TONY Becca, the veteran Jamaican sportswriter and member of the Melbourne Cricket Club (MCC), died yesterday from complications brought on by dengue. He was 78.
Reports said Becca died at The St. Andrew’s Hospital in Kingston shortly before 05:00hts. He was admitted to hospital suffering from dengue fever.
Becca had also been battling a series of illnesses over the past decade.
Gleaner Sports Editor Andre Lowe was saddened by the news.
From a personal perspective, I am deeply saddened by Mr Becca’s passing.
“I have tremendous respect for him as a person and as a professional. He was always willing and available to offer a word of encouragement and advice and he certainly made his mark, not only as an icon where cricket and sports journalism, in general, is concerned but as an exceptional human being, who was never too proud to help others.
“He’s an example for the rest of us and the world of cricket journalism has lost a true giant,” Lowe said in a statement to Sportsmax.TV.
Known for covering more than 100 Test matches during his illustrious career, which began in the 1950s, Becca watched his first Test match in 1953.
Following his retirement from the Gleaner, he continued to write a weekly column for the paper until the time of his passing.
His final column published on February 24, 2019, addressed the upcoming Jamaica Cricket Association elections in which Mark Neita, a fellow member of the MCC, is challenging the incumbent Billy Heaven.
The election was due to be held last night.(Sportsmax)
