The Caesareans finished 25 runs adrift of Uganda as the first stage of the three-year round-robin tournament began in Oman, with MacRae believing his side missed a handful of chances to pounce against a nation likely to challenge for the single qualification spot between now and 2021.
The Africans recovered from 36/3 to 122/4 by the 30-over mark and notched up 53 runs in the final five to set what turned out to be an unassailable target of 248. Jersey were bowled out for 223 (including 23 extras) with five balls remaining, after Ben Stevens hit four sixes during his knock of 43 runs off 58 balls.
‘There were good signs in small bursts from all of the batters,’ said MacRae.
‘Ben Stevens bowled and batted well, Julius Sumerauer and Elliot Miles bowled well … we just didn’t manage to play good cricket for long enough periods to get over the line.
‘We came up short with a bit of inexperience and a lack of discipline in the periods when we were on top, so we’ll be working on that to put it right for Thursday and Friday against Hong Kong and Italy.’
Full story in Tuesday’s JEP.
