INNSWOOD High will seek to defend their ISSA/Grace Shield title when they meet Norman Manley High starting today in the championship match at the Melbourne Cricket Club.

Play in the three-day urban area final is scheduled to commence at 10:00 each morning.

Innswood High progressed to this stage after topping St Jago High, Wolmer’s Boys’ and First Global ‘A’ League winners St George’s College in Group A of the semi-final round.

Norman Manley were just as convincing in Group B, which included Spanish Town High, Calabar High and ‘A’ League losing finalists Mona High.

Like last season, captain Oraine Williams has led Innswood’s batting charge with big knocks at the top of the innings. The prolific opener, who amassed 810 runs in the 2010 Grace Shield competition, goes into the final with 725 runs scored this year. He has struck four centuries, including a double against St Jago last week.

While not as dominant as least season, fellow opener Peat Salmon has contributed vital runs. Middle-order batsman Kemar Foster, who is also the national football Under-20 goalkeeper, returned from recent World Cup qualifying duties in Guatemala to score a hundred against St Jago and is also expected to feature prominently.

Innswood’s main bowling threats are wrist-spinner Jermaine Bennett, left-arm orthodox spinner Stephan Casey and Salmon, with his uncomplicated off-spin.

Aside from being the reigning champions, the Old Harbour Road-based school, will be buoyed by the fact that they bowled out Norman Manley for 60 en route to an easy win when the teams met in the preliminary phase this year.

Coach Kirk Gordon, who guided Innswood during last year’s successful run, told the Observer that despite that first round victory, he is expecting a stiff challenge this time around.

“When we beat them in the early rounds it was one innings per team, but now it is two innings each over three days so it’s a different format. We are expecting a tough game from Norman Manley and we will not take them for granted.

“Furthermore, they must be playing better now to have reached the final. I’m confident though that if we deliver in all the areas we should prevail and achieve our pre-season aim of successfully defending the Shield,” Gordon said.

Norman Manley’s coach, Carl Stephens also dismissed the relevance of the previous defeat and declared that his players are ready to challenge the might of Innswood.

“That loss is in the past. Yes, they beat us, but it will have no effect on this game. We are playing much better now and we also had four crucial members who missed that game because of the flu. We are now very well prepared and the players are ready for this task,” he said.

Kerron Edwards and left-hander Curtis Blair both notched hundreds against Mona in the semis, and along with Under-15 representative Nicholas Hamilton, are expected to shoulder the batting responsibilities.

The Maxfield Avenue-based school is also heavily dependent on its slow bowlers to dismiss opposition batsmen. Off-spinners Edwards and Joseph Bucknor, as well as left-arm wrist-spinner Jahmoy Lawrence have been this season’s outstanding bowlers.