Despite failing to secure a fifth term as Jamaica Cricket Association (JCA) boss Wilford “Billy” Heaven has stated he is open to the idea of assisting new president Dr Donovan Bennett.
Dr Bennett, who had been the JCA first vice-president since 2013, earned 67 votes to Heaven’s 30 during the election held on April 25 at the Jamaica Conference Centre.
Heaven had been at the helm of the JCA for over a decade. He defeated Milton Henry for the top job in 2013, Fritz Harris in 2016, and Mark Neita in 2019, then returned unopposed in 2021.
Citing his experience and knowledge, Heaven declared he still has much to offer.
“I am for cricket, and he knows my areas of competence, and those areas are strong. It depends on him; it is up to him to ask me and for me to agree, but we wait until that time comes,” Heaven said.
He said during his tenure advancements were made in the areas of governance, including accountability, transparency, and compliance, as well as strides in cricket development in Jamaica. Heaven expressed hope that the new administration will build on that progress.
The International Cricket Council (ICC) has announced the release of the ICC Men’s T20 World Cup 2024 Official Anthem, Out of this World, by Grammy award winning artist Sean Paul and Soca superstar Kes.
With just 30-days-to-go until the ICC Men’s T20 World Cup 2024 begins, the release of the anthem sets the tone for what will be the biggest cricket carnival spectacle ever, with 20 international teams playing 55 matches across the West Indies and USA from 1-29 June.
The anthem, produced by Michael “Tano” Montano, was launched along with the music video, which features cameos from eight-time Olympic gold-medallist and tournament ambassador Usain Bolt, cricket stars Chris Gayle, Ali Khan, Shiv Chanderpaul and other Caribbean personalities. The music video is a visual celebration of cricket that captures the atmosphere and energy fans from around the world can expect when they attend ICC Men’s T20 World Cup matches.
The track and music video are available to view here and is also available on digital streaming music platforms Spotify, Apple Music, Amazon Music, SoundCloud, JioSaavn, YouTube, Instagram, Facebook, and others.
A stunning death-overs implosion from Pakistan amidst more all-round heroics from Hayley Matthews helped West Indies take an unassailable 3-0 series lead over Pakistan in the T20I series.
Another commanding half-century from Matthews – 68 off 49 balls – guided West Indies to the series’ highest total of 132 – but Pakistan were cruising at 115-2, spearheaded by Sidra Ameen‘s 63 off 58, needing 18 off the last 23 balls.
But Matthews took two wickets in as many deliveries to kickstart a stunning collapse and Pakistan lost six wickets for 10 runs in 20 deliveries. The hosts fell apart spectacularly, with West Indies sneaking home by two runs.
Pakistan won the toss and put West Indies in to bat. Fatima Sana struck early to remove Rashada Williams, but the hosts ran into the familiar brilliance of Matthews, and couldn’t find a way to stem the dazzling strokemaking that flowed.
The best they could do was work around her, and although taking wickets was a problem, Pakistan’s success in keeping one end relatively quiet ensured West Indies did not get up to the 150 mark, something Matthews said the side had been aiming for.
Jamaica and West Indies batsman John Campbell is set to make a return to competitive action in August after a reduction in his suspension for a world anti-doping code violation.
The 30-year-old left-handed opener and part-time off-spinner received news last Thursday that his four-year suspension from the sport was reduced to 22 months following a successful appeal before the Court of Arbitration for Sport (CAS) in Switzerland.
Campbell was slapped with the suspension two years ago after a three-member independent panel of the Jamaica Anti-Doping Commission found him guilty of evading, refusing, or failing to submit to a blood sample collection for testing for banned substances in April 2022 at his home in the Jamaica capital of Kingston.
The West Indies Players’ Association, headed by former Jamaica captain and West Indies batsman Wavell Hinds, supported Campbell in his appeal of the decision to the CAS and hailed the decision of the court.
ALTHOUGH being one of the most vocal critics of T20 cricket, Jamaica and West Indies great Michael Holding says he fully understands Caribbean players’ decision to focus more on franchise than international cricket due to the significant financial rewards it offers in the long run.
Regarded as one of the region’s best players of all time, the “Whispering Death” claimed close to 400 wickets in 162 caps for the Windies in Test and One-Day International cricket combined. The Jamaican pacer, who made his debut in 1975, also won the World Cup in 1979 while finishing as the fifth-best wicket-taker with eight wickets from four matches.
During his commentary career, which he retired from in 2021, Holding refused to be part of any T20 international match or tournament broadcast, stating that “it’s not even cricket”.
Over the last decade, the commitment of players from the region has been questioned due to their participation in international franchise tournaments while the West Indies have underperformed in all versions of the game.
However, Holding has come to their defence and says it makes sense for them to secure their long-term future.
“What we need to recognise in the Caribbean is that we need cash to care. We are cursing cricketers at the moment for not making themselves available to West Indies to play in a lot of our tournaments and a lot of our series around the world but we have to recognise that cricket today is a career and a living. Cricketers, and sportspeople in general, do not have a long time at their sport or their profession so they have got to maximise their earnings,” he said.
