JERSEY will be on the attack in Guernsey this weekend as inter-insular T20 cricket returns.
After a two-year gap, Neil MacRae’s men will travel to the sister isle tomorrow for an evening clash at the College Field, before completing the tri-series with two games at the KGV on Saturday, for the kiya.ai T20 Inter-Insular Cup.
Jersey claimed 3-0 victories in the T20 inter-insulars of 2018 and 2019, before making it ten wins from ten across all formats with a 50-over success, via Duckworth-Lewis.
‘We’re excited to be going back into inter-insular cricket after the Covid break,’ said Jersey head coach Neil MacRae.
‘There’s been some anticipation among the squad over the last ten days and that will only intensify as we get closer to the weekend.
‘We’ve prepared well. T20 internationals are big events in their own right, but especially against Guernsey and especially away from home.’
He expects the Greens to be competitive with a strong crowd behind them.
‘We understand from the tournament cricket we’ve played that recovery is important, that will test both squads over three games, but we’ve trained hard since the New Year and the squad is fit and ready to go.’
A strong squad of 12 will make the trip across, led by captain Chuggy Perchard.
‘We’ve some young players pushing for places in the starting 11, a good balance of youth and experience,’ said MacRae.
On paper, Jersey look the stronger side – ranked 23rd in the world compared to Guernsey’s 38th – in a season which will feature trips to Zimbabwe and Uganda for T20 and 50-over World Cup qualifiers.
‘In all inter-insulars, because of the history and the intensity, rankings go out the window,’ said MacRae.
‘Each game in its own right is a huge event. We have to be at our top level to be competitive.’
Jersey will look to play the type of aggressive cricket which has brought them so much success last year, particularly when they won six out of six games at the T20 World Cup European final in Spain.
‘It’s exactly the test we want given the preparation we’ve had. Even though there’s plenty of cricket to come, we’re not thinking further ahead, this is a huge game in its own right.’
Jersey: Chuggy Perchard, Dan Birrell, Dom Blampied, Charlie Brennan, Harrison Carlyon, Jake Dunford, Nick Greenwood, Jonty Jenner, Elliot Miles, Rhys Palmer, Julius Sumerauer, Asa Tribe.
