RBAI have made history even before they take the field at Wallace Park on Friday afternoon (1pm start). They will be the first team to play in five consecutive Schools Cup finals and, going back to 2016, remarkably, they have failed to reach only one – when Belfast Royal Academy beat them in the 2019 semi-final.

They have lost three finals in that run, so they are not invincible on finals day, but they will become the first school to complete a hat-trick of wins if they can overcome Sullivan Upper today.

Six other schools have won back to back Cup Finals but only Bangor Grammar in 1992 and RBAI themselves in 2008 have had the chance to win three in a row before this year’s class from Inst.

All those stats, however, do a disservice to a player who is in place to break every record in the book if he continues his astonishing performance in this year’s competition.

Adam Leckey has not only taken 11 wickets, including a hat-trick, in RBAI’s first three games but he has also scored 172 runs – and has yet to be dismissed.

The captain set the standard in the second round game (RBAI received a first round bye) against Wallace High when he hit 120 not out and had figures of two for 22. In the quarter-final, he was chiefly responsible for bowling out Strabane Academy for 67, taking six for 16 and followed up by top scoring in the chase with 28 not out.

On Wednesday, in the semi-final against Foyle and Londonderry College, Leckey had to be content to be joint top scorer with James West on 24 not out in a nine wickets win after taking three for 14 as the hosts were dismissed for 80.

Leckey has already created a record by appearing in his fourth Cup final and Darren O’Neill, who has overseen RBAI’s last 10 Cup finals as Master in Charge of Cricket, has obviously followed Leckey’s path as closely as anyone.

“Adam is remarkable and not just for the school,” said O’Neill. “He finished with one of the best ever batting averages ever on Ireland Under-19s recent tour to Zimbabwe (107.7) and the only player I can compare him with at a similar age for the school was James Shannon. Adam certainly has the potential to keep going.”

Shannon went on to win 19 caps for Ireland and it would be no surprise to see Leckey and his opening batting partner at Under-19 level and Civil Service North team-mate West go on and surpass that.

Leckey is one of six players who are in Upper Sixth this year – so their last year at school – with George Craigan, Ben McCausland, Alastair Watt, Daniel Henry and Max Wilmott the others hoping to bow out with a winners’ medal.

The strength of this year’s team can be gauged by the selection for next week’s Ulster Schools game. West has been named as captain and four others will be in action against MCC - and they don’t include Leckey who is unavailable.

In contrast, Sullivan have only Matthew Kennedy, their Fifth form all-rounder in the Ulster team and he has been one of the stars en route to only their second ever final – the previous one in 2010 when one Ross Adair top scored with 59 in their defeat by holders Foyle and Londonderry College.

Kennedy, the son of Ireland international David, who has an active role with the team on match days, top scored in their second round victory over Grosvenor Grammar, and followed up with five wickets in the wins over Campbell College, bowled out for 86 and Regent House, dismissed for 51.

Kennedy is the slow bowler in the team backing up the pace attack of brothers Jacob and Lucas McKeown, the accurate Reuben Shine, Issac Wray and Tom Bradford. Lucas was a member of the Ireland Under-19 training squad.

Head of Cricket at Sullivan, Laurence Kelly insists that the boys need to enjoy their cricket and that has been a feature of their route to the final. Although he accepts they go into the final as underdogs against the RBAI juggernaut, “anything can happen on the day in cricket”, he says, adding: “And for those in Upper Sixth what a way to end your time at school by playing in the Schools Cup final.”

A winners’ medal would be the icing on the cake.

RBAI: A Leckey (capt), G Craigan, J West, B McCausland, L Bates, J Nelson, A Watt, D Henry, A Curry,  M Wilmott, B Walsh. 12^th man: D Weir.

Sullivan Upper: M Marks (capt), L McKeown, J McKeown, T Bradford, I Wray, R Shine, Z Woods, H Johnson, M Kennedy, J Drain, B Crowe. 12th men: P Brown, P Smith.