JERSEY cruised to a seven-wicket win over Guernsey in the first of the T20 inter-insular triple header at Farmers Fields.
Teenager Charlie Brennan took the attack to the Guernsey bowlers with a magnificent 67 which included six fours and four maximums as Jersey chased down 135 with more than four overs to space.
Having won the toss and elected to bat, Guernsey struggled for runs in the powerplay, with left-arm Jersey spinner Elliot Miles removing both openers to leave the Sarnians 32-2.
Leg-spinner Ben Ward took two wickets of his own as Guernsey were restricted to 51-4 in the ninth over and when Jersey skipper Charles ‘Chuggy’ Perchard struck to in the 12th it looked like Guernsey would fail to post a competitive total.
The partnership of brothers Tom and Ollie Nightingale steadied the ship a little for Guernsey – making scores of 28 and 29 respectively to guide Guernsey to 134-6 at the end of their 20 overs and give their bowlers something to defend.
But Jersey openers Harrison Carlyon and Brennan quickly set about making the Guernsey total seem well short. Carlyon cracked three consecutive boundaries in the first over before Brennan set about putting the Guernsey bowlers to the sword.
The pair raced to 60-0 through the powerplay and brought up their 100 partnership in the 12th over.
Carlyon was stumped two short of his half-century but Brennan at the other end was unfazed and continued to attack – the highlight of his innings coming through a remarkable reverse sweep for six.
Guernsey did pick up the wickets of Julius Sumerauer and Asa Tribe but Brennan and Jonty Jenner saw Jersey home in the 16th over.
The teams will meet again at Farmers Field for the final two T20 matches in the tri-series on Saturday. The second T20 is due to start at 11am, with the third and final due to start at 3pm.
