Cover Point's Channel Islands correspondent, Mark Saralis reviews a season of mixed fortunes for Jersey

Jersey Cricket

Cricket is enjoying renewed levels of interest in the Island following the team’s recent successes in both the World Cup Division 5 and the ICC European Division 2 tournaments.

This has coincided with more cricket being played at all age levels and whilst the Island’s junior teams have tended to have been dominated by pupils from fee paying schools, the situation is changing as cricket is back on the school curriculum and an under 15’s tournament has been running on Friday evenings for the past three years. In addition each team in the NatWest weekend league is affiliated to a school, which should hopefully ensure a smooth transition from junior into senior cricket.

The fruition of this initiative is becoming apparent with more States schools players appearing in the Under 15’s and 17’s squads, sponsored by Herald Sports and Entertainment, whose performances have led to recognition within Division 1 Europe against the likes of Ireland, Scotland and Holland.  

The Island is blessed with five venues with grass wickets and benefits from generous sponsorship from NatWest who sponsor both the Weekend and Evening Leagues.

There are two weekend Leagues, the NatWest Premier Division, which consists of six teams who play each other twice during the season. Matches are forty five overs per side and take place on a Saturday afternoon.

At the end of the league season the top four Jersey sides take on the top four Guernsey sides in a knock out tournament.

Division one contains seven teams, mostly the second XI’s of the Premier Division teams.

There is also a NatWest Evening League which consists of three divisions which play, depending on the weather, between 10 and 14 eight ball overs per side matches.

The JICC (Jersey Island Cricket Club) hosts several touring teams during the summer and in the past has toured the Caribbean and South Afirca. The club was formed in 1922 with the first visitors of any note being the MCC, a fixture that is still one of the high points of the season.  Competiton between Jersey and Guernsey has always ben fierce and the focal point of the season has been the Inter Insular, sponsored by HSBC, a fifty over match between the two Islands held in August.

Prior to 1992 honours had been fairly equal but for then next decade Jersey dominated the fixture winning ten on the trot. In order to stop the rot Guernsey adopted a much more professional attitude, including winter training and encouraged a few overseas players to help them in their quest to bring the trophy back home.

They eventually wrestled the trophy from Jersey’s grasp in 2002 and held on to it until 2007 when Jersey won a tense match in Guernsey, taking the final three Guernsey wickets for five runs, leaving Guernsey four runs short.

Jersey managed to retain the trophy on home soil this year, a match which saw Ben Stevens make his debut at the age of sixteen the youngest player to represent the island in the match. He took three wickets. 

For many Islanders the fixture remains the highlight of the cricketing season despite both isalnds involvement in ICC tournaments and the potential rewards for success at that level.

Both Islands competed in the 2006 ICC Division 2 knock outs in Glasgow, with Jersey faring the better, securing a place in the final but ultimately losing to Norway, a team they had beaten by 9 wickets a few days earlier.

That runners up placing did at least qualify them to compete in the World Cricket League Division 5 tournament, held in Jersey, from which the winners and runners up would be rewarded with a trip to Tanzania in October to compete in a Division 4 tournament and the potential to advance to Division 3.

Peter Kirsten was bought into manage the side and despite stiff competition from the likes of Nepal, Afghanistan and the USA, Jersey fought their way to the final, and although beaten in that match by Afghanistan, had done enough to book a trip to Tanzania.

Unfortunately, despite high expectations, things didn’t go to plan in Tanzania, and after a couple of defeats, cracks started to appear in the squad, leading to coach Peter Kirsten departing before their final match, to join his brother, who was coaching Kenya.

Just one win against Fiji from their six matches was not enough to keep Jersey in the division, they actually finished bottom of the six team league, and means relegation back to Division 5.

That tournament marked the end of several key players’ careers, including the Carlyon brothers, Tony and Steve, who had been such an important part of the team for the past twenty years. Admittedly age had caught up with them and it was not that big a surprise, but the retirement of skipper Matty Hague was. It was difficult to predict, after their heroics in front of the home crowd in the summer that their season would have such a bitter twist.

Still I think those involved at the higher levels of the sport in the island will be satisfied with the achievements of the team and the island as a whole in hosting such a well organised tournament.

Things are a bit more healthy on the European front however as Jersey are awaiting a match against Norway, which could mean promotion to ICC European Division 1.

Mark Saralis





Copyright: Cover Point