KINGSTON, Jamaica — In a dominant display of youth cricketing talent on Saturday, Kingston College (KC) successfully defended its Inter-secondary Schools Sports Association (ISSA) Urban Under-14 cricket crown, securing a lopsided victory over Excelsior High, powered by a historic all-round performance from budding star Rajae McGeachy.
Winning the toss and opting to bat first, KC posted a solid total of 132 runs for the loss of six wickets across its 30 allotted overs. The innings was anchored entirely by opening batsman McGeachy, who blasted an aggressive 76 runs off just 61 deliveries, decorated with seven boundaries and four towering sixes. By the time McGeachy departed as KC’s first wicket, the side had already reached 82 runs, putting them firmly on course for a competitive total. Middle-order batsman Marcus Bryan chipped in with a valuable 36 runs, including six fours, to push KC to its final match-winning score. For Excelsior, Nathan Laing claimed three wickets while conceding 44 runs, and Jqune Morales picked up two wickets for 16 runs to cap the bowling effort.
What followed was a devastating bowling display from McGeachy that left Excelsior’s batting line-up in tatters. Starting from the first over, the Mountain View-based school’s chase got off to a catastrophic start when its top batsman Ricardo Clarke was bowled by McGeachy for a golden duck. Excelsior never recovered from the early blow, collapsing to a measly total of just 21 runs all out. McGeachy finished with astonishing bowling figures of seven wickets for only six runs, completely dismantling Excelsior’s order, with supporting spinner Jaydon Miller chipping in with three wickets for 13 runs to wrap up the innings.
The player-of-the-match performance from McGeachy was no outlier, however. Across the entire Under-14 tournament, the all-rounder claimed the Most Valuable Player (MVP) award after posting staggering batting statistics: 636 runs scored across just six innings, for an unthinkable average of 212. His tournament included a 196-run knock against Excelsior in an earlier group stage match, a 146-run innings against Campion College, and a 168-run score against Innswood High. With the ball, McGeachy finished second across the tournament with 44 wickets, just behind Bridgeport High’s Keyrani Beckford, who took 52.
Remarkably, this title win is just one of two MVP honors McGeachy earned this season for KC. He also picked up MVP honors in the ISSA Urban Under-16 competition, which KC also won for the second consecutive year. In the Under-16 semi-final against Wolmer’s Boys’, McGeachy scored an unbeaten 224 runs to lead KC to a 266-run victory, securing their spot in the final.
KC head coach Shane Brooks credited the program’s year-round commitment to training and development for the school’s back-to-back double titles in both the Under-14 and Under-16 age groups. “We defended our U-14 and U-16 titles. I think we have been doing a lot of work. This programme is going non-stop for the last two years,” Brooks explained to local outlet Observer Online. “Having joined the KC programme in 2022, we have not stopped. We have been going right through the summers with different programmes that we put in place. We have been going through all the holidays while other persons are resting and relaxing.”
Brooks added that the program maintains consistent momentum even outside peak competition seasons, prioritizing ongoing experience for developing players. “We are pushing these boys. We are continuing the work because we don’t think we are where we want to be as yet. But, you know, everything comes with time. We might lower the intensity during certain periods, but we never come to a standstill. We ensure that our boys are involved with clubs. We ensure that our boys are involved with whatever teams that they can get some experience from. We are open to training right through the year. We have planned properly. These guys have executed perfectly. The KC, rightfully, are champions again, Under-14, Under-16.”