Inter Insular T20 2024 Game 3

played on Sunday 23rd June 2024

at Port Soif at 12.00

Umpires: Mike Kinder (G) J Vosser (J)

Scorers: Mike de Haaff

Toss won by Guernsey who elected to field

Guernsey won by 4 wickets

Player of the match T Nightingale (G)

Jersey innings  RunsBalls4s6sSR Guernsey BowlingOvMdnDotRunsWktsEcon
Charlie Brennanc &b D Mullen230066.67Dane Mullen4092716.75
Nick GreenwoodSt Z Damarellb A Martel222220100Luke Bichard4053909.75
Jonty Jenner*lbwb M Bradley261722152.94Martin-Dale Bradley40102235.5
Josh Lawrensonc B Ferbracheb M Bradley222020110Charlie Forshaw3081735.67
Harrison Carlyonc O Nightingaleb M Bradley460066.67Adam Martel30532110.67
Zak Tribenot out432731159.26Matt Stokes2051005
Ben Wardc O Nightingaleb C Forshaw131010130
Jack Kemp †c D Mullenb C Forshaw120050
Daniel Birrellc T Nightingaleb C Forshaw340075
Scott Simpsonnot out891088.89
Toby Brittondnb
Extras(b 0 lb 1 w 3 nb 0)4
Total(for 8 wkts)148
FoW1-2 (C Brennan 0.3 ov), 2-33 (J Jenner 4.2 ov), 3-71 (J Lawrenson 9.4 ov), 4-77 (H Carlyon 11.1 ov), 5-82 (N Greenwood 12.1 ov), 6-109 (B Ward 15.2 ov), 7-113 (J Kemp 15.5 ov), 8-125 (D Birrell 17.1 ov)

Guernsey innings  RunsBalls4s6sSR Jersey BowlingOvMdnDotRunsWktsEcon
Ben Fitchetc J Jennerb S Simpson181240150Daniel Birrell3.1093009.47
Adam Martelb S Simpson201422142.86Scott Simpson40102927.25
Tom Nightingalec D Birrellb B Ward613663169.44Nick Greenwood30101705.67
Matt Stokesc N Greenwoodb B Ward10111090.91Ben Ward40741210.25
Zak Damarell †st J Kempb T Britton232210104.55Toby Britton40112125.25
Ollie Nightingale*c C Brennanb T Britton6600100Harrison Carlyon10010010
Martin-Dale Bradleynot out6100060
Ben Ferbrachenot out140025
Luke Bicharddnb
Charlie Forshawdnb
Dane Mullendnb
Extras(b 0 lb 1 w 3 nb 0)4
Total(for 6 wickets in 19.1 overs)149
FoW1-38 (B Fitchet 4.1 ov), 2-39 (A Martel 4.4 ov), 3-72 (M Stokes 8.6 ov), 4-130 (T Nightingale 14.5 ov), 5-140 (Z Damarell 16.3 ov), 6-143 (O Nightingale 16.6 ov)

‘You need a win like this to build self-belief in squad’ Gareth Le Prevost Guernsey Press
It was a new day and it felt like something of a new dawn for this Guernsey squad at Port Soif n Sunday.
The Inter-Insular Cup may have already been retained by Jersey after their two successful run chases the previous day at the KGV, but in these days of inter-insular T20 clashes holding international status, there is something riding on every match. And, of course, Guernsey had not beaten the old enemy in any form of men’s cricket since their previous encounter at Rovers headquarters back in 2015, so to beat them was both a highly notable and reassuring achievement. Notable because Jersey are a ‘nation’ 12 places above the Sarnians in the ICC world rankings and have been mixing it with sides who have been competing at the current World Cup such as USA and Oman in recent times. Reassuring because the result will help convince the Guernsey players that they are making progress and can deliver performances on a big stage. It was a thoroughly-merited victory, too, even if they ended up stumbling through the proverbial winning tape rather than bursting through it.
With the hosts having won the toss and electing to bowl, Dane Mullen made an instant impact, having been brought into the side for young Harry Johnson, diving forward in his follow through to take the return catch chipped back at him by left-handed opener Charlie Brennan off just the third ball of the day. That brought Jonty Jenner, captain for the day in the absence of Chuggy Perchard, who had a minor muscle issue, to the crease and in typical fashion he was quickly on the front foot, turning decent deliveries into boundaries including back-to-back sixes in the third over. But just when he was threatening a repeat of his brilliance from game two, Guernsey captain Ollie Nightingale took a calculated gamble in introducing Martin-Dale Bradley’s leg-spin inside the powerplay and it paid off handsomely as Jenner attempted a reverse sweep to the Irregulars all-rounder second ball and was trapped leg before.
From that moment, the Greens were in the ascendancy, largely keeping the rest of the Jersey batters subdued as the skipper kept ringing the changes with his bowlers.
Bradley was outstanding and, having changed ends, he had Josh Lawrenson caught at long-on where Ben Ferbrache did a bit of juggling before eventually grasping the ball to his chest, then Harrison Carlyon drove one straight to the captain at extra-cover. The other Jersey batting star of Saturday, opener Nick Green- wood, meanwhile had been kept under control by the Sarnians and his patience finally cracked in the 13th over when he skipped down the track to Adam Martel only to be beaten by the turn and Zak Damarell did the rest. Having got on top, Guernsey kept turning the screw and the pressure applied by all the bowlers resulted in three quick wickets for teenager Charlie Forshaw. Ben Ward got a leading edge to the skipper, Jack Kemp holed out to Tom Nightingale at deep mid-wicket and Dan Birrell did likewise.
It was only thanks to Zak Tribe’s late cameo of 43 from 27 balls that Jersey managed to get past 140,
which had looked a stretch at one point. Going out to chase 149, Guernsey would also have been buoyed
by the absence of paceman Julius Sumerauer, another Jerseyman to have picked up a niggling injury on Saturday, and although there were a few play-and-misses early on, both openers found the boundary regularly too.
Ben Fitchet provided the initial impetus with a crunching pull for four in the first over followed by
three successive boundaries in the second off left-armer Scott Simpson. Martel then joined the party,
hitting Birrell for 20 in four balls, with back-to-back sixes followed by consecutive fours. A change of ends worked for Simpson as he picked up both openers in the fifth over – Fitchet miscuing to mid-on and Martel yorking himself as he took a step down the track – but the Greens had the start they wanted.
Tom Nightingale then got to work, taking three fours off the last over of the powerplay bowled
by Greenwood before settling in to keep the scoreboard ticking over. Matt Stokes stayed with him for
a while, until holing out to deep mid-wicket, but the main support came from Damarell who was happy to give his Indies mate the strike. Guernsey were regularly scoring at eight an over until the blitz came in the 15th, when Nightingale smacked Ward for three successive sixes, bringing up his half-century in the process.
He also fell in the same over with Birrell taking a fine catch low down to grab a full-blooded drive in the covers, leaving the hosts needing 19 from the last five overs with six wickets in band. The nerves then started to creep in, made worse when spinner Toby Britton struck twice in the 17th over to remove both Damarell and captain Nightingale, but all the hard work had been done and that gave Ferbrache and Bradley enough leeway to see their side home with five balls to spare, the winning runs coming from Bradley’s thick edge over short third-man.
‘When you haven’t won for a while, they always get ugly,’ said Guernsey coach Craig Hogan. ‘But every time, trying to build self-belief into the squad and trying to keep it going, you need a win like this and it doesn’t matter how you do it. ‘At the end of the day, it was fantastic. They did a great job. ‘After [Saturday] we turned up and said, “We go again. This is just another day. It’s just another game of cricket and we do what we’re trying to do”. ‘Frithy’s got the boys in a really good space of how we’re going about playing our cricket. Sometimes you win, sometimes you lose, but at the end of the day the process is the same and that’s what the boys did – couldn’t be prouder of the way they went about it.’

‘Port Soif is the place of nightmares for Jersey ‘
PERHAPS Guernsey should schedule all inter-insular fixtures at Port Soif for the foreseeable future.
‘I have nightmares of Port Soif,’ said Jersey captain Chuggy Perchard on Sunday after his side were beaten
by the Sarnians for the first time in nine years, when the 50-over contest was played at the same venue.
‘Lost here in 2015, lost today, I broke a finger here – it’s a terrible place and I wish to never come here again,’ he added while laughing. Jersey had, though, already done enough to retain the Inter-Insular T20 Cup with their two wins at the KGV, with the Skipper describing the weekend as ‘a story of two halves’.
‘Yesterday the guys played some seriously impressive cricket – that’s the level that we really need to be at … we were exceptional,’ Perchard said. ‘Today, tough day, a bit of a come down to earth. I’ve got to credit Guernsey, they are a good side, played the conditions better than us … the better side definitely won today and there are some lessons to be leamed for.us.’ Guernsey coach Craig Hogan called it ‘fantastic’ to register a win against a side ranked 12 places above them in international T20 cricket ahead of hosting the ICC Men’s T20 World Cup Sub-Regional Europe Qualifier in August. ‘The group’s got to believe that we’re good enough – we think they are and they now are starting to believe that they are and once that belief comes in, well, now we just work a bit harder and let’s see what happens,’ he said.

A link to the Guernsey Press podcast of the Inter Insulars appears here