ROUND THREE of the ICC Challenge League A begins tomorrow where league leaders Jersey will take on Papua New Guinea.
This week, originally scheduled to be held in Qatar, will instead be hosted by Kenya, and features said hosts as well as Qatar, Papua New Guinea, Kuwait and Denmark.
The third and final round of fixtures will take place between tomorrow 22October until 31 October, played at Gymkhana Club Ground and Ruaraka Sports Club Ground, both in Nairobi.
Jersey begin with PNG tomorrow at Nairobi Gymkhana, scheduled to start at 6.30am Jersey time.
One major change for the Islanders is the absence of their captain Chuggy Perchard. In his place, Harrison Carlyon (left) will assume the honours, his first International tournament at the helm.
Three years is a long time in sport.
Local cricket fans will remember round one of this competition back in 2024, which conveniently was also hosted in the Kenyan capital.
Qualification for the 2027 ODI World Cup, which will be hosted in South Africa, Zimbabwe and Namibia, looked a long way off then.
But nearly three years on Jersey sit clear atop the group and progression for the next stage of the qualification process is firmly in their grasp.
Ten games have taken place so far, five in Kenya in 2024 and a further five last year hosted, of course, here in Jersey.
Despite Jersey’s current standings, things did not get off to the perfect start though.
Taking you back to Wednesday 25 September 2024, game one saw Jersey take on hosts Kenya full of confidence. However, an inspired bowling performance from the hosts left Jersey all out or just 207, which was comfortably chased down inside 39 overs for a surprise 6-wicket win.
However, that loss appeared to be the perfect wake up call for a side blessed with youth.
Since then, they have not lost a match in this competition and have shown themselves the clear favourites for progression.
Their remaining games in Kenya saw them record four crushing victories. They smash Qatar in their next game by 168 runs thanks to a first ODI century from Zak Tribe (right), and an excellent 5-wicket haul for Nick Greenwood.
They then followed it up with a 7-wicket win over PNG, a 123-run win over Kuwait and a 52-run win against Denmark to finish round one top of the tree.
Heading into round two on home soil, the squad remained mostly unchanged.
The opening combination of Harrison Carlyon and Nick Greenwood was establishing itself as one of the best in Associate cricket, the bowling attack was regularly producing the goods with both pace and spin and in the field they were setting the standard high.
Facing Kenya at Farmers Field in the first game again, all seemed to be going to plan.
Offies Josh Lawrenson and Greenwood shared seven wickets between them to spin Kenya out for just 117. And despite an early rally from the visitors which left Jersey 16 for 3, Zak Tribe and Jonty Jenner steadied the ship and saw them home.
What followed in game seven however was one of the most extraordinary finishes seen anywhere.
Back at Farmers again, Jersey faced Kuwait, who are currently Jersey’s closest chasers for top spot.
The hosts bowled first and restricted the Kuwaiti’s to 223 for 9, well within their realm of chasing, thanks to another excellent performance with the ball by Lawrenson.
Despite losing Greenwood first ball, Carlyon looked to be the steady hand, first combining with Lawrenson and then Tribe to take Jersey to the brink of their target.
Wickets continued to tumble to Kuwait’s credit, but Jersey entered the final over of the chase needing just two runs to win with Tribe still there unbeaten on 44 alongside Jake Dunford.
What followed was as bizarre to watch as it must have been to play in.
Dunford was dismissed first ball of the over thanks to a stunning one-handed catch at mid-wicket, saving what was certainly the winning runs in the process.
Chuggy Perchard managed to tie the scores with his second delivery, the third of the over, leaving Tribe three balls to win the game.
However, Tribe struggled to get the ball away and a run out from the final delivery meant Jersey failed to achieve the one run required, sparking jubilant celebrations from the Kuwaiti contingent.
The shock was eminent, but the hosts rallied with professionalism and ruthlessness.
Just two days later they were back facing Denmark, this time at Grainville, and they produced a batting masterclass.
Despite the early loss of Carlyon, both Greenwood and Lawrenson produced a stunning second-wicket partnership of 214 as both men recorded centuries.
The classy Greenwood was eventually dismissed for a dazzling 107, while Lawrenson continued on to his highest List A score of 139.
Some late fireworks from Tribe and Jenner entertained the crowd further, taking Jersey up to a mammoth 348 for 3 and, eventually, an 89-run victory.
But if that performance with the bat was not enough, what followed in the next game against PNG drew the world’s cricketing eyes.
Cometh the hour, cometh the man, this game was all about the return of Asa Tribe.
Fresh off a breakthrough season in the professional game with Glamorgan, Tribe donned the red strip again with the headlines of the world’s media on his shoulders.
At the time, the young Farmers alumni was enjoying one of the all-time great purple patches.
He arrived back on his home pitch with back-to-back unbeaten centuries for Glamorgan in the Metro Bank One Day Cup in his pocket, and continued that form on in the Jersey strip.
However, he was thrust in the deep end as Jersey’s top order was blown away early by a fired-up PNG attack, first at 15 for 4, then soon after 48 for 5.
Carlyon, Greenwood, Lawrenson, Jenner and brother Zak were dismissed for single figures, but despite the chaos the then 21-year-old Tribe looked like he was batting on a different pitch.
After weathering the original storm, he unleashed one off the most spiteful and destructive assaults on a cricket ball seen on a cricket field.
A bowling attack that had ripped through the best top order in the competition was left scratching their heads at how to stop the young star.
Tribe reached his 50, his 100 and then his 150 on his way to a List A high score of 175 from 156 balls in a team score of 261.
After passing his 100, his next 75 runs had come from just 31 deliveries. All in all, it must go down arguably as the greatest innings in Jersey cricket history, and on his boyhood home ground too.
PNG could not recover and Jersey secured a comfortable 160-run victory, but fans were left with a day’s cricket they would remember for a long time.
Jersey then finished the round with an routinely clinical 8-wicket victory over Qatar, chasing 136 just two wickets down where Tribe again starred with an unbeaten half century.
Heading into this week, Jersey hold their fate in their own hands.
Tomorrow’s game against PNG will prove an interesting affair, especially once the opposition see the young England Lions star back amongst the Jersey squad.
Jersey’s World Cup Qualification process
And although topping the group would be a big step forwards for their World Cup dreams, it would not mean automatic qualification.
If Jersey were to progress, they would then move on to another group phase where they will face the bottom four teams from Cricket World Cup League 2, alongside the other two qualifying teams from Challenge League B.
The top four teams from that eight-team Play-off would then advance to the ten-team World Cup Qualifier, joining six other sides, including the leading League 2 teams and the next eligible ODI-ranked teams.
Four places are then available through the Qualifier. The winner qualifies directly for the World Cup group stage, while the teams finishing second, third and fourth will enter a preliminary Super Series, from which one further group stage spot is available.
Action from Gymkhana in Nairobi tomorrow is scheduled for a 6.30am start Jersey time and is available to watch live for free at the ICC.tv website.
Jersey Squad: Harrison Carlyon (c), Charlie Brennan, George Richardson, Julius Sumerauer, Jake Dunford, Jonty Jenner, Ben Ward, Josh Lawrenson, Asa Tribe, Zak Tribe, Will Perchard, Toby Britton
Jersey Fixtures
(All times are accurate for Jersey viewers)
Thursday 22nd: Jersey v Papua New Guinea – Nairobi Gymkhana, 6.30am
Sunday 25th: Jersey v Kenya – Nairobi Gymkhana, 7.30am
Tuesday 27th: Jersey v Kuwait – Ruaraka Sports Club, 6.30am
Friday 30th: Jersey v Denmark – Ruaraka Sports Club, 6.30am
Saturday 31st: Jersey v Qatar – Ruaraka Sports Club, 6.30am
