SANTA CRUZ, St Elizabeth — Pressed to the wall in mid-afternoon on Wednesday, St Elizabeth Technical High School (STETHS) fought back brilliantly to dispatch urban champions Innswood High School by seven wickets in the all-island high schools final for the ISSA/Grace Spaulding Cup at STETHS yesterday.

The come-from-behind victory for the all-rural ISSA/Grace Headley Cup champions was fashioned largely by another fine display from the Jamaica Under-15 and Under-19 wrist-spinner Donovan Nelson.

He followed up his first-innings eight-wicket haul to collect 5-36 as Innswood, resuming yesterday at 122-6, were dismissed for 179, which together with their first-innings 61-run advantage, provided the visitors with a lead of 241.

Nelson, who ended with match figures of 13-127, then watched from the comfort of the pavilion as the STETHS top-order batsmen made light work of the run chase on a wonderful third-day pitch.

Openers Sheldon Samuels (91) and Desmond Jones (57) got the bulk of the runs in a stand of 144.

Buoyed by joyful rhythmic cheering from the large home support, STETHS captain Paul Palmer, 37 not out, Vaneil Bromfield, 35, and Bryan Gayle, not out two, then carried STETHS home with a flurry of boundaries.

Scores: Innswood High 285 and 179; STETHS 224 and 241-3.

The triumph reconfirmed STETHS’s standing as the most successful school in local schoolboy cricket. There was some disagreement yesterday as to whether this was the 16th or 17th Spaulding Cup title for STETHS.

But there was agreement that they have won it more than any other school, and also that the last time an urban school won the all-island title was back in 1985.

STETHS last won the Cup in 2008. It was not contested last year because of a dispute over venue.

Yesterday, STETHS coach Clive Ledgister hailed his side for their resolve, for showing “true championship qualities” and for “fighting magnificently”.

He claimed he always knew victory was possible even after trailing badly on first innings.

“We knew it would be difficult and that what we had to do was come together as a team and make plans as to how well we can execute to recover, and that’s what we did,” he said.

He praised the school and Santa Cruz communities for their consistent support and claimed that was a major consideration for the team’s rebound.

“They knew that they batted badly in the first innings and that the whole of Santa Cruz was watching. They knew that after dominating cricket for so long it would be embarrassing to go down in their backyard without giving their best,” said Ledgister.

Losing coach Kirk Gordon praised his team for doing as well as they did in only their second year in the top flight of urban-area schoolboy cricket.

Innswood, promoted from the Grace Shield ‘A’ League a year ago, not only won the Grace Shield this year, but also the limited overs knock-out competition.

Gordon said he was looking forward to next year when Innswood would again be bringing to the fore a “group of good, young players … Innswood will be around for a very long time…,” he said.

It took an hour and 20 minutes yesterday morning for STETHS to wrap up the Innswood innings. Nelson, finding sharp turn and bounce with his leg-breaks and the odd googly, dismissed Kerwin Bonner (20), Jermaine Brown (36), Michail Powell (eight), and Jermaine Bennett (two) — all to expert catches by Palmer at slip.

Samuels and Jones then took charge, posting a 144-run opening stand in just 146 minutes.

The composed, compact right-handed Jones had stroked five fours and faced 115 balls when he fell leg-before to part-time wrist-spinner Oshane Morgan, having visibly lost concentration.

The right-handed Samuels, who had admirably curbed his instinctive belligerence, had stroked eight fours and faced 118 balls in 194 minutes when he fell caught and bowled by part-time seamer Oraine Williams, nine short of a deserved century. By then, at 179-2, the game was as good as over, leaving Palmer and company to add the finishing touches.