ICC World Cricket League Division 5 Jersey 2016

Date	versus	Match
Sat 21st May	Vanuatu	League
Sun 22nd May	Tanzania	League
Tue 24th May	Nigeria	League
Wed 25th May	Jersey	League
Fri 27th May	Oman	League
Sat 28th May	Vanuatu Playoff	Playoff

The ICC have confirmed the fixtures for the ICC World Cricket League (WCL) Division 5. The tournament is scheduled to be played in the picturesque island of Jersey, from the 21 May-28 May 2016. The 6 teams contesting as follows based on seeding starting from one to six and they are Oman, Jersey, Tanzania, Nigeria, Guernsey and Vanuatu.

Top seed Oman will come into this tournament after their ICC World Twenty20 India 2016 outing and will be counted as one of the favourites to win, along with host Jersey. The six teams will play a total of 18 matches, including the Final. The two finalists of the ICC WCL Division 5 will earn a promotion to Division 4, which is scheduled to be played later in the year.

The ICC World Cricket League offers teams a chance to be promoted right up to Division 2, which is the final stage in the pathway to qualification for ICC’s four-day first-class competition for Associate and Affiliate members, the ICC Intercontinental Cup as well as the 50 over ICC World Cricket League Championship.

A total of three venues will be featured in this tournament, including Grainville, where the first International Cricket match was played between the England and New Zealand women’s teams back in 2002. The second venue is Farmers field, home to the Farmers Cricket Club, hosting Cricket matches since 2004, and the third venue is the FB Fields.

Fixtures

21 May – Jersey v Oman (Grainville); Tanzania v Nigeria (Farmers Field); Guernsey v Vanuatu (FB Fields)
22 May – Jersey v Vanuatu (Grainville); Guernsey v Tanzania (Farmers Field); Nigeria v Oman (FB Fields)

23 May – no scheduled matches
24 May – Nigeria v Guernsey (Grainville); Vanuatu v Oman (Farmers Field); Jersey v Tanzania (FB Fields)
25 May – Oman v Tanzania (Grainville); Jersey v Guernsey (Farmers Field); Nigeria v Vanuatu (FB Fields)

26 May –  no scheduled matches
27 May – Vanuatu v Tanzania (Grainville); Jersey v Nigeria (Farmers Field); Oman v Guernsey (FB Fields)
28 May – Final (Grainville); 3 v 4 play-off (Farmers Field); 5 v 6 play-off (FB Fields)

Preview

Kimber happy to be back in Guernsey’s 50-over fold       by Gareth Le Prevost in the Guernsey Evening Press

THE man who played arguably the best innings in Guernsey’s World Cricket League history is delighted to be back in the ranks as the Sarnians head to Jersey this afternoon for their latest ICC adventure.

Tom Kimber, whose unbeaten 82 guided the island side to their remarkable two-wicket win over hosts Malaysia in the 2011 Divi sion Six final in Kuala Lumpur, in which they successfully chased 208 having been reduced to 65 for seven, missed out on selection for their most recent Division Six success in Essex last September. ‘I missed it to be honest’, said the 28 year-old, who had been an integral part of Guernsey’s European T20 Championship side a year ago in Jersey, where he won back-to-back man-of-the-match awards on the first day, but did not make the final cut for the 50- over format tournament later in the summer. ‘It was horrible not being part of it. I missed being around the boys because we are not just a cricket team, we are all good friends and we play hard and fight hard for each other. So it’s a pleasure to be back in and I’m really excited going into this tournament.’

With Jason Martin now established as Guernsey’s first-choice wicketkeeper, although Kimber offers the back-up option behind the stumps, his role is now as an aggressive batsman. ‘I think I’m there to add a bit of impetus to the innings.

‘We have got a lot of very good stroke players in our line-up and I perhaps bring a bit more aggression and the ability to clear the ropes. So we will perhaps look to have me float a bit in the order and then utilise the last 15 overs – so I could bat anywhere between three and 10. But even if I’m not playing – and we do have 14 players who could play on any given day – I can offer a fair amount off the field as well.’

Kimber reported that preparation has gone well and he feels that having the tournament so close to home could prove to be a significant advantage for Guernsey. ‘It’s always hard in early season because you think you could always do with a couple more games and there’s only so many nets you can do, but we have got a lot out of the pre-season games we have had. The Dutch games we played in Sussex were good, competitive cricket and everyone got a bat and a bowl who needed it. The game we played last week [against Bognor Regis in the Sussex League] was good as well – the bowlers bowled in the right areas and took 10 wickets after we had put over 250 on the board. It was absolutely freezing for hose first two games against the Dutch, but as much as we complain about playing in the cold, at least we are used to it. The sides from Tanzania, Vanuatu, Oman and Nigeria are not going to enjoy it if the conditions are like that and if we can make them toil in the field that should benefit us.’

Kimber insists the squad are ‘concentrating on what we do’ rather than focusing too much on the opposition and the target is obvious in his eyes, with the thought of playing a Division Four tournament in California later this year if they gain promotion an added bonus. ‘We have got to aim for the top two,’ Kimber said, ‘there is no point in going there just hoping to consolidate our position and we have the Los Angeles carrot as well. We have got the skills, so there’s no reason why we can’t win it.’

From the Jersey Evening Post

CHANNEL ISLANDS rivals Guernsey have come a long way in two years, since finishing bottom of Division 5 in Malaysia – and they proved they are more than capable of competing with Jersey in last year’s inter-insular.

That five-wicket triumph over Jersey at Port Soif in August was followed by an excellent Division 6 campaign in Essex, at which the Greens finished second and secured an immediate return to Division 5. The second-place finish has since been upgraded to a tournament win after original winners Suriname were deemed to have selected an ineligible player.

Since then, Nic Pothas left his role with the GCB and has been replaced as director of cricket by Ashley Wright, older brother of England’s Luke. This tournament is Wright’s first in charge of Guernsey and the former first-class player will be hoping to make an immediate impression on the international stage.

Highest WCL flnish: Third in Division 5 in 2012

Previous with Jersey: Lost by one wicket in 2014, won by nine runs in 2011

One to watch with the ball: Jamie Nussbaumer (right- arm fast/medium)

One to watch with the bat: GH Smit

England international helps Sarnians with World League prep

GUERNSEY national coach Ash Wright cannot wait for his first taste of World League action. ‘We are definitely ready to go – the lads are chomping at the bit,’ said Wright, who took over from Nic Pothas last autumn. ‘It has been a long build-up and I’m happy with the prep, it has gone as well as it could have done. Potentially we could have done with one more game, but I’m really happy with what we have been able to do.’ Wright had his younger brother Luke, the England international, as well as former Sussex fast bowler Jimmy Anyon at the KGV last Saturday to help with the squad’s final preparations and he hopes their knowledge will prove beneficial. ‘It’s more about getting a little bit of experience and a few tips from them,’ he added. ‘The guys could only take one little thing from it, but that one thing could prove crucial in how we approach the game. Every game is a cup final for us so it’s about managing nerves and staying in the moment.’

Second preview from Guernsey Evening Press

Every game is a cup final for us         by Gareth Le Prevost

THE wait is almost over for Guernsey as they head to Jersey today for the 2016 ICC World Cricket League Division Five tournament. The Sarnians will face Vanuatu, Tanzania, Nigeria, Oman and the hosts over the week-long tournament with the top two earning promotion to Division Four in Los Angeles later this year while the bottom three will be relegated. It will be the first time national coach Ash Wright has been in charge of the side in an ICC event after Nic Pothas led the Greens to success in last September’s WCL6 in Essex and the new GCB head of cricket cannot wait to get started.

‘We are definitely ready to go – the lads are champing at the bit’, Wright said. ‘It has been a long build-up and I’m happy with the prep, it has gone as well as it could have done. Potentially, we could have done with one more game, but I’m really happy with what we have been able to do.’ Wright had his brother Luke, the England international, as well as former Sussex fast bowler Jimmy Anyon at the KGV last Saturday to help with the squad’s final preparations. ‘It’s more about getting a little bit of experience and a few tips from them’, said the Guernsey coach. ‘The guys might only take one little thing from it, but that one thing could prove crucial in how we approach the game. ‘Every game is a cup final for us so it’s about managing nerves and staying in the moment’.

Wright has done his homework on the other five nations in the tournament, but he stressed that his philosophy is to keep things simple with the traditional values of bowling at the top of off stump and batsmen playing to their own strengths still holding true.  ‘I always put as much research into the opposition as I can, but as a coach I want my players to know as much about their own game as possible. If we do our own skills well, I’m sure the results we want will follow.’

Speaking on a chilly spring morning at the KGV, Wright believes that the conditions could suit his side in their quest for promotion. ‘It’s like having home advantage, both pitch-wise and conditions-wise, but we still have to hit our skills.’ He added that all 14 squad members could play a crucial role over the week-long tournament. ‘We have got our idea of structure and how we want to go about our cricket, but playing that much cricket in a short space of time brings with it’s own challenges and people will fit in where they need to throughout the week ‘We are going over there to win the tournament, but like I said it’s about staying in the moment so it’s game by game, ball by ball and if we do that, the results will take care of themselves.’

‘Third or better a must’    by Matt Lihou in the Guernsey Evening Press

FINISHING in the bottom three and being relegated from the World Cricket League would be a ‘failure’ in the eyes of the Guernsey captain, The Sarnians begin their Division Five campaign in Jersey tomorrow, with the confirmation that three of the six teams will be relegated back to regional cricket. The top two will be promoted, while the third-placed side is the only side that will remain in situ and Guernsey skipper Jamie Nussbaumer is targeting that spot. ‘Obviously our ultimate ambition is to reach the final and thus be promoted to Division Four for the first time in our history, but we know how tough that is going to be’, he said.

So realistically, we want to be finishing in the top-three because we would have to regard relegation as a failure if we are being totally honest about it. ‘The first aim now has to be to therefore finish in the top-four in the group table because whether we were third or fourth, it would come down to a one-off shootout match next Saturday. ‘Worst-case scenario, we need to make sure we are still in there with a chance ahead of that day.’
Guernsey begin their campaign against Vanuatu at the FB Fields, before facing Tanzania and Nigeria, the three other countries that Nussbaumer believes will be on a par with his side. He believes that Oman are favourites and hosts Jersey closely behind, with those two nations being Guernsey’s final two group games late next week ahead of the concluding play-offs.