The boys from St Catherine are back again.
After spending three years in the wilderness, St Catherine’s will be making their grand return to the Guardian General Herman Griffith Primary School Cricket Competition today when they face St Martin’s Mangrove at Rices in one of 27 opening matches.
The long-awaited comeback of the former two-time champs was the major storyline revolving around yesterday’s launch of the tournament’s 33rd edition at the headquarters of sponsors Guardian General Insurance Limited.
“It feels good because this is the school that also produced [West Indies Under-19 batsman] Anthony Alleyne and I’m particularly happy to see them back,” said St Catherine club member Andrew Mason.
“It’s a school of just a few students, with financial challenges of course, but I still expect them to be highly competitive.
“Hopefully, in the future we will see St Catherine’s club adopt the school so that what has happened over the last three years won’t ever happen again,” he added.
They’re just one of five schools making their return to the competition this year, which will see Half Moon Fort, St Paul’s, Holy Innocent and Sharon Primary coming back to the field of play as well.
St Catherine’s opening game won’t serve as the featured contest though, as all the hype will surround defending nine-time champs Wesley Hall in their huge Zone D1 encounter against George Lamming at Friendship.
The only team to win back-to-back titles twice (1982-1983, 1991-1992), Wesley Hall will start their hunt for an unprecedented tenth title after West Indies Under-19 player Justin Greaves greets both sides on the pitch ahead of the 10 a.m. start.
Former three-time champs Bayleys, last year’s losing finalists who last won in 2011, open at home as heavy tournament favourites against Hilda Skeene, while perennial title contenders St Christopher face St Gabriel’s at Inch Marlow.
This year’s tournament will feature a total of 175 matches with 54 teams vying for one of the most coveted titles in all of primary school sports.
“Even though we may have a different logo, our commitment and support of this cricket competition remains unchanged and, in fact, has grown stronger as today’s launch is testimony to this,” said executive manager of Guardian General, Nigel Adams.
“This year our team plans to further highlight the various aspects of the competition on our Guardian Group Facebook page, including a photo of the week, daily fixtures, highlights and updates of the games to ensure that we keep you well informed of the progress of our young stars.”
