ICC WCL Division 5 Malaysia 2014

Guernsey v Jersey

GCB webpage Mark Latter blog
So the bare facts say five losses from five matches played but this does not tell the whole story. In all those games Guernsey were in the match for long periods and ultimately were masters of their own downfall in all of them. This reflects the inexperience in the squad however by the end maybe even that is not an excuse based on what this squad is surely capable of.
So today it was Jersey and a fitting game in the tragic circumstances that occurred here some 24 hours previously when we were told of the death of Keith Dennis (KD) in his KL hotel room. Happily he saw the fruition of his labours in the promotion of Jersey to ICC WCL4 but his loss will be felt by all in Channel Island cricket. I can only say personally how much I enjoyed his company and advice, like so many others my cricket life is now much the poorer and no more the words ‘dear boy’ will greet me in Jersey.

A minute’s silence as a mark of respect for Keith Dennis                                    –

the former Chairman of the Jersey Cricket Board                                   ICC

So to a game that in the end rose to the occasion and a narrow win for Jersey. Guernsey won the toss and batted and hopes were that the watchful then accumulating batting line up would turn up today. It did, and with the score on 55 things had progressed well before Lucas Barker became the first wicket down. Zac Damarell kept the scoreboard ticking mixing singles with bullying the bad ball moving to 43 from 53 balls when he too was out. Ollie Newey took up the cudgel and his 56 from 93 balls kept the innings together.

Zac Damarell gets his head down once more                         ICC

Ollie Newey acknowledges his half century                              ICC

Down the line Ben Ferbrache (15 from 16). Hoops (18 from 18) and Will Peatfield (15 from 8) ensured Guernsey would squeeze every last run out of the Jersey attack. So 218 to chase then for Jersey.
Jersey opened solidly and had reached 57/1 with the only casualty occurring on 14 when Sav had Watkins LBW. But Guernsey’s spin twins Max Ellis and Luke Le Tissier (8-1-36-4) had other ideas and soon 57/0 became 113/4 and 180/5. Luke Le Tissier developing a welcome habit of taking a wicket first ball in a spell. One of these dismissals being Andy Dewhurst who fell to a smart one handed claim by Lucas Barker off Luke. Unfortunately during this period Guernsey also put down two big chances, the drops of Stevens and Morrison would soon come back and haunt the Guernsey side. Guernsey were also hampered badly by the loss of Jamie from the attack with a groin strain. Stevens (55 from 73)looked every part the class batter he is and two or three shots had observers purring with delight. In the end a fell walking past one from Max (2 for34) and being stumped by Zac but Morrison remained. Guernsey kept themselves in the game with regular wickets. It had come down to single figures with 18 balls remaining and Jersey looked home but once again this group showed fight as Will (10-0-42-1) removed Hawkins-Kay and Luke grabbed an LBW and then Perchard was run out as panic seemed to be setting in. Will had 2 balls left in the penultimate over and Morrison was off strike. The first of these balls flew past the edge of Tom Minty’s bat and everyone held their head, the second was struck straight back up the ground and that was it. Morrison remained unbeaten on 63 from 87 balls to win the Man of the Match.
Once again the team will look back at aspects of their game that fell short of the standards set and in these moments games are won or lost. At the same time once again there were many positives and having now performed well in both games against the promoted two we know there is promise of winning ways in the future.

ICC Media Release
The loss of Keith Dennis was certainly felt by the Cricket Jersey team as they dedicated their victory against Guernsey to the former Jersey Cricket president. The 71-year-old passed away yesterday due to heart attack and his passing was felt by the team as they donned black armbands throughout the match. Dennis was in Malaysia to watch the team play and he has attended for every game until his passing yesterday. Jersey manager Chris Minty said he was a real cricket man and before the match, Dennis’s wife called and urged the side to win the game against Guernsey. “He is a very enthusiastic man. Keen to help youngsters play Cricket in this part of the region, he has done a lot for cricket. “He is very supportive of cricket in Jersey and Guernsey. He is a true cricket fanatic,” said Minty.
At Kinrara Oval, Jersey had to dug deep to win against Guernsey as they beat them by only a wicket in a closely contested match. Dean Morrison impressed with 63 runs for Jersey while Guernsey’s Oliver Newey scored 56 runs.

CricketEurope by Andrew Nixon
Jersey have ended the round robin stage of WCL Division Five with a win over Guernsey at the Kinrara Academy Oval. After Guernsey won the toss and elected to bat first, there was a minutes silence in memory of former Jersey Cricket president Keith Dennis, who sadly passed away yesterday whilst in Malaysia to support the team. The Jersey players wore black armbands during the match. Guernsey’s opening pair of Lucas Barker and Zak Damarell starting the Guernsey innings with a partnership of 55, which ended when Tom Minty had Barker out lbw. Damarell went on to score 43 before he was next out, six overs later with the score on 74. Oliver Newey and Lee Savident then put on 39 for the third wicket before Savident was out for 18, but that was the last partnership of any substance for Guernsey. Newey went on to score 56 before he became one of five batsman caught by wicket-keeper Ed Farley. Anthony Hawkins-Kay was the pick of the Jersey bowlers, taking 3-44 as Guernsey were bowled out for 217, their last wicket being a run out from the last ball of their innings.Jersey’s reply was built around two innings – 55 by Ben Stevens and an unbeaten 63 by Dean Morrison. The pair put on a stand of 54 for the fourth wicket. There was a brief moment of panic for Jersey as they closed in on their target and they lost four wickets for 12 runs in 3.3 overs. That left them in the precarious position of needing to score runs with the number 11 at the crease, but Tom Minty cooly hit the second ball he faced to the boundary to secure the 1 wicket win. Jersey dedicated the win to Keith Dennis, and they will be hoping to finish the tournament unbeaten when they take on Malaysia in tomorrow’s final. Guernsey will go back home having been relegated, but they will hope to pick up a consolation win when they take on the Cayman Islands tomorrow in the 5th place play-off.
Guernsey has yet to win a match so far in this tournament and they have been relegated to Division Six.