CRICKET officials are approaching the end of the 2022 season with their fingers crossed, as they target a landmark step onto the Women’s T20 World Cup ladder.
Despite significant grassroots improvements to the female game in recent years, Jersey still does not meet ICC criteria for participation in fully-fledged international tournaments, meaning the Island’s top players have been limited to lower-grade events and friendlies against county sides.
However, there is hope that the sport’s governing body will grant them access to an as-yet unconfirmed ICC Europe pyramid from 2023, based on proof of progression and long-term goals.
Regional qualifiers for the 2024 Women’s T20 World Cup are due to be held next year.
Lee Meloy, Jersey Women head coach, said: ‘In the short-to-medium term we are looking to ensure we’re on a pathway for World Cup qualifiers, but it’s a very fluid pathway at the moment, with teams popping up all around the world and with women’s cricket growing so much. The landscape will change.’
One of the requirements for top-flight tournament cricket is the presence of eight club teams within the jurisdiction. Jersey currently has six female squads in operation.
‘The focus is to establish a strong international women’s side and to compete among the best European nations,’ Meloy explained. ‘Next year the ICC is looking to expand its T20 European qualifiers so hopefully we will be granted access into that. We don’t meet the criteria this year but we have got an established pathway and we can provide the ICC with evidence to show we’re looking long-term. We have a clear trend of growth, with a strategic plan in place. We have proof that we’re doing things right and as much as the men’s and women’s teams are separate, we have shown with the men that we can do it and we have a blueprint.
‘Nothing is guaranteed, but we’re working with ICC Europe and hopefully the hard work, time and effort will pay off.’
Meloy was speaking at the conclusion of a season-ending UK trip for the women, which featured games against Middlesex, Hertfordshire and Sunrisers CC – a regional development outfit covering London and the east.
The seven-match tour ended in defeat – by 55 runs to Sunrisers – but they did return with a winning record, having claimed four victories earlier in the week.
Jersey started with a five-wicket win over Middlesex Women’s under-17s, with captain Chloe Greechan hitting an unbeaten 53 on the opening day as the visitors chased down a target of 104 in 15.2 overs. A two-wicket success would follow hours later as Middlesex contributed 28 extras in a 117-run total.
Analise Merritt claimed 2-22 when they faced Middlesex’s senior side for the now-annual Brooks Macdonald Cup, although it was not enough to prevent a 42-run loss at Richmond CC, having reached just 99 in their 20-over spell.
Greechan took 3-8 and scored 38 with the bat in the first of three tussles with Hertfordshire, which the Islanders won by three wickets after bowling out their rivals for 107. The county side responded with an eight-wicket triumph in game two, despite knocks of 46 and 36 for openers Charlie Miles and Maria Da Rocha respectively, but Jersey hit back again in the third outing thanks to a four-wicket haul for Flo Copley, which limited Hertfordshire to just 89. An unbeaten tally of 44 runs for Trinity Smith steered the Caesareans home in 14.1 overs.
Meloy added: ‘We went there to be tested.
‘The main focus was to play seven games of good cricket and come away as better players and a better team, and we were delighted to get four wins along the way.
‘A big part of ICC demands is the travel and being able to play away from home is very important. Moving around to different venues and playing different teams brings its challenges and puts the players out of their comfort zones. They stood up well, though, and got some positive results.’
