ago, up to 60 high schools in rural Jamaica were playing Headley Cup cricket. This year, that number has dropped to a mere 39. St Elizabeth, widely regarded as the parish that plays the most community cricket in Jamaica, has 14 high schools. Only four of those schools are playing in the current Headley Cup.
