Wolmer’s defend T20 title against plucky Excelsior

THERE WAS no doubt that Wolmer’s Boys’ School were one of the most talented schoolboy teams this season, and that talent was certainly on display yesterday as they claimed back-to-back Inter-Secondary Schools Sports Association (ISSA) Super 8 TVJ T20 titles following a six-wicket win over Excelsior High School in the final at Sabina Park.

Excelsior, who decided to take first strike, posted a formiddable 149 for six in their allotted 20 overs, which Wolmer’s made look easy, scoring 150 for four in 17.4 overs.

There was some awesome hitting on display, first by Excelsior’s Brian Clarke, who smashed an unbeaten 79 from 31 balls to set up the respectable total.

Opener David Dewar chipped in with 33 from 45 balls, while Demarco Scott made 26 from 31 balls.

Wolmer’s began their run chase positively with openers Corey Hinds and Jose Northover taking them to the halfway mark after scoring 77 runs.

Hinds made 25 from 20 balls while Northover chipped in with 28 from 31 balls before they fell to spinners Tamari Redwood and Demarco Scott, respectively.

West Indies under-19 batsman Jordan Johnson then took over and ensured that Wolmer’s got over the line as his innings of 37 not out sealed the win by six wickets.

Johnson was named player of the final while Corey Hinds secured the tournament MVP award.

ALWAYS CONFIDENT

Winning captain Justin Beckford said his charges were always confident, irrespective of whatever score Excelsior gave them to chase.

“I said to my team that with the 150 on the board, we were going out there to play positive cricket and it didn’t matter if they made 300, we would have gone after it the same way.”

Losing captain Clarke said his young team lost to a formidable Wolmer’s unit who are deserving of winning back-to-back titles.

“We were very comfortable with our total of 149, but Wolmer’s were the better team today, and I must tip my hat to them and their captain, Justin Beckford.”

Earlier in the day, Manchester High School secured third place following an eight-wicket win over St Elizabeth Technical High School (STETHS).

STETHS first made 116 for nine after which Manchester replied with 122 for two in 10.5 overs.