SEVERAL retired Jamaica and West Indies cricketers as well as former and present national players will line up tomorrow in the ‘Stroke of a Legend’ Cricket Festival to honour former Kingston College coach Roy McLean.

Former West Indies captain Courtney Walsh, along with Wavell Hinds, Robert Samuels, Nehemiah Perry, Robert Haynes, Xavier Marshall, Deron Dixon, Delroy Morgan, O’Neil Cruickshank, John Gordon, Richard Austin and Wayne Lewis are down to participate in the matches at Kingston College’s Melbourne Park campus. The day’s activities begin at 9:00 am.

The matches have been arranged to pay respect and to recognise McLean, who also coached at St Andrew Technical, Excelsior High, Kensington Cricket Club and Kingston Cricket Club.

McLean, Jamaica’s most successful coach at the schoolboy and club levels, represented KC in football, cricket and athletics.

The first match at 9:00 will be a 15-over-per-side encounter featuring KC’s present boys against an Old Boys Select Team. This will be followed by a Twenty/20 clash between an Invitational 11 and another Select KC Old Boys team.

McLean was a member of KC team that won the school’s first Manning Cup football title in 1949. He also played on winning Sunlight Cup cricket teams, and was a part of the Boys Athletic Championship teams.

While coaching at KC, McLean was responsible for improving the talent of players like Robert Samuels, Marlon Samuels, Haynes, Wayne Lewis, Andrew Richardson, Kerry Scott, Dixon, Mario Ventura, Valentino Ventura, among others.

He also coached St Andrew Tec to Sunlight Cup glory by unearthing several talented players who went on to represent Jamaica, among them John Gordon, Terrence Corke, Anthony Campbell, Hylton “Pancho” Gordon, Finwaldemar Forbes, and Richard “Danny Germs” Austin, who also played for the West Indies.

Walsh and former Jamaica and West Indies pacer Patrick Patterson were also coached by McLean at Excelsior.

Chief organiser Julian Royal said the atmosphere promises to be a good one.

“It should be a good day for cricket as we honour ‘Mr Mack’ in a special way,” he said. “A citation will be read and there will be a special presentation of a plaque to him. Donations will be collected inside the venue and there will be a collection at the gate.

“All funds will be donated to Roy McLean at the end of game,” Royal said.