Tony Becca

AS FAR as participation is concerned, cricket is no longer the number one sport in Jamaica. That position now belongs to football.

Once upon a time, however, cricket was the number one sport in this country and it was number one not only in terms of participation, but also as far as spectator support and the sentiment, the involvement of the people were concerned.

In those days, cricket was played by almost every boy, spectators flocked not only to Test matches, not only to territorial matches pitting Jamaica against Barbados, Jamaica versus Guyana etc., etc., but also to club matches.

In those days, places like Sabina Park, Clovelly Park - now Kingston College, Melbourne Park - now Kingston College, Kensington Park, Nelson Oval, Dunoon Park and Up Park Camp were packed every Saturday afternoon with the people going to look at teams like Kingston CC, Unifruitco, Melbourne, Kensington, Lucas, Wembley and Garrison in action.

What was most important about cricket, however, was this: it was the sport that was played internationally and against teams like England and Australia, and it was the sport that brought glory to Jamaica and to the West Indies.

playing against england

When George Headley, for example, scored a century against England or Australia he was treated like a king and showered with gifts by his adoring fans.

Cricket in those days was such that the fortunes of the West Indies team was important to every West Indian - more so when the team played against England, the 'mother' country, and especially so when the teams met in England.

In those days, West Indians living in England loved the West Indies team, their confidence, almost their existence, depended on the performance of the West Indies team, and they cheered their performance - especially when they defeated England.

On those occasions when the West Indies won, West Indians, and Jamaicans, walked tall in places like London, Birmingham and Manchester.

Today, it is not the same. Today times have changed - enough so that West Indians and Jamaicans living in England, some of them, no longer need the West Indies team to bolster their confidence as they mingle with Englishmen at work and in the pubs.

On top of that, and apart from football, today there are other sports, sports like track and field, netball and boxing, which carry the flag, and especially so the Jamaican flag, that despite the euphoria which greeted the West Indies victory over Australia and over South Africa in the current ICC Champions Trophy tournament, cricket simply is not what it used to be - at least not in Jamaica.

In other words, cricket in Jamaica today is not what cricket is today in any of the Caribbean territories - and definitely not what it is in Barbados, Guyana and Antigua.

still number one

A look at what is happening today as the country prepares for the coming World Cup tournament, however, suggests that nothing has changed and, that as far as it relates to the average Jamaican, as far as the benefits to be derived from the game, cricket is still number one.

It is either that or somebody really believes that the country will be overrun by tens of thousands of tourists during the World Cup.

Everywhere one goes in Jamaica these days, something is happening, or although the World Cup is only four months away, it is said that something will be happening in time for the World Cup.

Apart from the fact that schools, and possibly churches, will be closed on match days, the old stadium is being renovated into a state-of-the-art building with modern facilities and equipment. Also, a new stadium is being built for three practice matches and an opening ceremony, roads are being repaired, buildings are being refurbished, areas of Jamaica are being beautified, members of the police force are being trained especially for the World Cup, markets are being renovated and new ones are being built for craft vendors, special entertainment villages are on the drawing board, and special immigration laws are being introduced.

On top of that, and as reported by my colleague Eulalee Thompson in Wednesday's Gleaner, the emergency services in six hospitals will be upgraded, an operating theatre and an emergency department are being built at the hospital nearest the new stadium in Trelawny, CT scan and MRI machines have been ordered and there will be 40 new intensive care ambulances.

Although the government has said that most of these things were in the pipeline before, and that they are only being speeded up because of the World Cup, not many Jamaicans believe that.

What is important, however, is that although hardly none of this is meant for Jamaicans, Jamaica will be a better place after next April as far as health care is concerned, it will be a much better place, and for that, thanks to cricket and the World Cup.