XLCR, Manchester coaches praise players after respective T20 triumphs
The respective urban and rural Twenty20 (T20) cricket winning coaches were overjoyed for their teams after both finals were contested last week.
At Melbourne Oval in St Andrew on April 19, the Kirkland Bailey-coached Excelsior High destroyed Kingston College by 181 runs to walk away with the Inter-secondary Schools Sports Association (ISSA)/GK Insurance urban area T20 crown.
After amassing 244-5 from their allotted 20 overs, Excelsior returned to blow away Kingston College for only 63.
A day later Manchester High defeated St Elizabeth Technical High School (STETHS) by 22 runs in the ISSA/First Global Bank rural area T20 final at Manchester High School’s base in Mandeville.
Manchester, coached by Burtram “Barry” Barnes, batted first and made a challenging 181-5 from 20 overs before restricting major rivals STETHS to 159-7.
Bailey told the Jamaica Observer he was proud the Excelsior players delivered in the manner they did on the big stage against Kingston College.
“I’m happy that the guys executed on the day, under pressure. We were always doing well during the season but to do that well in a final was very good to see. The youngsters really came out and dominated with both bat and ball,” he said after the match.
“The [nature of the win] speaks well of the space that we are currently in. It was very mature and we seem to be peaking at the right time. We have been gelling and getting better as a unit,” the Excelsior coach added.
Barnes admitted he was a little taken aback by Manchester High’s progress after a slow start to the campaign.
“It’s [the level of success] one that I honestly did not expect this season,” he said.
“When we started we had a lot of issues… the whole morale of the team was not there. But as we went along, everything started to fall in place, and I’m really pleased with where we are at now. They are talented, they are confident and they are playing as a team,” the Manchester coach explained.
Earlier this week, urban area Grace Shield champions Excelsior hammered rural area Grace Headley Cup winners Manchester High by 185 runs inside two days in the scheduled three-day all-island Spalding Cup play-off contest at Melbourne Oval.
Both teams and six others are down to compete in the ISSA Super Eight T20 competition which is set to begin this morning.
Manchester High are in Group One alongside Clarendon College, Kingston College and St Catherine High. Excelsior High are to square off against STETHS, St George’s College and Tacky High in Group Two.
