SDC targeting August for community cricket

Organisers of the Social Development Commission (SDC), all-island community cricket are targeting the months of August and September for the start of this year's competition.

The tournament, which is the biggest cricket competition in Jamaica, was scheduled to start in April, but it was postponed due to the COVID-19 pandemic.

Dr Dwayne Vernon, executive director of the SDC, told STAR Sports that his organisation is very anxious to get this year's competition started.

"Based on how we see this competition if we are allowed to play by the latest end of August, early September, we would be able to keep the competition in the same format and end before 2020," said Dr Vernon.

"We have not yet engaged in this discussion with the authorities as to whether or not we are going to be allowed to play," he said.

However, we are hopeful that anything in the September region we would like to really start in that period, if it is that this situation allows us to play," he said.

Over two hundred teams from across the island took part in last year's competition, which was won by Gayle Cricket Club from St Mary.

Dr Vernon noted that the anticipations are very high ahead of this year's competition because a lot of the players are looking forward to the tournament.

"In conversation with some reps for the Jamaica Cricket Association, the partnership is so strong that we both feel that it would be good to have some cricket be played something this year," Dr Vernon said.

The SDC boss stated that everyone was very disappointed when the league had to postpone due to COVID-19.

"In March when COVID-19 started, we thought that in July the pandemic would have eased to an extent which would have allowed us to play. We originally thought about postponing it until July but clearly that can't happen now and so we are in another wait-and-see mood right now," he said.