A consortium of administrators and past students of Meadowbrook High School has launched a cricket programme to restore the institution to its glory years of the 1980s, when it was crowned Sunlight Cup champions (Corporate Area schoolboy champions, now the Grace Shield) on three occasions.

Principal Kevin Facey explains that the group realised that there had to be significant investment in the sport, including the development of the Michigan Avenue field utilised by the school and possible collaboration with Melbourne Cricket Club.

“We recognise that it has to be a three to five year endeavour, including locating a good development coach, developing a pitch and upgrading the concrete training pitches (nets), as well as buying gear and generating interest in the sport which has waned over the years, among the current students,” he said in an interview.

A first step in the direction of the revival came recently when members of the 1982 team and some others who played a role in the then unprecedented victory were honoured in a ceremony to welcome incoming students, as well as presenting a few copies of the book ‘Starling Surprise‘ written by the captain of the team Glaister ‘Jelly’ Prince about the school’s first and other victories. 

Prince said the school, including the past students, were invested in returning cricketing success to Meadowbrook High, but recognised that it would take time, as interest in cricket had gone down not only in Jamaica, but across the West Indies.

He pointed to the recent conclusions of the West Indies Cricket Board study, which outlined a number of deficiencies and needs in the regional game.

Among these were: struggles with financial limitations; inadequate infrastructure and facilities; a lack of specialist coaching support, leading to a fragmented player development pathway and poor performance;  technical/tactical deficiencies in players, which manifested in a declining quality at the schoolboy and community levels, as well as in regional tournaments and ultimately West Indies cricket teams.

“Cricket is now not among the top three most popular sports in Jamaica, Meadowbrook has not entered a team for the past three years in the Grace Shield… so we intend to begin the task of restoring the game to its rightful place at Meadowbrook,” Prince noted.