Inter Insular #19 1970

The match was played at FB Fields, Jersey
on Saturday 15th August 1970
for the Players Gold Leaf Trophy
Umpires K G Clayton (Guernsey) and C Le Gros (Jersey)
Scorers (Guernsey) and (Jersey)
Toss won by Jersey who elected to field
Jersey won by 5 wickets

PREVIEW
‘A pleasant task for cricket selectors’
Cricket’s “big match” of the Channel Islands calendar, the Guernsey-Jersey duels, takes place at the F.B. Fields, Jersey, next Saturday.
The Guernsey selectors have a pleasantly tough job ahead of them when they gather tomorrow to name their team – pleasant because there are so many players currently in good form. Guernsey cricket was given a boost last month when the Guernsey Cricket Leagues beat their Jersey counterparts. A further fillip can be obtained at the College Field today when GICC entertain JICC in what is virtually a dress rehearsal for next Saturday.
Today’s match will give the local selectors the chance of a final look at players in contention. They will have the chance to gauge the form of Pierre Le Cocq, the former Elizabeth College player, who is back in the island on holiday. Pierre has played in several Guernsey-Jersey matches and is one of the best all-rounders in C.I. cricket.
Alan Bisson is another islander on holiday here. He is, perhaps, the best batsman Guernsey has produced in the last 20 years and can be regarded as a certainty for selection. Whether or not he opens the innings is another matter. Guernsey currently has a wealth of players well equipped for that duty. There are ‘Ricky’ Mills, Frank Fortey and Keith Howick, the left-handers Jack Martel and Tony Taylor. And skipper Simon Hollyer-Hill has opened fro Guernsey on more than one occasion. Add to this list of batsmen the names of Robin Roussel, Mick Mechem and Bob Kimber and one gains some idea of the batting potential.
There is not nearly as much depth in bowling material. Tony Shepherd has already informed the selectors that he is not available for the Jersey match and this is a pity. We have no-one of the pace of Jersey’s Tony Howeson or Mervyn Conway. But Geoff Callaway and John Rowe are two who can cause batsman some anxiety through pace.
Of a slower pace, but still good enough to take the new ball in any Guernsey side, is Mick Wherry. This left hander gets more movement through the air than either Callaway or Rowe.
Guernsey is not well off for spin bowlers, the only one who could get into the side purely on the strength of his slow bowling being Ted Enevoldson. Fortunately he has been bowling well of late.
The wicket-keeping position seems to be a straight choice between Graham Garland and Mick Fooks.
So the problem facing the selectors tomorrow is more a case of who can be left out, rather than who is good enough to get in. This is a happy state of affairs for the sport locally.

‘New “caps” in Guernsey XI’
There are four new ‘caps’ in the side selected yesterday to play for Guernsey against Jersey in the sister island on Saturday. They are bowlers Mick Wherry, Geoff Callaway, John Rowe and wicket-keeper Graham Garland.
The team read: S.J. Hollyer-Hill (capt.), R.C.N. Roussel, A.C. Taylor, M.JK. Mechem, P.L. Le Cocq, G. Callaway, J. Rowe, R. Mills, A.C. Bisson, G. Garland, M. Wherry. First reserve is F.D. Fortey.

Graham Garland

‘Jersey’s eleven chosen’ by John Le Poidevin
Jersey’s cricket ‘Muratti’ team was picked after Saturday’s GICC-JICC match at the College Field. It has caused some surprise in Jersey.
The team is led by Ray Poree and also includes: Les Bachelet, Alan Conway, Doug Ferguson, David Hunt, Tony Howeson, Harry Jones, Peter Osment, Ray Pearce, Barry Thorp and Mick Weaver. Dave Billingham is 12th man.
A notable absentee is fast bowler Mervyn Conway and it is his omission that puzzles cricket followers in Jersey. It will please Guernsey batsmen. Cricketers in both islands agree that Mervyn is erratic. But he is faster than anyone here and is a perfect support for the fast Tony Howeson. He is particularly dangerous on the usually fast F.B. Fields wicket where the match is being played on Saturday.
The fact that he batted so badly at the College Field on Saturday and bowled well below his best weighed against him. Dave Billingham and Philip Le Cras, batsmen who were expected to get in, also had poor matches at the College Field. Alan Conway, who used to live here, is selected but has not enjoyed a good season. It is felt by some in Jersey that Mick Weaver and Doug Ferguson (a probable opening bat) were also fortunate to get selected. The choice of Les Bechelet is seen as a cautious move. He is an ultra-defensive opening batsman.

MATCH

Team at F B Fields prior to the match

 Frank Fortey  Ricky Mills  Tony Taylor  Geoff Callaway  Robin Roussel  John Rowe  Graham Garland  

C Le Gros (Jersey umpire)                                                                                                K G Clayton (Guernsey umpire)

Alan Bisson   Mick Mechem   Simon Hollyer-Hill   Mick Wherry   Pierre Le Cocq

‘Prix d’honneur match was just a bore’ by John Le Poidevin
Cricket can be a boring game. Even those who think they know a little about the finer points will accept this. Any in this category who were at the F.B. Fields, Jersey, on Saturday will agree that the Guernsey-Jersey match – the prix d’honneur of the islands’ cricket season – was a bore.
It started on the wrong note with a couple of umpiring decisions which went down badly with both teams. Guernsey were the sufferers in these instances and went to pieces, to be dismissed for a spiritless 102. Jersey had the strength to knock off these few runs with no trouble. Yet they dallied for nearly 53 overs before clinching victory.
It was a deserved, but very miserable win. By the time it was achieved, with only 10 minutes of the scheduled five and a half hours play remaining, not many present were very bothered. What a pity! This match is eagerly awaited by enthusiasts in both islands. It won’t take many more yawns like this to end the series.
Jersey won the toss on a wicket that has always been a little fiery early on but which looked pretty good. The atmosphere was right for the bowlers and ‘Chummy’ Poree, the Jersey skipper, decided to field. Tony Howeson, without question the best fast bowler we have seen in the islands for years, was determined to justify this decision. He bowled extremely well. Openers Tony Taylor and Ricky Mills, who had gained the upper hand of their duel at the College Field the previous week, were seeking to repeat this. But Mills was out to the first ball he received from the speed merchant. From a good position near the sightscreen it did not seem a very convincing leg before decision!
But worse was to follow. Tony Taylor, beaten on occasion but in general well in command of the situation, played to leg, missed, and was struck on the pads. A big appeal was followed by the signal to the pavilion – and by the embarrassment which always comes with an umpiring blunder!
Howeson’s bowling deserved these wickets, but not in this manner. Guernsey’s batting stars just could not cope with him and the wicket was no great aid to pace! Mick Mechem gritted his teeth and defied Jersey to bowl him out. He was there at lunch, but Guernsey were in a sad state at 76 for five. Afterwards Howeson really got stuck in and the remainder of the Guernsey side succumbed. The meagre total of 102 was no encouragement at all to the Guernsey bowlers. Nevertheless, they trapped Peter Osment, Jersey’s most prolific run scorer, with only three on the board – he was beautifully taken in the slips by Geoff Callaway.
The boring part followed, Les Bechelet, obviously selected to keep one end alive, faces 35 deliveries before scoring a run. At the other end Alan Conway played attractive shots on rare occasions. When he, and Harry Jones went – the latter to a brilliant Pierre Le Cocq slip catch – David Hunt joined Bechelet in a singularly uninspiring batting exhibition. Howeson ended the agony when Bechelet was 34 not out. He had batted for some two and a half hours and faced 136 deliveries. This is how boring cricket can be!

REVIEW

‘Non-batting of Jersey was “Muratti” disappointment’ by John Le Poidevin
Guernsey cricket skipper Simon Hollyer-Hill agrees with me that last Saturday’s cricket “Muratti” was a bore. He commented that it was a dull match in which to play – probably much worse to watch.
Jersey captain ‘Chummy’ Poree told me, after the duel, that he was obviously very happy to have won the match but he, too, was disappointed at the manner in which victory was attained.
Both, of course, were referring to the non-batting of Jersey and particularly of Les Bechelet – Jersey took 53 overs to score the 103 runs needed for victory. Stonewaller Les was dropped at slip by Mick Wherry, in the second over of the innings. How this must have hurt the Guernsey team during his negative near-three hours batting, which produced only 34 runs in 53 overs. Nevertheless, his attitude ensured a Jersey victory and some will feel that he had achieved his aim. After all, he was selected purely as an anchor. Unfortunately though, his batting, more than anything, completely spoiled a match which started off on a wrong note with umpiring decisions which were doubtful in the extreme and which had Guernsey’s openers in the pavilion for few runs.
Said Simon Hollyer-Hill, ‘Basically I was upset at those decisions – they were bad ones. I don’t entirely blame them for out low score but they put us on the rack ….. and gave Howeson the lift he needed. I was disappointed at the way we lost three wickets (Bisson, Roussel and Le Cocq) to Pearce, but this, I felt, was complimentary to Howeson’s bowling. He was certainly the difference between the teams.’
The Guernsey captain said about his bowlers, ‘They worked very hard and attacked to the best of their ability. But we haven’t the penetration of Howeson and we did not have enough runs. It is not easy to attack with pace without giving away runs.’ Simon told me that he always felt there was a chance of a breakthrough. He was attacking all the time, even when he used Tony Taylor for a lengthy spell of slow bowling. Jersey, he added, never succeeded in getting on top in the early stages of their innings, and, having got into a rut, could not escape from it.
One of the big selection committee problems was whether to field three specialist pace bowlers in addition to Le Cocq or an extra batsman. Said Simon, ‘I was very pleased with the team and the way in which it was selected … but it would have been nice to have had an extra batsman!’
Tony Howeson leaves Jersey at the end of this season. His departure leaves the question of whether the remaining C.I. bowlers are good enough in reasonable conditions, to bowl out the other island’s batsmen in this inter-insular. Only when Howeson has been on the rampage has there been a result in recent years.
There seems a case for making this important fixture a limited over match … say 50 overs. This would make it an interesting match to be won and lost without detracting from day cricket as it was meant to be played.