Rivals Wolmer’s, St Jago clash in T20 cricket final
WOLMER’S Boys’ and St Jago High will lock horns in an Inter-secondary Schools Sports Association (ISSA) cricket match for a third time in the 2023 season, this occasion in Wednesday’s Twenty20 (T20) urban area final.
The contest is set to begin 11:00 am at Chedwin Park in St Catherine.
Wolmer’s handsomely won both previous contests between the teams this season, most recently in the ISSA Grace Headley Cup final at Melbourne Oval in St Andrew. In that championship decider earlier this month Wolmer’s made an impressive 372-9 declared and dismissed St Jago for 111 and 69 to earn a big innings-and- 192-run victory.
To reach the urban area T20 final, Heroes’ Circle-based Wolmer’s defeated St George’s College by nine wickets in a lopsided affair on Monday while St Jago, situated on Monk Street in Spanish Town, easily beat Excelsior High by 65 runs.
Wolmer’s, who hold the all-island T20 crown after upsetting schoolboy cricket kingpins St Elizabeth Technical last year, are clear favourites.
Their only slip-up this season came in the all-island three-day Spalding Cup, with hosts St Elizabeth Technical prevailing after narrowly claiming first-innings honours in a drawn, rain-affected encounter.
But Wolmer’s Head Coach Jerraine Williams said his players have been urged to avoid complacency.
“This is a final, and we don’t want to go in overconfident. We just want to get everyone in the right frame of mind because this is another hurdle,” he said on the eve of the match.
“We have a title to defend and we won’t be taking St Jago lightly, but with the quality that we have we should come out and enjoy this game despite what our opponents have to offer,” Williams added.
St Jago Head Coach Joseph Lemmie was optimistic of turning the tables on Wolmer’s, especially with the unpredictability of T20 cricket given its compactness of format.
“We know Wolmer’s are a very good team but with the nature of the T20 game, things could go either way. I believe the team which makes fewer mistakes will come out victorious. I’m looking forward to it and I’m backing my team to do well,” Lemmie told the Jamaica Observer.
In the rural area final on Thursday, Manchester High welcome St Elizabeth Technical to Mandeville for a mouth-watering clash.