By Kevin Black
Staff Writer
April 20, 2025
Emerging from the rural community of Swift River in Portland, young cricket sensation Abigail Bryce has been making waves in the world of regional female cricket.
She has been consistently performing at an exceptional level as she regularly represents the Jamaican national cricket teams in the various events and competitions. Despite being born and brought up in a small farming community, the young talent was making big moves and has been reaping the benefits of her talent.
The community of Swift River is a rural area within the confines of West Portland, Jamaica primarily known as being a farming central and tourist hotspot. Outside of this, the public perception of Swift River is essentially that it is an area that is prone to stagnation and lack of opportunities for its youth. However, according to Denese Jackson, Bryce’s mother, Abigail has found the opportunity of a lifetime right within the confines of Swift River as her professional cricket journey began there.
“This all actually began when I was playing cricket as a team member for the Portland Cooperative Credit Union’s Cricket Team. During my tenure there, she was coming to matches with me since the ripe age of six years old and started playing herself at 10 years old. It’s when the Kingston Wharf was having a competition that she got her opportunity to really shine. She played for the junior side and the right eyes witnessed her performance. Not too long after, they reached out to me and insisted that I allow her to join the national women’s team,” she said.
Following this initial invitation, Bryce quickly became one of the most crucial aspects to her respective cricket teams. She plays for the Jamaica Senior Female Cricket Team and The Under 19 West Indies Cricket Team. She oftentimes only goes home to Swift River for a week and then leaves again to continue her work. Bryce made it very clear that the experience has been a rewarding one that she would not trade for the world.
“It’s been a great experience so far and I’m very grateful for it, to be representing my country at the international level. I have had many proud moments and I really enjoy going to different countries and experiencing different cultures. While the change of scenery is fun, the main objective as you know, is to play cricket and it’s actually so amazing that I can be representing my country on such a large scale. It feels surreal”.
Abigail trains assiduously to ensure that her talents are truly refined so that she can give of her best whenever she is on the field. Her training regimen does not allow for a lot of free time, but she tries her best to find a balance. She believes that in order to achieve her goals, she has to give it her all and test her limits.
“I have to push myself to my limits. This is the only way I will achieve my dream which is to be one of the best female cricketers around. I fully intend on becoming a professional and I aspire to be able to take care of my family through this. That’s why I work so hard, for them. The truth is there is no shortcut to success and hard work is what brings that success. This is why we have to keep working to improve our skills.”
Abigail’s story raises a lot of questions for young women in sports nationally. She was lucky enough to get a once in a lifetime opportunity in her hometown but what about other young women who are not subject to the same opportunity. According to Dennis Graham, one of the Portland Parish Coaches for Junior Track and Field, Football and Cricket, there are several measures that the government can implement to provide more opportunities.
"The government can start to push sports more at the primary and high school levels and provide sponsorship and equipment. The main thing is to provide incentives so that more girls will want to get involved in sporting activities, which most times start in the schools. An agency like the Institute of Sports can use field officers within each parish to put forward more competitions for girls so more girls can be discovered. It is also imperative that the government ensures that the people responsible for scouting talents are present at the aforementioned competitions.”
Abigail’s story serves as proof that great things can come to people who are from humble beginnings. She received the opportunity to play for her region right from within the confines of her local community in rural Portland and a bright future is ahead of her. She serves as an inspiration to women in sports everywhere.