Jersey retain T20I Inter-Insular after thrilling 2-1 series win

JERSEY men’s cricketers retained their T20I Inter Insular trophy with a 2-1 series win over Guernsey after a thrilling three-run victory in game three split the difference on Saturday evening.

The rain poured at the National Cricket Centre at Grainville, but incredibly, all three games of cricket were able to provide results. A massive tip of the hat must go to the groundstaff of Daniel Birrell and Pete Gough, along with many helpers on Saturday morning, for their efforts in getting the ground fit for play.

And it’s a good thing they did, because what the local cricket fans were witness to was of the highest drama.

The Sarnians travelled across the channel with a renewed vigour. Jersey have held a stranglehold on the trophy in recent times, but there is no denying that Guernsey are a side on the rise.

Under captain Ollie Nightingale, they have become a well oiled, well drilled machine, with strength in all areas across the pitch, which came to fruition in game one on Friday night.

The hosts selected a batting heavy squad, with just the two spin options, but their destructive order failed to detonate in the opening game.

Batting first, Nick Greenwood (25) and Zak Tribe (28) rallied after the early dismissal of Harrison Carlyon, but only an unbeaten 21 from wicketkeeper Patrick Gouge came elsewhere, as they were restricted brilliantly to just 116 for 8 from their 20 overs.

Guernsey were superb with the ball and in the field, with leg-spinner Martin-Dale Bradley the pick of the attack, claiming 4 for 17 from his 4 overs. In reply, Guernsey remained above the DLS rate and, with rain about, experienced opener Josh Butler’s 33 not out was enough to see his side reach 65 for 2 at the half way stage.

The rain had been pouring down for some time when the umpires decided the call the match, with Guernsey ahead of the DLS rate by 13 runs, giving them a 1-0 lead in the series.

“We were comprehensively beaten in game one,” continued skipper Perchard.
“We weren’t at the races at all on Friday night and we didn’t adapt quickly enough to a challenging wicket. But it gave us all the more motivation to come back on Saturday and make sure we put those mistakes right.”

You could say defeat made their job all the more simple as the Caesareans awoke on Saturday morning, win game two or relinquish the trophy. It was as simple as that.
With rain continuous throughout the night and the groundstaff’s early morning efforts, game two was pushed back and reduced to just 13 overs aside.

A huge amount of credit must go to the Grainville groundstaff for their tireless efforts to get all 3 games on, despite the weather Picture: GARY GRIMSHAW (40492444)

It was Guernsey’s chance to bat first on this occasion, and openers Butler and Ben Fitchet went on the front foot early.

Greenwood would remove Butler for 24, with skipper Perchard claiming the impressive Fitchet for 37, his first of 4 wickets in the innings as Guernsey reached a decent score of 107 for 7 from their 13 overs.

Game 2 Man of the match, Nick Greenwood, smashing 45 runs and taking three wickets. picture: GARY GRIMSHAW (40492441)

The pitch was showing the demons of the weather, and this would be no mean chase for the hosts, who needed the win to remain in the series.

However, their reply could not have got off to a worse start, as Carlyon was dismissed very first ball of the innings off the bowling of left-arm spinner Adam Martel.

This was a time for the big players to step up and for some character to be shown, enter centre stage, Nick Greenwood. After claiming 3 wickets with the ball, the kiwi opener smashed 45 from just 25 balls in a man of the match performance.

Zak Tribe chipped in with 19, before Jonty Jenner (32) and Julius Sumerauer (15) combined to both finish unbeaten, chasing their revised target of 116 down with 5 balls remaining in the innings. Set a challenging task, the men in red had bounced back in superb fashion, setting up a nail-biting decider in game three.

Perchard continued: “After the defeat in game one, we sat down as a group and discussed how we could score runs more efficiently on that wicket.
“We put a game plan in place and we executed it brilliantly in game two, which was really pleasing to see.”

International sport is all about handling pressure moments, it’s a portal that allows the finest players to rise above the parapet and put in performances that are remembered by those in attendance for years to come.

Zak Tribe goes down town off Adam Martel’s bowling. Picture GARY GRIMSHAW (40492448)

Winning the toss, Perchard opted to bat first in the decider, hoping to continue their batting momentum from game two. The Sarnians knew though that this was arguably their best chance in a long time to snatch a series win over their greatest rivals, and came flying out of the blocks.

A pumped up home crowd quickly fell into stunned silence, as one, two, three wickets fell in the space of four balls, Carlyon, Greenwood and Jenner back in the hutch, contributing just two runs between them. With the score at 2 for 3 midway through the second over, the visitors showed no sign of letting Jersey off the hook.

Sumerauer and Tribe combined to put some pressure back on with a partnership worth over 50, the former smashing 34 from 21 balls, before he too was removed bowled by Matt Stokes, the score now 58 for 4.

Tribe would follow soon after, well caught in the covers by the impressive Ant Stokes for 23, before Patrick Gouge, Charlie Brennan and Stan Norman all followed cheaply in quick succession.

The deciding game of the inter insular series and the home side found themselves 74 for 8 after just 11 overs. If ever there was a time for a captains performance, it was now, but it was not just the one Perchard who stepped up.

Captain Chuggy joined all rounder and cousin, Will Perchard at the crease, with their side on it’s knees. The two Farmers players however were not going to go down without a fight, and they set about batting the remaining overs out. As they nudged and nurdled, the score gradually nudged up towards the 100 mark, an already impressive feat from where they were at the start of the innings.

However the pair were not done, commencing an onslaught in the final 3 overs, including a mighty six from the captain and an impressive switch hit for four from the final ball by Will. From 2 for 3 and 74 for 8, Jersey had somehow managed to post a more than competitive total of 130 for 8 and the momentum of the innings had well and truly swung back in their favor.

With their tails up, Jersey hit the ground hard with the ball, as Theo Pullman, called up for his T20I debut for this match, took the new ball and had an immediate impact, producing a false shot and subsequent leading edge from Josh Butler to the hands of Stan Norman for the early wicket they so badly wanted.

The hard-hitting Tom Nightingale was next to go, slicing a big swipe high to Carlyon off Greenwood’s canny off-spin, before the pace of Sumerauer proved too much for Fitchet, Jersey pegging their visitors back to 31 for 3 in the powerplay.

In at four for Guernsey came Matt Stokes, a classy all rounder, who looked a cut above the rest on a now very challenging wicket.

Stokes would go on to calmly pass his half century, his fourth in T20I’s, surpassing Guernsey’s previous record of three by teammate Josh Butler. With Zac Damarell’s departure at 46 for 4, captain Ollie Nightingale strolled to the crease and he combined with Stokes to swing things back in the Sarnian’s favor.

They used the pace, found the gaps and ran extremely well to continue to tick the scoreboard along while ensuring they didn’t lose any further wickets. It looked as though Guernsey may have just made themselves favourites, when the big moment came.

Nightingale took off for a quick single, punching one towards mid off, however a flying Carlyon was on hand to swoop in, pick up one handed and flick the ball towards his captain at the stumps.

The bails were whipped off, but Nightingale looked unperturbed, which soon turned to abject horror as he saw the umpires finger signal his demise.

Watching back on the reply, it sure seemed a mighty close call, which led to an unsurprisingly upset Guernsey captain as he dragged himself from the field. A moment of magic in the field had swung the momentum once again, but Stokes was still out there and looking ominous.

Sumerauer returned to remove Martin-Dale Bradley in fairly unfortunate style, as he managed to hit his own stumps after attempting a big strike over the leg side.

However, Stokes made the shot look much easier, as he climbed into another short ball from Sumerauer, depositing him on top of the Grainville bank, followed up by a cut shot for four to take it from 20 off 12 balls, to just 7 runs needed for victory from the final over.
Cometh the hour, and it was skipper Perchard to stand up once again.

Captain Perchard continued: “Honestly, I live for those sorts of moments, it’s what gets me out of bed in the mornings.
“I always back myself and I know where my strengths are, I had complete belief in myself that we could get over the line there.”

With Stokes sat on 65 not out at the other end, a couple of singles came from the first three balls, before Perchard struck, producing a knick from Luke Bichard which was smartly held up to the stumps by keeper Gouge, 5 runs needed from the final 2 balls.

Adam Martel was the new man, but with Stokes still sat agonizingly at the other end, he could only manage to chip one back to Perchard first ball, leaving Ant Stokes to join his brother and have just one ball for heroic status, needing 5 to win or 4 to tie.

His attempted reverse sweep was gloved limply into the off side, sealing the win for the home side by just 3 runs, their narrowest ever margin of victory in T20I’s and a big sigh of relief from the home supporters.

Thoughts went out to the excellent Matt Stokes, who finished unbeaten on 66, which moved him again above teammate Butler to 914 T20I runs, a new record for Guernsey.

After lifting the trophy and collecting the player of the match award, Perchard concluded: “I’ll look back on moments like these in years to come and will be incredibly proud of that performance. We made a lot of people happy with this win and im extremely proud of this group for this achievement.”

SCORECARDS:

Squads:

Jersey

Charles Perchard (c), Patrick Gouge (wk), Charlie Brennan, Zak Tribe, Julius Sumerauer, Scott Van Breda, Theo Pullman, Harrison Carlyon, Nick Greenwood, Jonty Jenner, Will Perchard, Stanley Norman

Guernsey

Ollie Nightingale (c), Zac Damarell (wk), Tom Nightingale, Martin-Dale Bradley, Ben Fitchet, Josh Butler, Matt Stokes, Anthony Stokes, Adam Martel, Harry Johnson, Luke Bichard, Charlie Birch, Ben Ferbrache, Charlie Simmonds