STETHS captain says mature knock was vital to Spalding Cup triumph

Tyriek Bryan, the St Elizabeth Technical High School (STETHS) cricket captain, says he knew he had to play a special knock to ensure his team secured the ISSA/GraceKennedy all-island Spalding Cup.

The left-hand opener struck a monumental 239 off 319 deliveries to give the rural area Headley Cup cricket champions first-innings honours against Excelsior High at STETHS Sports Complex.

The advantage proved crucial as the rain-abbreviated three-day contest ended in a draw without a ball being bowled on Friday due to a saturated field.

A torrential downpour on Thursday had caused nearly three hours of play to be lost in the afternoon.

At that stage, urban Grace Shield winners Excelsior were 16 with loss in their second innings, still trailing STETHS by 185 runs after they were faced with a 201-run first-innings deficit.

Scores: Excelsior 127 & 16-0; STETHS 328.

Bryan, a Jamaica youth player, who batted with immense patience and maturity late on Wednesday’s opening day, opened up with more expansive stroke play on Thursday to punish Excelsior. Overall, he struck 24 fours and eight sixes. His 239 is said to be a record-high score in the history of the Spalding Cup, which is contested between the rural and urban high school champions.

On Wednesday afternoon, Excelsior spinner Nicoli McKenzie, who grabbed 6-93, threatened to roll over STETHS when he grabbed three quick wickets. But Bryan and Kevaun Brown (31) repelled Excelsior with a 156-run stand that all effectively decided the outcome of the match.

“I knew I had to do it for us to win [the title],” the slim-built batsman told the Jamaica Observer on Friday.

He recounted that he and his teammates had held off on celebrating after dethroning Manchester High in the GK General Insurance Headley Cup because of other competitions remaining this season, including the upcoming all-island eight-team Twenty20 (T20) tournament.

“Two weeks ago when we won the Headley Cup I wasn’t ready to celebrate because down the years we have always felt the Spalding Cup is the biggest prize and we had to win it this season. That’s why I had to stand up and play that innings,” he said.

“We are now looking forward to the T20s… a different kind of cricket, white ball, [with] plenty of excitement. We are going to do our very best,” Bryan added.

There was controversy in the Spalding Cup match because the hosts did not have sufficient covers to protect the bowlers’ run-up at both ends of the pitch. That caused sogginess in those areas when it rained, which deemed a disadvantage to Excelsior who had to recover to win the match outright to claim the title.

The Headley Cup final at the venue earlier this month was similarly affected by rain, with STETHS emerging champions.

Additionally, the Spalding Cup contest began Wednesday, a day later than originally scheduled after the ground staff failed to prepare the pitch and outfield in time on the heels of the Easter holiday period.

Match officials and organisers eventually agreed to reschedule the start to ensure no playing time was lost because of the embarrassing foul-up.