Europe Qualifier T20 Finland 2022

DateTeamVenue
Sun 24 July 2022BulgariaTikkurila, Vantaa
Mon 25 July 2022LuxembourgKerava National Cricket Ground
Wed 27 July 2022AustriaTikkurila, Vantaa
Thu 28 July 2022SloveniaKerava National Cricket Ground
Sun 31st July 2022 Play-off for 3rd / 4th placeFranceKerava National Cricket Ground

Finland here we come at third time of asking
By Gareth Le Prevost Guernsey Press on Jan 5, 2022

FINLAND has reappeared on the horizon for the Guernsey national men’s squad

Fingers crossed it will be third time lucky for the Sarnians, who had initially been due to play a Europe sub-regional qualifier in Helsinki in June 2020 and then in a re-arranged event last year, but the pandemic caused the cancellation of both those trips.

This time around it will be the first step on the road to the ICC 2024 Men’s T20 World Cup in USA and the West Indies with Guernsey being drawn in a group with Austria, Luxembourg, Bulgaria and Slovenia in the second of the summer qualifiers to be held in Finland in July while the third will be in Belgium as 28 member nations begin their campaigns.

‘After the amount of effort Finland have put in over the last few years to host such an event, it’s good that we can go and enjoy the facilities there,’ said Guernsey Cricket Board chief executive Mark Latter. ‘Jersey and Germany are already through to the regional final and the ICC have basically seeded the next three [in the European rankings] for the qualifiers, which is us, Italy and Denmark.

‘Norway are the next-best ranked team in our qualifier so the seeding would be for us and Norway to meet in the final, but all the European sides have improved over the last few years because they have upped their game in terms of coaching structure and also the players who are available to them, so we can take nothing for granted.’

The confirmation of the European qualifier dates has also allowed Latter to make progress with the whole summer schedule, although the postponement of Jersey’s ICC Challenge League B tournament in Uganda, which was due to be taking place at the start of the year but has been put on hold due to Covid, has complicated matters. ‘Jersey are in Zimbabwe in July for their T20 global qualifier and I think they are trying to move the Uganda event so that it will mean just one trip to Africa, but that could be either before or after Zimbabwe,’ Latter said.

‘We have spoken with Jersey and there is an agreement that we will have a T20I tri-series here, hopefully some time in early June, depending on their Uganda and Zimbabwe dates.

‘We have also pencilled in a 50-over Inter-Insular in Jersey for the 27 August. ‘Also, in June we will be looking to fit in all the women’s and age-group inter-insulars.’

The idea of Guernsey taking part in a warm-up tournament with a couple of other countries ahead of their qualifier has been put on the back-burner, although Latter revealed that discussions remain ongoing about playing a ‘high-profile’ European nation early in July as part of the preparations for Finland.

Those preparations will get under way in earnest this month, though, when Nic Pothas and Stefan Jones are scheduled to visit the island to assist Guernsey men’s team manager Lee Savident with some coaching. The squad will also look to get off-island for a training camp in the spring.

ICC 2024 Men’s T20 World Cup Europe Sub-Regional Qualifiers

Qualifier B, 24-31 July 2022 in Finland

Group One – Guernsey, Austria, Luxembourg, Bulgaria, Slovenia.

Group Two – Norway, France, Czech Republic, Estonia, Switzerland.

‘Heavyweights await if Guernsey progress’ by Gareth Le Prevost        Guernsey Press      2nd June 2022

GCB chief executive Mark Latter THE prospect of potentially playing some of the best European cricket nations is the carrot dangling in front of Guernsey when they head to Finland next month. This week the Sarnians learned their fixture schedule for the ICC Men’s T20 World Cup 2024 Sub Regional Europe B Qualifier, from which just one of the 10 teams will progress to next year’s Regional Finals, which already involves Germany and could include the likes of Ireland, Scotland, the Netherlands and Jersey. To reach that stage, Guernsey will need to finish top of their five-team group in Finland and then win the play-off with the other group winners.

Josh Butler’s side begin their campaign against Bulgaria on Sunday 24 July and will also face Luxembourg, Austria and Slovenia in their round-robin. Each nation will then face the side who finish in the corresponding position in group two comprising Norway, Estonia, France, Czech Republic and Switzerland.

‘Now the fixtures are out it all now feels very real and exciting after two aborted attempts to play in Finland since 2020,’ said GCB chief executive Mark Latter. ‘Teams across Europe have changed a lot in the past few years so we cannot assume anything and will ensure we are on our ‘A’ game for each match. ‘We have played Austria before in ICC Europe tournaments, but the other round-robin matches will see us face new international opponents, emphasising the growth in the ICC Europe region. ‘The goal is, of course, to take the one qualifying spot and get into the Europe Regional Final, where we could face some of the Europe heavyweights. That opportunity and just playing international competition cricket again is fantastic and what we all aspire to.’

More teams than ever before are attempting to qualify for the ICC Men’s T20 World Cup 2024 in the USA and West Indies. The European Sub Regional Qualifiers mark the first step towards the event and will also feature a record 28 teams vying for qualification from the region. ‘We are delighted to see a record number of teams competing for places at ICC events as the Men’s T20 World Cup pathway begins in Europe,’ said Chris Tetley, ICC head of events. ‘The T20 format continues to drive the growth of the game and over the next two years we will see new teams competing in ICC events for the very first time.’

The events will be streamed on ICC.tv.

ICC Men’s T20 World Cup Sub Regional Europe B Qualifier

‘Schedule could help Greens ‘Finnish’ top’         by Alec Farrell   GEP  22 July 2022

AFTER three years of stop-start cricket, Guernsey are finally heading to Finland for the ICC Men’s T20 World Cup Qualifiers. Bulgaria, Luxemburg, Austria and Slovenia are the first four nations that stand in the team’s way and captain Josh Butler is excited and optimistic about the team’s chances. ‘We’re going to this tournament and we want to win it. We want to get ourselves back into Division One and really challenge ourselves – but obviously we know we have to play well in Finland,’ said the skipper, who departed with his team last night. ‘I think the fact that it’s now tournament-based cricket motivates the guys that little bit more. ‘Obviously, we’ve had Spain this year and three tough matches against Jersey, which is a great test for us, but I think tournament cricket is really where the guys want to shine.’ The road has been frustrating for the team, who have played on and off across the last three years due to the pandemic, but they are finally ready to go and compete. ‘The main thing for us has been to try not to change too much. Some people may try and become a player they’re not or try and change the way they play. The guys know their strengths and we’re in a really good place.’

The skipper remained calm and positive when expressing the teams ambitions for the competition. ‘We’re trying not to worry too much about who we play, we’re trying to focus on ourselves and playing our best cricket. 

‘The strategy is to win every game – that’s our target, that’s what we want to do, that’s what we think we’re capable of. ‘In past tournaments, we’ve had double-headers and long days, but this schedule looks like it should give us the best opportunity to really give it a good go. With the aim to play at the same level as Jersey, this tournament will be a great way to show what the squad is made of. This is a good starting block after the pandemic to really give this tournament a good crack and spring forward onto next year to really challenge ourselves.’

Martin Gray guernseysportphotography

Guernsey squad:    Josh Butler (captain), Matt Stokes, Zak Damarell, Ben Ferbrache, Jason Martin, Ant Stokes, Luke Le Tissier, Tom Nightingale, Will Peatfield, Luke Bichard, Dec Martel, Adam Martel, David Hooper, Ollie Nightingale.

Fixtures: Sunday v Bulgaria, 2pm; Monday v Luxembourg, 2pm; Wednesday v Austria 9am; Thursday v Slovenia, 2pm. Sunday 31 July – Play-offs.

Review

‘Defeat makes us hungry to improve’

By Harry Jones      3rd August 2022     Guernsey Press

ALL-ROUNDER Dave Hooper said the Guernsey squad ‘rebounded well’ after the decisive Austria defeat as they claimed third place in the sub-regional T20 World Cup qualifiers on Sunday. The 31-year-old, who was speaking with Ben Ferbrache and Adam Martel on Guernsey Cricket’s Under The Covers podcast, said that they could have ‘easily drifted and made it look scrappy’ in the Slovenia and France games, and was impressed with the pair of convincing victories.

Josh Butler’s side finished the group stage with three wins in four games, seeing off Bulgaria and Luxembourg early on before a convincing nine wicket triumph over Slovenia to qualify for the third-place play-off.

The last-over, two-wicket defeat at the hands of Austria in between those victories cost Guernsey the chance to play Norway in the final and have a shot at promotion, and middle-order batter Ben Ferbrache added that he thought his side only lost ’10 or so overs throughout the entire tournament’. ‘Unfortunately for us, it was those 10 overs that cost us the tournament’, he said. Martel said, ‘I thought we controlled large parts of that Austria game. ‘We had those few moments with the bat in the middle overs where things just did not quite go our way, and then in the second innings I thought for 15 overs we looked in control.’

Austria, who beat Norway in convincing fashion to secure promotion, saw off the Sarnians with just two balls and wickets spare as tailender Tariq handed his side the win with a late cut for four in the 20th over. The victory for the Austrians was seen to be a major upset, as Butler’s men went to Finland as favourites to come out on top. ‘I think we beat that side seven or eight times out 10, it was an incredibly disappointing result’, said Martel. Hooper added, ‘We set our targets as getting promoted and getting to the next stage, which we normally do, but on the day, we did not handle it well enough and the better team won. ‘I think losing that game has made the guys hungrier, everybody wants to improve so we do not make the same mistakes next time around.’

Zak Damarell – leading run scorer Martin Gray Sportsphotography

Guernsey concluded their trip to Scandinavia with a third-place play-off against France, and the men in green ensured they went out with a bang as they saw off their opponents in impressive fashion. Zak Damarell became the first and only Sarnian player to raise his bat on the tour, scoring 51 from 45 balls.

Guernsey finished on 153 for 6, as Luke Le Tissier, Butler, Matthew Stokes and Martel all added valuable contributions – the latter scoring his unbeaten 23 from just 12 deliveries. The Griffins all-rounder also shone with the ball, taking three wickets from his four overs while conceding just 12 runs in the process. ‘I just came out and thought that I would try and play a few shots and see what I can do, it was a good stage to come out with a few runs on the board already so there was not a great deal to lose,’ Martel said. ‘To be honest, I do not think I bowled that well in the France game, I think I have had better games where I have gone for more, but I bowled a pretty good line and they only really played me into one area of the pitch.’ Teenager Luke Bichard was a wicket shy of claiming Guernsey’s first T201 five-for as he took 4 for 20 in his four overs, while Indies pair Ant Stokes and Will Peatfield both picked up a wicket apiece. France were all out for 97 as Butler’s men claimed a 56-run victory, and both Ferbrache and Hooper were keen to praise Bichard’s display in the win and over the course of the trip. ‘Luke Bichard has been excellent all tournament, he just hits the right areas and shows such maturity with the ball,’ said Hooper. ‘There is no ceiling for him at the moment.’ ‘He has a great work ethic, too, especially compared to a couple years’ ago,’ Ferbrache added. ‘He has taken the great work he did last summer into this year, he has been great in the evening league, great here, and was really impressive in Spain.’

Will Peatfield – leading wicket taker Martin Gray Guernseysportsphotography

Opener Damarell finished as Guernsey’s top run scorer over the course of the tournament with 126 in five innings. Peatfield took the most wickets for the Greens on the tour, claiming nine scalps in five games.