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Newcomers could make the difference in 2007 GCA Championship
David Piesing
The influx of several new players of a very high standard makes it impossible to predict the outcome of the 2007 Carey Olsen GCA Championship. All of the sides were capable of beating each other in 2006 and the talented young Elizabeth College side, with a year's experience of club cricket behind them, could also have a big say in the final outcome of this year's competition.
Last year's winners, Marlborough Trust Optimists, have lost hard-hitting South African batsman GH Smit to Mavericks and their main new signing is all-rounder Tom Magners who has arrived from the Derbyshire leagues. They have also gained all-rounder Wayne Martel. When their batting line-up of Mark Clapham, Tim de Putron, Ami Banerjee, Andy Biggins, Mark Jefferies, Tom Magners and Wayne Martel fires on all cylinders they will be hard to contain, and on the bowling front paceman Chris Van Vliet looks to be getting close to recovering the form and pace that we saw from him before he went to university. Steve Queripel can always be relied upon to bowl a steady line and length and the same can be said of veteran Mike Kinder. Magners, Banerjee, Jefferies and Biggins will make up the rest of the bowling attack while Andy Good takes over from Ian Damarell behind the stumps. If they can field a full-strength side they will be hard to beat but availability will be the key for them in 2007. Banerjee and Kinder have coaching commitments with the College on Saturdays and their unavailability for the club's Saturday games in termtime could prove crucial.
Total Cobo were runners-up last year and will still be rueing their failure to sew up the title when it was theirs for the taking. Last year's College captain, Ben Ferbrache, is their only new signing and their prospects in 2007 will depend largely on the contribution to be made by the emerging young all-round quartet of Kris Moherndl, Blane Queripel, Jamie Nussbaumer and Ferbrache. All have huge potential which needs to be converted into runs and wickets. The batting line-up is as powerful as ever, with Peter Vidamour, Matt Oliver, skipper Stuart Le Prevost, Jeremy Frith and Gary Rich all able to be relied upon to make big contributions. Mark Renouf remains a key player in their bowling attack along with the experienced Rich, together with the aforementioned youngsters. On paper Cobo look very strong, as they did last year, and the key could be the number of games they win when talisman Frith is missing due to club commitments in the UK. Sure to be there or thereabouts.
Central Sports Mavericks are being rebuilt under the charismatic Australian Justin Meades who was GCA Player of the Year in 2006. Meades is determined to build a strong club and has already attracted GH Smit to help form an explosive middle-order. Relying on those two players will not be enough to win the title though, and the likes of Justin Walker, Carl Le Tissier and Paul Wakeford will have to contribute regularly with the bat if Mavericks are to win the league. Ex-England soccer star Matt Le Tissier has committed to playing this year and it will be fascinating to see whether he has retained the batting skills that he showed as a junior before his football career took him away from the game. Mavericks may well struggle on the bowling front, relying on the veteran skills of Dave Hearse and Andy Burkhardt, backed up by the under-rated Lee Gallienne plus Meades and Smit. With their batting line-up they will fancy themselves to chase down just about any score against any opposition, but the big challenge for them will be to defend totals. They will have a big say on who eventually wins the league, but it is hard to see them winning it.
Much the same can be said about Air Search Rovers. They have 5 or 6 potential matchwinners but may lack the depth required to win titles over the course of a league programme. Covering for absent players could therefore be a vital factor for them this year. They have been boosted enormously by the signing of South African Ryan Bishop, a 20-year old keeper/batsman who played for Gauteng Under-19s in 2006. Bishop was due to play as a professional for High Wycombe in England this season but the deal fell through and Bishop has decided to stay in Guernsey for the summer. In early friendlies and evening league games he looks to be a class act with both bat and gloves and his presence turns Rovers into definite title challengers. He will lead the batting line-up with Tim Duke, Richard Headington, Quentin Hubbard and skipper Stuart Bisson, with Aaron Scoones and Jody Bisson expected to contribute from the middle order. Duke, Stuart Bisson and Scoones will spearhead the bowling attack with Rob Turville needing to stay clear of injury if they are to remain in the title chase. Matt Hallett and Richard Headington will also be required to play a big role with the ball but if any of the bowling line-up is missing then Rovers may well struggle to fill the 4th/5th bowler roles. Capable of beating everyone on their day but do they have the depth to sustain a title challenge over 9 games ?
PKF Wanderers really struggled with the middle order last year but that big problem has been addressed with the arrival of Sher Khanagha from Folkestone in the Kent Premier League together with the return of Ben Driver from Collington in Yorkshire who was instrumental in Wanderers winning the Championship in 2003 when he was last here. Ross Kneller also missed most of 2006 because of his accountancy exam studies and this trio will make a huge difference. They join skipper Richard Veillard, Spencer Noyon and hard-hitting Pierre Moody in a strong batting line-up, which will be strengthened even further when opener James Warr returns from university in June. Khanagha and Driver will also boost the bowling line-up to support Moody, Keith Le Cheminant, Mike Savage and the spin pair of Phil Challenger and Steve Birkett. Warr will also strengthen the bowling line-up upon his return. Wanderers undoubtedly have the depth to mount a challenge for the title and, like Mavericks and Rovers, will have a huge say in the title outcome. Whether they can win it or not will depend largely on how often they can field their strongest side together, and an ageing side could well be exposed in the field.
Elizabeth College have a very talented side in 2007 and will be looking to add to their league successes in 2006 when they beat both Rovers and Wanderers in their inaugural season in the league. The key player is 15-year old Tim Ravenscroft who is aiming at an England Under-15 spot this year, while paceman Peter Le Hegarat is pressing hard for a full island spot and will be expected to take more wickets this season. Jonny Warr and Chris Dravers form an impressive seam trio with Le Hegarat, along with young Adam Hindle, while the spin quartet of off-spinners Ravenscroft and Tom Kirk, leggie and skipper Luke Nussbaumer and slow left-armer Jonny Clark will pose lots of problems for opposing batsmen. The batting is very youthful with Guernsey Under-15 players Will Thompson, Hindle, Ravenscroft and Kirk all in the top 6, along with Clark and Warr. They have batting all the way down the order, loads of bowling and are a good fielding unit and the only thing that could count against them is their age and lack of experience. Apart from 4 players, the rest of the team has 3 further seasons together and they threaten to be one of the strongest-ever College sides in 2009 and 2010. Anybody under-estimating them in 2007 will do so at their peril.
In summary, Cobo are probably the marginal favourites but it would be a very brave man to risk a big bet on the
outcome of what threatens to be a fascinating season. One thing is for certain - whichever club side fails to finish in the top 4 in the Championship and therefore fails to qualify for the Aurigny CI Club Championship is bound to be a strong side and they will be very disappointed. The stakes are high in 2007 and it is hard to remember a pre-season where such a competitive and evenly-matched league can be confidently predicted. That can only be good for Guernsey cricket in helping to prepare for ECC international cricket in 2008 as there will be no cheap runs or wickets for those looking to stake a claim for their island places.
© Guernsey Cricket Board
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