Tony Becca

The World Cup of Cricket will be held in the West Indies in less than two months time. It has been referred to, rightly or wrongly, as the third-biggest sport event in the world. It has been said, rightly or wrongly, that it is the biggest sport event ever held in the West Indies. And the people of the West Indies, most of them, are looking forward to it with great anticipation.

In Jamaica where some practice matches will be held, where the opening ceremony will be held, where the first-round matches in Group D will be held, where the West Indies, the home team, will be based, and where one of the two semi-finals will be held, the people, most of them, are also looking forward to it - and for different reasons.

treat promised

Some, probably the majority, are looking forward to it because of the treat promised by the world's best cricketers; some are looking forward to it because of the promise that it will be the biggest and best of all the World Cup tournaments; and, some, including those who do not know the difference between the bat, the ball and the stumps, are looking forward to it because they are hoping to make some money from it.

There are those, however, who do not care if the World Cup was held in Jamaica or if it was not; and, most importantly, there are those who are against Jamaica being involved in the staging of the World Cup and for three simple reasons.

One reason is that Jamaica is spending too much money on the World Cup. Two is that even with the spending of what they consider too much money, Jamaica will not be ready to showcase itself during the World Cup. Three is that because they do not believe all the talk about the number of visitors who, it is said, will flock the country, they believe that the country will lose money.

As a fan of cricket since I was a boy, as one who played the game if only to a certain level, as one involved in cricket, and as a West Indian and a Jamaican, I am one of those who are happy that the World Cup is being staged in the West Indies and in Jamaica. And I am happy for two reasons: For the fact that I will be able to see, right in my own backyard, the showpiece of cricket and that because of cricket, Jamaica has a great opportunity to make some money, and, as a tourist destination, to set themselves up to make more money in the future.

number of visitors

The truth, however, is that I am concerned about the success of the World Cup in Jamaica and particularly so about the success of the first round. I am concerned, not so much about the quality of play - not so much over the number of visitors who will visit, but with Pakistan playing Ireland and Zimbabwe, the West Indies playing Ireland and Zimbabwe, and with Ireland playing Zimbabwe, with the cost of the tickets - but about the number of locals who will turn out to watch the matches.

I am concerned for the simple reason that cricket, once the king of sports in this country, has become a second-rate sport in this country.

And based on what is happening around the world, my concern has nothing to do with the attendance at club matches, but rather, with the fall from grace of cricket in Jamaica.

When I was a boy, cricket was so important to the people that matches were broadcast and Jamaicans enjoyed the broadcasts involving the national team from wherever the national team was playing - in Jamaica and, for example, in far away British Guiana when we listened to Radio Demerara.

Now that I am a man, and despite modern technology and the fact that today there are many radio stations in this country, there is not one word during a day's play - and it matters not whether the team is away or at home, as it is right now.

On top of that, no one seems interested in cricket - not even the Jamaica Cricket Association (JCA) whose mandate is the development of the game. In fact, the JCA, despite now having a paid staff, does little or nothing to promote the game.

Maybe it is not the fault of the JCA, and maybe it is the fault of the West Indies Cricket Board which is always late with the fixtures and making changes to the fixtures regarding venues and dates.

Whatever the excuse, the fact that Jamaicans could listen to the two matches the national team played abroad; the fact that they cannot listen to the match in progress between Jamaica and Guyana at Kensington Park; the fact that many of them did not know until a few days before that the match was scheduled to start on Saturday instead of on Friday as is normally the case; and, the fact that many of them did not know until Friday night when they listened to the radio and looked at television, or yesterday morning when they read the newspapers that the match was scheduled for Kensington Park, underline the state of the game in Jamaica.

Although, as a country, we probably could not afford it then, although, even if they could, our leaders then, faced with many priorities, probably would not have agreed to spending so much money in order to host it, it is a pity that the World Cup was not around 30, 40, or even 50 years ago.

At that time, our people really loved cricket, a number of businesses loved cricket, and our cricket administrators had influence in the society - and especially so with those with the power, and the money, to make things happen in the interest of cricket.