Howard Campbell, Gleaner Writer
Robert Bryan, executive director of the Local Organising Committee for Cricket World Cup 2007. - RICARDO MAKYN/STAFF PHOTOGRAPHER
AS AN opening batsman for Jamaica College in the Sunlight Cup during the early 1970s, Robert Bryan says he faced the fearsome pace of Kingston College opening bowlers, Michael Holding and Seymour Newman.
Maybe their fiery deliveries prepared him for his current job as executive director of Jamaica Cricket 2007 which is fine-tuning the local leg of the Cricket World Cup.
STICKIER WICKET
Since being appointed to the post in July last year, Bryan has found the 'bowling' just as hostile, particularly in recent months. The wicket has got stickier in the last two weeks.
First, Bryan threw down the gauntlet to Ashtrom Building Systems Limited, the company overseeing the renovation of Sabina Park, one of two local venues that will host matches for the World Cup.
Ashtrom said a combination of factors, including shortage of cement, would prevent them from making the November 2006 completion deadline. February 2007, the company said, was more realistic.
Bryan would have none of it.
"We have expressed to them our deep concern on the project to date and further indicated the very low level of confidence we have in the perceived commitment of Ashtrom to complete the project in accordance with their contractual obligations," said Bryan.
One week later, Bryan was in Trelawny where there was a minor standoff between local workers and COMPLANT, a Chinese company assigned to construct sections of the new Greenfield stadium.
The locals were offended when the company brought in Chinese workers to assist them on the facility's south stand which is behind schedule.
Tempers soon cooled and Bryan reported that construction at Sabina and Greenfield will be complete by November.
Both incidents got local and international press.
SUPPORT FROM ALL SECTORS
But Bryan says with the West Indies hosting a tournament the magnitude of the World Cup for the first time, there are bound to be a few niggles.
"With the government of Jamaica deciding to become a host of a major world event there are certain things that come with that, and I think the challenges we are facing have put every sector involved to the test," he told The Gleaner last Friday.
With the World Cup less than one year away, Bryan has called on all sectors to be prepared for that test.
He has urged Jamaicans to support the local leg of the tournament, not just by attending the seven matches that will be played here but helping to remove the country's reputation for violence.
"I'm not concerned about deadlines for finishing stadiums, that is not an option," he said. "What I would like to see is Kingston not as it is now but what it can be, and for a rural appreciation of something like the World Cup."
Ensuring construction deadlines are met are not the only problems Bryan has faced as head of Jamaica Cricket 2007.
In February, Kingston's Mayor Desmond McKenzie said the posting of certain billboards at and around Sabina Park without consent of the Kingston and St. Andrew Council's consent was illegal.
The Jamaica Teachers' Association also had a grouse, challenging government's decision to close schools near the ground on days when matches are played.
After separate meetings with Mayor McKenzie and the JTA, both issues were settled.
NO NOVICE TO NEGOTIATIONS
The St. Elizabeth-born Bryan is no novice to organisation or negotiations.
A graduate of the University of the West Indies where he was an economics major, Bryan has worked in government for almost 20 years. Prior to his appointment at Jamaica Cricket 2007, he was executive director at the Social Development Commission.
Three months before taking the job, he and other members of the National Solid Waste Management Agency board resigned amid allegations of widespread corruption.
PROVIDING ENTERTAINMENT
Despite last week's turbulent events, there was some good news for Bryan and his team.
They have been assigned by government to organise the entertainment package for the World Cup opening ceremony here in March.
That's familiar territory for Bryan who has operated Grizzly's Entertainment with his wife, Andrea, for several years.
The company has promoted live shows featuring top acts such as Beres Hammond and Morgan Heritage.
