WHAT began as a small group of friends with a shared love of cricket has grown into one of the Island’s most respected community clubs, as Walkovers Cricket Club concludes its 25th year.
Since its formation, the club has not only enjoyed success on the field but has also built a reputation for inclusivity, sportsmanship and commitment to developing the game in Jersey for seniors and juniors.
The milestone was marked in October with an evening of celebration bringing together past and present players, supporters and officials to reflect on a quarter of a century of memories, matches and milestones.
Andrew Bouchard, one of the founders of the club, spoke to the JEP to give a special insight into the creation, history and development of one of the island’s most thriving sporting organisations.
“The club started out when a group of school friends who were starting to find their way into cricket and decided to put a team in the evening league,” he said.
“Driven by John Patterson’s enthusiasm for the game and his ability to organise things, we were soon entered into the league.
“We didn’t have a lot of cricket experience as there wasn’t the same opportunities at public schools to play cricket as there is these days.
“We were pretty raw – only three or four or us had even played a competitive game of cricket, so the feeling was that we’d get beaten every match, so the name ‘Walkovers’ was created.”
Having formed the club in 2000, Walkovers entered the evening league for the 2001 season.
Bouchard continued: “We were extremely keen – on the day of the first match, it was all anyone could talk about. We went to Les Quennevais virtually straight from school, so were there about 2 hours early.
“We lost to a team called Sloughs and further defeats followed, but in the second half of the season we picked up our first wins, the return match against Sloughs and a further win against Yorkies.”
Following that debut year, quite a lot of the players went off to university and so over the next few years, the early season fixtures were a bit of a struggle. This led to siblings, parents and friends of friends often being called upon to get an XI on the pitch.
“We also made a couple of marquee signings (people who could play cricket) to supplement our enthusiastic core,” continued Bouchard, “including our current president Bradley Vautier – a deal done in mayhem of Maddisons nightclub for those old enough to remember it.
“Over the following years we did improve quite a lot and indeed made it to a couple of Sid Guy Cup finals, unfortunately snatching defeat from the jaws of victory on a couple of occasions.”
Annual friendly fixtures were established against Westerners CC, the Optimists Club and St Mary’s pub, adding the social aspects of playing the game. Westerners and the Optimists were a great support the Club in the early years, with Westerners donating the Club its first kit bag.
In 2005 the Club really made its mark by becoming the first division 3 team to reach the JEP Cup final. In the middle of the cup run, the Club also went on its first week-long tour to Amsterdam which was a fantastic experience.
Further tours have followed, to Brighton, twice to Cardiff and a few times to Chateau des Ormes in France, all of which generated memories that will live forever with those who attended.
Bouchard said: “There are too many stories to tell but mention of the Welsh quicks, the longest serving Chief, the great stink of Usk and the mystery spinner Vijay Joshi are sure to stir a few for those who were there.”
Four Island Challenge
In 2009 the Club took on one of its biggest challenges. Fuelled by a combination of strength of friendship and desire to create a bit of history, the Club embarked on it’s ‘Four Island Challenge’, a bid to play a game of T20 cricket on each of the biggest Channel Islands, all one day.
The challenge was thought to be a world’s first and was all in aid of Cystic Fibrosis, a cause close to the Club’s heart as founder member Kevin English suffered from the genetic condition.
Starting in Alderney at 7am, the club played games in Guernsey and Sark before making their way back to Jersey to play the finale in front of a large crowd at Grainville against an SCF select XI.
Bouchard added: “The day was a huge success and the £22,000 raised for the Cystic Fibrosis Trust made all the hard work worth it. Kevin is sadly no longer with us but he has left a lasting legacy with the Club.”
In 2010 the Club expanded into weekend league cricket, combining with Sporting Club Francais through connections made with Ron Haliwell, someone who remains very much involved with the Club.
The first team made its mark in its early seasons, not least in the lift of Guernsey airport where a number of players got stuck(!), but is now a well establish part of the weekend cricket setup.
Over the following years the Club expanded on all fronts, at one stage putting out three indoor league teams, three evening league teams, multiple weekend league teams and also forming a ladies team. This has given an increasing number of people great opportunity to play cricket in a friendly and inclusive environment.
Junior Academy
Bouchard continued: “It was around 2012 that the Club started to develop a junior section under the guidance of Hansie Vosser and Barney Sweeney. The groundwork they put in place set things up for Bradley Vautier, Saajid Mohammed and many others to develop the Junior section the Club has today.
“The Junior section is thriving which is fantastic to see and the thousands of hours of hard work put in by those volunteers should see the Club flourishing for many years to come.”
The junior cricket league ‘My Club My Journey’ is a thriving asset of the Jersey Cricket arsenal, and Walkovers is a dominant force throughout. Young faces in light blue shirts flood to FB Fields and Les Quennevais on Sunday morning’s with the assistance of many members of the club happy to volunteer their time to take the teams.
Bouchard also noted: “The Club has enjoyed great success in the form of many trophies across all forms of Jersey cricket over the years, but I think the thing that the founding members will be most proud of is how many people have come together and played cricket under the name of Walkovers and in the same fun loving way that they set out to all those years ago.”
Personal story and feelings around the anniversary – from Andrew Bouchard
“I am a founder member of the Club and have remained involved over the full 25 years and continue to hold a position on the committee of the Club. Over that time I’ve played a lot across indoor, evening and weekend league cricket with varying degrees of success but have always loved the game and camaraderie that comes from being in a team. Most recently, with the body not quite able to give what it once was, I have played the odd game for our social team.
“My feeling as we have reached our 25th anniversary is one of immense pride. What started as a group of friends playing for the enjoyment of the game, regardless of the ability of the players and always laughing and joking with each other, has grown beyond what any of those initial players could have imagined.
“The great thing about playing for Walkovers is that over the years we have attracted so many like- minded people to the Club and so the banter, camaraderie and enjoyment of the game is present across all of the teams, regardless of the level of play, and that is something that was very much at our core when we started the team all those years ago.
“The work with the junior set up has been amazing to see and all of those who have been and who are involved now deserve a huge amount of credit for driving the junior set up to where it is today. The juniors are playing a lot of cricket across the weekend and evening league sides and represent the club extremely well.
“The introduction of the social team, with an equal focus on the post-match BBQ, has given further playing opportunities to those at the less competitive end of the spectrum and has been a welcomed addition.
“Over the course of this last year it has been great to catch up with old friends at the various events and reminisce about the ‘old days’ but it has also been great to have a glimpse of the future of the club, seeing the junior setup and how the juniors are starting to progress into senior cricket.”
The next generation – with Bradley Vautier
AS Walkovers Cricket Club celebrates its 25th anniversary, much of the focus may naturally fall on past achievements and memorable moments on the field.
But, behind the scenes, the club has been quietly laying the foundations for the next quarter of a century – and at the heart of that work is its thriving junior programme.
At the forefront of that effort is junior coach Bradley Vautier, who says the club’s commitment to youth development was born out of a simple but necessary realisation.
“A few years ago, a lot of us involved with the club – founders and senior players – were getting a bit older,” he said. “If we wanted Walkovers to still be around in another 25 years, and still competing in Premier cricket, we had to start thinking seriously about succession planning.”
That thinking led to a more proactive approach to junior cricket, with Walkovers working closely alongside Jersey Cricket to create a clear pathway for young players. Vautier joined the project as a parent and a coach in 2019-20, and what began as a long-term plan has since gathered significant momentum.
The club now boasts around 75 under-18 players training through the year, supported by a growing team of volunteers. While Vautier serves as head coach of the junior section, he is quick to stress that the programme is very much a collective effort.
“We’ve got around 12 parents and volunteer coaches helping us, which has been massive,” he said.
“We’re also really lucky to have younger senior players and current island age-group players giving time back to the club. That’s just as important as developing players – we’re developing future coaches as well.”
Crucially, Walkovers’ junior system is not solely focused on producing elite cricketers. While developing first-team and island players remains an ambition, Vautier believes success should be measured more broadly.
“For every first-team player we develop, it’s just as important to develop a social player or a second-team player,” he explained. “Some might go on to score, umpire or volunteer. If they stay involved in cricket and in the club, then we’ve done our job.”
A key factor behind the programme’s growth, according to Vautier, is the inclusive culture the club has worked hard to establish.
Winter training has become a cornerstone of the junior setup, but it is the environment rather than the schedule that he believes truly sets Walkovers apart.
“We’ve created a fun, safe space where players of all abilities and personalities feel welcome. We can challenge the ones who need pushing, but everyone gets something out of it.”
One of the clearest indicators of that culture, he added, is the absence of social divisions within the group.
“On a Saturday afternoon, I honestly couldn’t tell you which kid goes to what school. There are no cliques. Players from all over the island just mix together, get on with it and enjoy their cricket.”
Vautier is also keen to highlight the wider benefits of the sport, particularly for families considering cricket for the first time.
While football and rugby dominate much of Jersey’s sporting landscape, he believes cricket offers a unique blend of physical and social development.
“The transferable skills are huge – balance, agility, coordination – and we see players move between sports all the time,” he noted. “Socially, cricket puts young people into situations where they learn to communicate, handle pressure and interact with adults at an early age. Those are life skills that stay with you.”
As Walkovers marks its 25-year milestone, the success of its junior programme offers reassurance that the club’s future is in capable hands – built not just on results, but on community, inclusivity and long-term vision.
