XLCR seek to topple T20 champions Wolmer’s
THOUGH champions Wolmer’s Boys’ enter the Inter-secondary Schools Sports Association (ISSA) Twenty20 (T20) all-island cricket final as favourites, challengers Excelsior High are eyeing an upset against their fancied urban area counterparts.
Start time is scheduled for 3:00 this afternoon at Sabina Park after the third-place play-off between rivals St Elizabeth Technical High School (STETHS) and Manchester High which is set to begin 10:30 am.
The youthful Excelsior team, guided by Head Coach Kirkland Bailey, has been one of the revelations this schoolboy cricket season. The Mountain View Avenue-based team’s only blemish in the Super 8 phase came in a nail-biting four-run loss to STETHS. After that Excelsior defeated Tacky High and St Jago High to seal a semi-final berth where they upstaged Manchester High by eight wickets.
Wolmer’s, who defeated Excelsior in the ISSA Grace Shield semi-final earlier this season, is expected to be their toughest test yet.
“We are quietly confident,” Bailey told the Jamaica Observer on the eve of the match.
“We know that we are up against it, we know that we are not favoured to win, but that’s why we play the game because anything can happen on the day. We know some people might think we have overachieved but we don’t think so,” he added.
“I know that the Wolmer’s team is a well-rounded team, an experienced team and they are going to be stern opponents. But my team is hitting the right notes at the right time,” the Excelsior coach explained
Notably, Excelsior were not at full strength when the teams previously met. Demarco Scott was on national Under-15 duty, while his bowling partner, the national Under-19 player, Tamarie Redwood, who though he featured, he was bothered by a finger injury.
The Jerraine Williams-coached Wolmer’s, who beat STETHS in last season’s dramatic final at Sabina Park, have not enjoyed a straightforward run to defending their title.
After losing to Manchester High in their Super 8 opener this season, they recovered to beat St George’s College and May Day High to clinch a semi-final spot. There they comfortably defeated STETHS by 46 runs to keep alive their bid to become repeat champions.
“We are defending champions, we have something to lose. We are not taking this Excelsior team lightly because they can be a force to be reckoned with,” Williams told the Observer.
“Beating them in the Grace Shield is a boost, but this Excelsior team is a very tricky team. And it’s a final, a big game and it’s T20 cricket, so it can go either way. We have to turn up and play our best cricket and hopefully we can turn up with the trophy on Saturday,” he said.
The Wolmer’s Boys’ head coach noted that the earlier loss in the Super 8 stage was just the nudge his team needed to regain focus.
“We were a bit laid-back with the batting, but after that game [defeat to Manchester High] I think everything came together. The I think the guys took that one hard and we came back strong after that.
“The guys have been putting in the work…they have put their hands up and their best foot forward. The guys have really come into their own as a group,” Williams explained.