With a raft of stalwarts unavailable for selection, it was the next generation of Jersey cricketers’ opportunity to impress at Farmer’s Field yesterday.
And it’s a chance few let pass them by as the youthful Islanders claimed back-to-back twenty20 victories over the MCC in St Martin. The triumphs – a seven-wicket win and a 19-run success – will certainly have given head coach Neil MacRae and his coaching staff food for thought as they plot their route to the ICC European T20 Qualifier in the Netherlands later this year.
Julius Sumerauer, Ben Ward, Zak Tribe and Jonny Heward all impressed on debut, having made the step up from under-19 level last year, as did Walkovers pair Mikey Ahier and John Donaldson.
Speaking after the conclusion of the second match, MacRae discussed the importance of introducing new faces into the Island squad.
‘I was impressed by the young players coming in; they all contributed and there’s actually a lot to look forward to in some of those performances,’ said the Scot, who guided Jersey to the Global T20 Qualifier in 2015.
‘The way we have built the squad, we want to have depth and we’re starting to show that now. The fact some players weren’t available [today] gave us an opportunity and we certainly want to give some of the young players as much game time as we can going forward.
‘Some of the performances today showed these youngsters are ready to start performing at a senior level for Jersey and the more T20 cricket they play, the more they’ll learn the game.’
The head coach added: ‘Julius and Ben Ward both did really well, Dom Blampied showed some good glimpses having not had a huge opportunity in World Cricket League 4 and I think Mikey Ahier and John Donaldson coming in for the first time … they really threw themselves into the action and produced performances that contributed as well. Jonny Heward was tidy behind the stumps as well.
‘We are really pleased with everybody who came in; we know we have some very good senior cricketers so it gives us a lot of strength in the squad as we build for the rest of the summer.’
Alongside those fresh faces were several more experienced Jersey cricketers, the likes of Ben Stevens, Corey Bisson and Chuggy Perchard. And it was, indeed, those stalwarts who led the charge, with Bisson top scoring for the Islanders in both games, with 39 and 32. Perchard and Sumerauer took two wickets each in the first game, before Donaldson grabbed three for 21 in the second match.
With World Cricket League Division 4 now a distant memory, focus will remain firmly on the shorter form of the game as Jersey ramp up their preparations before heading to Holland.
‘We now have the domestic T20 tournament through June,’ continued MacRae. ‘We’ll begin training as an Island squad at the start of July, play a lot of T20 through July before we have the tournament itself.
‘Today has been a great test for these players. There will be selection headaches along the line but we’ll find out where we are by mid-July. We don’t have to pick the squad yet but it’s a good position to be in.’
Full results inside Tuesday’s JEP.
