SDC T20 setting right example – Chacko-Wilmot

The name Daniel Chacko-Wilmot is one that is well known in the sporting sphere of Jamaica's Mixed Martial Arts (MMA) circuit as the president of the MMA Jamaica Sports Federation (MMAJSF). In an interview recently, Chacko-Wilmot also reminisced about his time as a cricketer during his youth.

While not highly publicised, Chacko-Wilmot was well travelled during his cricket career.

"I played Sunlight cricket for Campion College," he said. "I played in Australia semi-professionally when I was 19, and I also played some cricket in California. I played some cricket in Costa Rica for the Costa Rican national team, and I also played a lot of club cricket for Lucas as well as University of the West Indies. UWI would have taken me to a lot of inter-campus games and I also had a stint of cricket in England."

With these experiences under his belt, Chacko-Wilmot said that he took various lessons from the sport that helped to mould him into the person he is today.

Sport, he believes, is a tool to develop essential core values.

"Discipline is a lesson I learnt from the sport. It is a good guide in life as it creates a fighting spirit within people that if you have to do something, you have to do it well because you have to fight hard for it," he said. "I think sport has brought discipline, and it has kept me out of trouble. It has really encouraged me to be passionate about what I want to do in life."

A step in the right direction

A fan of the sport, Chacko-Wilmot commended the efforts of the Social Development Commission (SDC) Wray & Nephew National Community T20 cricket competition, which he believes is a great initiative in boosting the quality and popularity of the sport.

"I think it's good as it is a step in the right place in terms of getting more teams and more people involved in cricket. I think that's something that the organisers and the cricket board have to do - get more people involved in cricket," he said. "I think that the SDC cricket competition is definitely a step in the right direction. I hope that the private sector can step up and create more cricket competitions."

Describing himself as an old-fashioned person as he prefers the Test cricket format over Twenty20s (T20) format, Chacko-Wilmot said that the private sector can capitalise on the shorter format, which has seen, a boost in popularity over the years.

"With the entertainment value of T20 cricket, I think the private sector should actually take in and create more competitions like the SDC with the T20 format. They should create more competitions and get cricket popping again."

- Gregory Bryce