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Defending Champions Kingston CC and Westmoreland are all set to contest the final of the Sandals all-island limited-over cricket competition at Kaiser Sports Club, Discovery Bay, on Saturday following their semi-final victories over the weekend.

Cricket fans, however, have been asking one question since Saturday when Kingston CC, led by an invaluable 66 by Richard Smith from Trinidad and Tobago, scored 175 and then dismissed the Jamaica Defence Force for 173 to win their semi-final encounter at Sabina Park.

The question is this: should Smith, a non-Jamaican who does not live in Jamaica, have been allowed to play although he is a member of the club?

According to George Prescod, chief executive officer of the Jamaica Cricket Association, Kingston CC checked if Smith was eligible and he said yes.

Rule 18 of the JCA's general rules relative to competitions, the rule which deals with residential qualifications, reads as follows:

``No member of a club, except the University of the West Indies, college or school, shall be allowed to play in any match in any competition except he has been residing in the island for three months preceeding such match, provided that this rule shall not apply to members of a club absent from the island for a period not exceeding one year and providing also that no disqualification in this rule shall apply to members of clubs who may be citizens of Jamaica.''

The rule was relaxed to facilitate the County Championship which was first played in 1997, but remains in force for all other competitions.

Smith has represented the club in the County Championships, but the rules were only relaxed for that competition in order to facilitate the participation of West Indies players from the other territories.

On Monday, the JDF spoke to the JCA's CEO about the matter and was told to lodge a formal complaint which would then be taken to the board's monthly meeting which was scheduled for last night. According to the CEO, the complaint was not lodged up to yesterday evening.

In the past three years, two clubs which requested permission to use overseas players in the local competitions were told no.

In the eastern Caribbean, players are allowed to move from territory to territory, and the JCA is contemplating changing its rules and falling in line. The decision, however, has not been taken.