Mandeville, Manchester - Defending all-island champions Holmwood Technical High marked the historic launch of the Grace Kennedy group's sponsorship of rural school boy Headley Cup cricket with a satisfying 10-wicket win over Albert Town High at the Kirkvine Sports Club, yesterday.

First, leg spinner Oshane Jones took 5-12 from 7.2 overs and off-spinner Ziggy levy 3-19 from 10 overs to dismiss Albert Town for 54 - Kirk Fisher topscoring with 20.

The Holmwood openers, Marlon Johnson 31 not out and Jeffrey Scott 22 not out, then cruised to victory, reaching 58-0.

Earlier, the two teams were joined by colleague cricketers from Mile Gully High, Edwin Allen High, Bellefield High and Oracabessa High in witnessing a short opening ceremony during which the GraceKennedy Financial Services Division - First Global Financial Services, First Global Bank, Allied Insurance Brokers and Jamaica International Insurance Broker - was formally acknowledged as sponsors of high school cricket islandwide.

Paul Mitchell, Financial Director of Jamaica International Insurance Company (JIIC) said after years of sponsoring the urban Grace Shield with "considerable success" the financial services division was "proud to be associated with the Headley Cup" which has been "the incubator of talented players who have gone on to represent both Jamaica and the West Indies".

Other speakers, Paul Bailey, principal of Holmwood, which swept the Headley Cup and the all-island Spaulding Cup last year, as well Lt Col Errol Johnson, chairman of the Grace/Headley Cup competition and Clement Radcliffe, president of the Inter-Secondary Schools Association (ISSA) which runs high schools sport, heaped praise on GraceKennedy for extending their sponsorship.

Grace Kennedy's sponsorship of both the urban and urban competitions will be worth $8 million, reaching 73 high schools participating in the rural Headley Cup and 31 in the Grace Shield. The rural schools are split into 12 zones from A to L with the two teams from each zone moving on by a process of elimination to semi-finals and final in April.

Round one and two are single-innings games played over one day. The third round and semi-finals will be two-day, two-innings games, while the final will be two innings over three days.

Today's Headley Cup schedule: Cornwall vs Cambridge, William Knibb vs Herbert Morrison Muschette vs St James High in Zone A.

Zone C: Godfrey Stewart vs Maude McLeod, Little London vs Merlene Ottey.

Zone F: Manchester vs Bellefield, Balaclava vs Mile Gully, DeCarteret vs Cross Keys.

Zone I: Bustamante vs Kemps Hill, Vere vs Tacius Golding, Old Harbour vs Porus.

Zone K: Oracabessa vs St Mary High, Iona vs Tacky, Annotto Bay vs Brimmer Vale.

Zone L: Seaforth vs Yallas, Fair Prospect vs Happy Grove, Titchfield vs St Thomas.

Today's Corporate Area Grace Shield schedule: KC vs St George's, Waterford vs Norman Manley, St Catherine vs Wolmer's in Group A.

myersg@jamaicaobserver.com

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