JERSEY Women’s national cricketers returned from Northern Ireland with “lots of positives steps taken”, according to head coach Darren Thomas.
The squad competed in a two-match series against Ireland Women’s U19 Academy on Sunday, before a double-header with NCU Knights.
“The tour provided us with some necessary game exposure and lots of progressive learning for the girls,” said Thomas.
“The role clarity and tactical shifts we are putting in place will take time to adjust to.
“We saw glimpses of it against NCU with a well-deserved win in the final game.
“There were some noticeable positives, we won three out of four power plays, which I was particularly pleased with.
“Our scores progressively increased, and we showed resilience as a group to take a win in the final match.”
Grace Wetherall proved particularly impressive.
In the second game against Ireland U19 Academy, the pace bowler notched the astonishing figures of six wickets for just 18 runs.
This tour also saw experienced all-rounder Trinity Smith takes the reins as captain in place of the absent Chloe Greechan.
Jersey’s Charlie Miles said: “It was a great learning experience for us to play a strong young side who are competing in the U19 World Cup next month.
“On the tour, only two of our players were over the age of 20.
“This really highlights how young a side we are and how much growth there is still to come.
“Jersey cricket always punches above its weight, so facing good opposition who bring the competition to you is the best preparation for us ahead of Germany next month.
“With where we want to get to as a team, we need to keep pushing ourselves and learn more from challenging opposition.
“To record a win in the final game of the tour shows what character we have in this group.
“We know how to fight and bring home a win, I just feel that we’re in need of some fine tuning and more match play, which comes from fixtures like this.
“For our upcoming tour to Middlesex on 6 July, we have three U16 players joining the squad.
“This is really exciting for us and a great opportunity to show our progression and the talent we have coming through.”
Jersey Women: Trinity Smith (c), Effie Bowley, Flo Copley, Maria Da Rocha, Erin Duffy, Erin Gouge, Lily Greig, Sophia Hanson, Mia Maguire, Georgia Mallet, Analise Merritt, Charlie Miles, Flo Tanguy, Grace Wetherall. Coach: Darren Thomas
