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Guernsey make it 5 wins in a row in HSBC Challenge Cup
David Piesing
Guernsey bounced back from the disappointment of failing to perform to their full potential at the European Championships in Scotland with a 15-run victory in the 2006 inter-insular against Jersey for the HSBC Challenge Cup. This latest victory means that Guernsey have won the inter-insular fixture for five years in succession since 2002, but still have a long way to go to surpass Jersey’s winning record of ten successive victories between 1992 and 2001.
Jersey fielded 10 of their 14-man squad from the European Championships but were boosted by the highly influential Ryan Driver, the former English county cricketer, who was ineligible to play in Scotland but who will have qualified by 2008. Guernsey fielded 8 who went to Scotland, plus Tim Duke, Justin Meades and GH Smit, all of who are likely to be eligible for ICC cricket by 2008. Former county professional Lee Savident, who was voted Division Two player of the tournament in Scotland, was ineligible for Guernsey for this game as he is playing semi-professional cricket in Hampshire and so is unavailable to play in Guernsey domestic club cricket, upon which selections are based.
With the rain clouds hovering and the forecast not looking at all promising, Guernsey skipper Andy Biggins won the toss at Jersey’s Grainville ground and elected to bat first, putting his faith in the fairness of Duckworth-Lewis if the weather was to intervene.
Openers Matt Oliver and Jeremy Frith both fell cheaply to seamer Chris Jones to put Guernsey on the back foot, but Ami Banerjee and debutant Justin Meades steadily rebuilt the innings before Meades, from Melbourne, pulled a Peter Gough off-break to short midwicket and was brilliantly caught for 20. The rain came down with Guernsey on 75 for 3 off 25 overs, having been restricted by some tight bowling and excellent fielding. Lunch was taken early and the match was reduced to 41 overs per side. After the re-start Banerjee was next to go for a solid 31, caught at extra cover while forcing off the back foot, and when Stuart Le Prevost skied a leading edge off Nigel Crocker there was still a lot of work to be done to post a challenging total.
South African GH Smit was then joined by Tim Duke and the pair kept things ticking over before 15 was taken off a Ryan Driver over, Duke hitting two delightful legside boundaries before playing a delicate late cut to the third man boundary. In the very next over Smit also smashed seamer Tom Minty for 15, and although both were dismissed shortly afterwards, Smit for a top score of 38 and Duke for 23, skipper Biggins and Gary Rich took Guernsey to a final score of 179 for 7 in 41 overs.
With the rain falling again before Jersey could commence their innings, Duckworth-Lewis was brought into play and Jersey were set a revised target of 178 in 37 overs.
They were soon rocked by the early departure of Steve Carlyon who was unlucky to fall to a quite brilliant diving catch at slip by Banerjee off the bowling of Duke, and Duke quickly followed up by finding the edge of Peter Gough’s bat to be caught behind. Much now depended on the key pairing of Jersey skipper Matt Hague and Ryan Driver. The two quietly accumulated runs in a solid partnership to take the score to just under three figures for the loss of just two wickets, but the asking rate rose above 6 an over as the pair were tied down superbly by the spin twins of Frith and Rich. It was Frith who made the breakthrough when he found the faint edge of Driver’s bat to remove the dangerman for 29, and shortly afterwards Hague was caught at short third man off Frith for a solid 54. Having opened the door, and with the new batsmen needing to score at more than 7 an over, Guernsey turned the screw and Jersey quickly lost Jones, Dewhurst, Jonny Gough and Bobby Minty as the pressure rose. Tom Minty made a quick 16 as he and Dave Morfee tried to score the 25 runs needed off the last 2 overs but Banerjee wrapped things up by clean bowling Minty and Crocker with the first two balls of the last over, leaving Jersey 15 runs short on 163 all out.
Jersey were unquestionably in control of the game before Driver and Hague got out, and will rue their inability to finish the game off from a strong winning position. Indeed, the match situation was not dissimilar to where Guernsey found themselves on several occasions during Jersey’s 10-year winning run, simply unable to convert a strong position into a victory. Guernsey bowled and fielded very well in difficult conditions and Jersey were unable to prevent the asking rate from rising to a demanding level which proved beyond the incoming batsmen.
Banerjee was named man of the match for his bowling of 4 for 25, his innings of 31 and his amazing slip catch.
Skipper Biggins, who had announced his decision before the game to retire as Guernsey captain to return to the ranks and focus more on his own game, has been at the helm for all five inter-insular wins and can look back very proudly at having captained Guernsey during a hugely successful period.
Despite the hiccup in Scotland, the result caps a hugely successful overall season for Guernsey in inter-insular cricket in 2006, having won nine of the season’s ten matches from Under-11 right through to the Over-40s, with only the Under-12s having lost their game.
JERSEY v GUERNSEY
HSBC INTER-INSULAR CHALLENGE TROPHY 2006
Played at Grainville (Jersey) on 2nd September 2006
Guernsey won by 15 runs (D/L method)
Toss won by Guernsey who elected to bat
GUERNSEY
J Frith c Driver b Jones 5
# M Oliver c Hague b Jones 11
A Banerjee c P Gough b T Minty 31
J Meades c J Gough b P Gough 20
S Le Prevost c P Gough b Crocker 17
GH Smit b Driver 38
T Duke st B Minty b Driver 23
* A Biggins not out 6
G Rich not out 10
Extras 18
Total (7 wickets) (41 overs) 179
Did not bat: P Moody, S Bisson
Bowling:
Driver 9-0-44-2
Jones 8-1-21-2
Hague 8-1-29-0
P Gough 2-0-11-1
T Minty 9-1-44-1
Crocker 5-0-27-1
JERSEY
(revised target 178 in 37 overs under D/L)
P Gough c Oliver b Duke 8
S Carlyon c Banerjee b Duke 3
* M Hague c Meades b Frith 54
R Driver c Oliver b Frith 29
C Jones st Oliver b Frith 3
A Dewhurst c Biggins b Banerjee 14
J Gough b Bisson 8
# B Minty c Oliver b Banerjee 1
T Minty b Banerjee 16
D Morfee not out 6
N Crocker b Banerjee 0
Extras 21
Total (all out) (36.2 overs) 163
Bowling:
Duke 8-1-24-2
Moody 3-0-24-0
Meades 2-0-13-0
Rich 9-1-26-0
Banerjee 5.2-0-25-4
Frith 7-0-29-3
Bisson 2-0-19-1
Umpires: J Mountford (Guernsey), Mrs. J Carpenter (Jersey)
3rd umpire: B Mitcheson
Scorers: Lynne Davis (Jersey), Sue Veillard (Guernsey)
Man of the Match: A Banerjee (Guernsey)
© Guernsey Cricket Board
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