IT proved somewhat of a baptism of fire for Jersey’s young cricket stars at the recent T10 European Cricket Championship, after the Islanders at the foot of Group D, missed out on finals day and in turn a potential spot in championship week.
That honour went to Netherlands XI, after the Dutch secured three wins from four during the group stage.
Jersey, however, returned from Spain winless, with three losses and one abandoned match against Sweden.
The Caesareans’ fixture against Norway was also shortened in the Malaga downpours, with Jersey only able to complete 4.4 of their allotted ten overs and in turn falling nine runs shy of Norway’s DLS par.
However, perspective is key, and Paul Hutchison’s much-changed side retained just two players who helped lift Jersey to the top of the table in their opening round of ICC Challenge League games earlier this month.
It was a side full of fledgling talent, who will only improve with the experience of big stage cricket.
One player who remained, was pace bowler Dan Birrell, named captain for the Spain trip.
“Obviously it’s always a pleasure to captain your country whatever the competition so I’m forever grateful for the opportunity,” he said.
“This was my first time playing in an ECN tournament.
“I thought it was a quality event that is great for our exposure to some great strikers of the cricket ball and skilful bowlers.
“The squad is jam packed with extremely good cricketers who I can’t wait to see progress.
“They’ve all been exposed to high-pressure scenarios this week and dealt with them extremely well.
“Young Barney [Aston] impressed me in all three facets of the game and showed the attitude that we like to see in Jersey players.
“Theo Pullman was excellent with the ball, while Beau Gurner struck them unbelievably well in the final game.
“And it goes without saying but Stan Norman has been exceptional for Jersey and his club side all year.
“Experiences like the ECC are perfect for us this time of year.
“With a busy schedule in the summer and boys heading away chasing the dream, it allows younger members of the squad or fringe players to get high-level exposure in front of the coach.
“Corbs [Elliot Corbel] has come in and done a fantastic job as an experienced cricketer, as well as Scott Simpson who is also very experienced at this event and has come on leaps and bounds under the new coach.
“Overall, the results are obviously far from what we expect as a Jersey unit.
“But the bigger picture is the next three years of this Cricket World Cup cycle.
“The members of this squad and the ones that have just returned from Africa are going to do everything we can to achieve the dream of getting to a World Cup and flying the flag for sport in Jersey.”
Meanwhile, as Birrell touched on, one standout player from the trip, was another who played a part in Kenya, in the shape of Stan Norman.
Having caught the eye domestically for Farmers Caesareans, the young batsman has grabbed his Jersey opportunity with both hands.
The highlight of this trip came with an incredible knock of 82 from just 34 balls against, which saw seven balls carry the distance the process.
“I had only played a handful of T10 games for Farmers at the previous ECL tournaments, so I was still relatively new to the format,” he said.
“So I was still working out the best way to score as many boundaries as possible, as that’s what wins games of cricket out there.
“It’s been a great month with the senior squad.
“Coming into the side you always want to perform well and I hope I’ve shown I can put my name into the hat for next year’s tournament squads as well.
“We didn’t achieve what we wanted to this tournament, but it was a great experience for the young squad and I’m sure we will learn from it.
“We have a big few years ahead of us and having a large squad of players that push each other on will only put us in a better place down the line, so for the younger U19 boys to be in and around the group is great.
“We were in a good position to beat Norway before the rain got in the way, and then again rain caused a no result against Sweden.
“We pushed Italy close in a high-scoring match and then Netherlands showed their class against us.
“Without the rain I believe we would have had a good chance of making it to Finals Day but in the end we were happy we did enough to secure our place for next year’s ECC Premier Division.”
Jersey Cricket: Daniel Birrell (c), Scott Simpson, Elliot Corbel, Ali Webster, Theo Pullman, Toby Britton, Stan Norman, Jack Kemp, Barney Aston, Beau Gurner, Dylan Kotedia, Chris Carnegie
