JERSEY’S head coach Neil MacRae said that there were lessons to be learnt following his side’s scare against age-old rivals Guernsey.
The Caesareans are the superior outfit, as rankings suggest, however Guernsey mounted an inspired effort to leave the hosts needing to dig very deep to get across the line and chase down a Sarnian total of 106 with just two wickets to spare.
Captain Chuggy Perchard did it all, proving the pick of the bowlers before displaying a mature head with the bat to see his team home.
MacRae said: ‘I think this contest is a massive lesson for all the players.
‘Our batting line-up has been incredible this summer and the performances of the top five are at a level we’ve not seen before.
‘What today shows is that there are no easy chases and our focus needs to be at 100% every single game.
‘That being said, we have to credit Guernsey and how they bowled. They bowled efficiently and straight – Luke Bichard had a brilliant spell.’
With the standard of the Caesarean batting attack, Perchard has rarely been called on to score vital runs during chases this season.
However, Jersey’s neighbours rattled through a top order that some of the best teams in the world could not break down this summer.
Perchard said: ‘Perhaps we came into that second innings a little bit casual.
‘The Guernsey boys had their heads down at the interval and we allowed them to get back into the contest with some loose batting.
‘We need to be far more clinical at chasing down a score like that, but fortunately we were still able to get across the line and it’s a lesson learned when we still managed to win.’
Guernsey somewhat perplexed the Farmers faithful when deciding to bat first.
The wicket was damp and looked like providing the morning bowlers with an opportunity.
Perchard confessed that he was also surprised.
‘They certainly got that decision wrong,’ he said.
‘Early in the day was the hardest time to bat and it still felt damp out there.
‘We had the best of the conditions, so who knows what the outcome might have been if we were put in to bat first.’
Guernsey captain Josh Butler defended his decision.
He said: ‘We wanted to bat first. I know the wicket was slightly sticky in the morning, but I don’t regret it.
‘We were hopping straight off the coach and onto the pitch, so to field first after a lack of warm-up I think would have been really tough for us.
