NEIL MACRAE insisted that there would be a reaction from his men against hosts Zimbabwe and he was right.
The odds were stacked against the Island side, who needed to beat the highest-ranked opposition they have ever faced – in their back yard.
However, the Islanders were inspired from the word go.
The fielding unit and spin attack were on top of their games, reducing the home side to just 146.
However, Jersey also struggled with the bat, as the large ground made boundaries hard to come by.
Once the visitors got behind the run-rate, Zimbabwe’s bowlers heaped the pressure on to secure a 23-run victory and their second in succession.
Captain Chuggy Perchard said: ‘For 20 overs in the field we gave it everything we had.
‘It was a do-or-die game for us and we approached it that way.
‘There are some big lessons to be learned about how we went about the run chase, but we are a young side and these experiences will only help.
‘We had a clear goal to qualify for the World Cup and that has gone now, so we are obviously gutted.
‘But it’s now about re-focusing and being better for next time. The dream of qualifying isn’t over, it’s just put on hold.’
Coach MacRae echoed Perchard’s words in terms of lessons learnt.
‘For 30 of the 40 overs we matched them. It was an even contest,’ said MacRae.
‘Between overs six and 16 we didn’t bat well enough – they are devastated with the result.
‘Their two spinners in particular bowled well, but not as good as their figures suggested.
‘There is some learning for us to be done, we can’t be satisfied with just pushing teams like Zimbabwe – we want to win those games.
‘We are so appreciative of the support back home and we really wanted to get the win today for them.’
It was Jersey who won the toss in overcast conditions and they clearly learnt from their opening game, as Zimbabwe were put into bat.
Their potent spin attack again worked wonders as Elliot Miles in particular frustrated the home side.
Both openers fell for a combined ten runs, as a superb direct hit from Julius Sumerauer ran out Regis Chakabva – a sign of things to come from a stingy fielding unit.
Dangerman Shaun Williams steadied the ship at three, as he followed up a half-century against Singapore with a second against Jersey.
However, Dom Blampied threaded the gap between bat and pad to remove Williams on 57 and blow the contest wide open.
Zimbabwean batsman were unable to stick around as the Caesarean spinners continued to have joy, before a late cameo from Luke Jongwe (29 off 13 balls) gave his side a defendable total of 146.
Jersey began promisingly, but soon the hosts realised that their pace attack was getting exploited and shelved that plan in favour of spin.
Ryan Burl was exceptional for the 11th-ranked side in the world, as he took the key wickets of Asa Tribe, Jonty Jenner and Ben Stevens.
Opener Harrison Carlyon was a mainstay for the majority of the innings before falling on 45 off 56 deliveries. However, Jersey struggled for any continuity down the other end.
It looked as though Tribe might play that role, prior to being removed in the deep on 21, in search of a boundary from a wide delivery.
Ben Ward enjoyed an efficient innings to finish not-out on 35 from 20 balls, but unfortunately for him and Jersey, they had fallen too far behind the required rate at that point.
The hosts reduced the Caesareans to 123 to secure a 23-run victory, inflicting a second defeat from as many games for the MacRae’s side.
With a win for the United States against Singapore elsewhere in the group, they lead hosts Zimbabwe on net run rate.
Jersey find themselves four points adrift of the top two and unable to progress from Group A, with one remaining group game tomorrow against Singapore.
The Islanders return to Bulawayo Athletic Club [12pm BST] in a bid to secure third place.
