Old Harbour furious after controversial Headley Cup exit

The south west St Catherine team went into last week’s quarter-final round clash away to Manchester High among three teams vying for a semi-final spot. Charlemont High, who had upset Manchester the previous week at Ewarton, were also in contention.

By avoiding defeat Old Harbour are assured of a first semi-final appearance in 17 years, while traditional powerhouse and former champions Manchester must win to have any chance of progressing.

At the end of last Thursday’s encounter Manchester scored a six-wicket victory, while Charlemont defeated St Mary Technical, as both teams joined Old Harbour on 10 points.

Scores: Old Harbour 140 all out batting first. Manchester 142 for four in reply.

Despite defeat Old Harbour went into the game with the belief that except for a heavy defeat they would still qualify for the semi-finals its coach Orane Kelly told Old Harbour News.

Kelly, in an interview, said coming out of a verbal discussion with high school sports governing body, the Inter-Secondary School Sports Association (ISSA) prior to the semi-finals, teams were advised of the tie-breakers that will be used to determine the team to advance to the last four.

With the teams still inseparable after the first three tie-breakers were applied Rule #4 came into effect which says the “team with the best runs per wicket average” would top the group and go through.

Based on discussions with ISSA, Kelly said he was left with the understating that the formula of number of runs conceded divided by the number of wickets taken would be used.

However, 48 hours after the game, ISSA announced Manchester as the team going through as determined by the most aggregated runs scored by a team during the quarter-finals divided by the number of wickets loss.

“When we spoke to ISSA, ISSA say that they would use the one (formula) that states runs that conceded divided by the wickets you took. I had done my own calculations and know that we had the better average per wicket. Now only to hear on Saturday that ISSA is using the wrong formula and it’s the other way around which states that it’s the runs you made divided by the wickets you loss,” Kelly said.

“Remember now average runs per wicket can go both ways for batting and for bowling. It didn’t state in the conditions of play to say that the team with the best average per wicket for batting and neither for bowling.

“However, we were just going by what ISSA informed us on. When I went to ISSA on Friday, George Forbes (competitions officer at ISSA) said to me that ‘yes, based on his calculations Manchester is out and Old Harbour would qualify and Charlemont come second in the group.

ISSA didn’t even wrote to us and give us an explanation what they did, how they worked it out, nothing at all. They just put team on paper and say you are playing semi-finals.”

However, competitions director at ISSA George Forbes admitted they too had interpret the rule wrong after consulting with cricket’s local governing body – the Jamaica Cricket Association (JCA).

“We had used the same interpretation in the Vere versus Old Harbour game (in the first round) to determine who won the group and who came second even though it didn’t make much of difference, as both of them would have gone through.

“But the correct interpretation is the one we’re using now. So we corrected it and that’s the situation,” Forbes told Old Harbour News.

In expressing empathy for Old Harbour, the veteran sport administrator added: “I feel the way he (Kelly) felt, because when we did the calculations initially we had Old Harbour going through.

“This is the first year we’re using it (the tie-breaker rule). So next year everybody will be aware of it and know exactly what to expect.”

Kelly, himself a former player and member of the 2002 team that took Old Harbour to its first ever Headley Cup semi-final, says the players are heartbroken.

“The boys are gutted and downhearted, some saying they are not playing anymore schoolboy cricket after this,” he said.

Meantime, experienced cricket administrator O’neil Cruickshank says the rule is too indistinct and should be revised before the start of next season.

Cruickshank, who is the cricket operations manager at the Jamaica Cricket Association, said: “Any rule that leaves itself to various interpretation seemingly ambiguous is likely to create problems, and the best thing to do in all cases is to explain itself fully and leave no room for any doubt as to what it is saying and what is its intention. 

“So for example you would indicate what you mean and to be clear by this… it would state the amount of runs a team has made over the amount of wickets that the team has lost in being able to compile those runs.

“In the unlikely event that the teams are still tied you would use the other tie-breaker. And if you exhaust the other tie-breakers then whoever is the promoter of the event, then those persons, I would have thought, would put something in place that would allow them to break the tie in whichever way they can; it could be by the toss of coin, or a replay if time and money allow.”

The Headley Cup semi-finals are set for March 12 and 13, with defending champions St Elizabeth Technical High School (STETHS) playing Vere Technical at Manchester High, while Holmwood Technical and Manchester High lock horns at STETHS.

The winners will advance to the March 20-22 final at the venue to be announced.