Jersey beat Guernsey in nail-biting T20 series
Jersey narrowly beat Guernsey 2-1 to retain their inter-island T20 title in a rain-affected set of matches.Jersey won the final game at Grainville by three runs in a nail-biting finish as skipper Charles Perchard restricted Guernsey in the final over, having earlier hit 26 not out.Guernsey had won Friday's opening game by eight wickets via the Duckworth Lewis Stern method (DLS) before the hosts hit back to level the series with a rain-affected seven-wicket win.The games doubled up as warm-ups for this summer's final round of European qualifying for the T20 World Cup in the Netherlands where both islands will be taking part."It's been a long time since we lost a trophy to Guernsey in inter-insular cricket and I'm delighted to gave got the win," Perchard told BBC Radio Jersey."As we build up towards a big summer we've still got work to do to get better - we weren't at our sharpest."But that trophy is staying on Jersey soil so I'm really delighted at that."
Rain hits first two matches
Zak Tribe's 28 and 25 from Nick Greenwood were the highlights of Jersey's innings in the opening fixture on Friday as they made 116-8 from their 20 overs.Guernsey bowler Martin Dale Bradley impressed with 4-17 and Luke Bichard took 2-17, while Patrick Gouge contributed 21 not out. With rain forecast, Guernsey wasted no time in trying to get the runs they needed as opener Josh Butler hit 33 not out off 30 balls.They were 65-2 off 10 overs when the game was abandoned because of rain - ahead of the rate needed for victory.The weather reduced the second game to 13 overs per side and Guernsey started well - Ben Fitchet (37) and Butler (24) putting on 55 for the opening wicket before Tom Nightingale (16) and Matthew Stokes (15) helped them reach 107-7 despite Perchard taking 4-15.Chasing a revised score of 114 to win from their 13, Jersey reached their target with five balls to spare.Having lost opener Harrison Carlyon to the opening ball of the innings, they recovered as Greenwood (45) and Tribe (19) shared a second-wicket stand of 47.Jonty Jenner hit 32 in a match-winning fourth-wicket stand of 42 with while Julius Sumerauer (15 not out) as Jersey reached 116-3.
Deciding game drama
The rain held off for the deciding match at Grainville, and having won the toss Jersey opted to bat first. It was a decision they looked like they would regret as they lost their opening three wickets for just two runs as Carlyon, Greenwood and Jenner were all sent back to the clubhouse.Sumerauer played an innings-steadying knock of 34 off 21 balls but they were 58-4 when he was bowled by Stokes in the eighth over.Jersey then lost four cheap wickets as they slumped to 74-8 off 11.4 overs as Guernsey seemed certain for a first-ever T20 series win over their rivals - and a first in any format for a decade.But Will Perchard and Charles Perchard came together in an unbroken ninth-wicket stand of 56 - Will hitting 29 off 28 balls and Charles 26 off 23 as Jersey ended on 130-8.In reply Guernsey's batters also faltered as they slipped to 46-4 at the start of the ninth over.Stokes - who went on to score a series-high 66 not out off 48 balls - and Ollie Nightingale (17) advanced the total on to 96-5 with four overs to go. But Guernsey's batters continued to struggle to support Stokes as Charles Perchard returned figures of 3-15 by dismissing Luke Bichard and Adam Martel in the final over. Needing just seven runs, Perchard conceded just three off the over as Guernsey ended on 127-8, giving Jersey the most nerve-wracking of wins."I'm delighted to have got us over the line," added Perchard."I fancy those pressure moments and I'm the captain, I take responsibility for the team."I'm delighted to have executed my skills and backed up by some amazing fielding in that last over as well."
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
The Independent
an hour ago
- The Independent
Thomas Tuchel urges England to play with a smile ahead of Senegal clash
Thomas Tuchel wants his England team to play matches the same way they train – with a smile on their face. The German was critical of the team's performance as they laboured to a 1-0 victory over minnows Andorra in a World Cup qualifier on Saturday. However, he is convinced the team can click into gear and insists there will be no need for them to feel inferior to the likes of Spain, Portugal and France at next summer's World Cup. 'I see us train with a smile, but not play with a smile,' Tuchel said. 'We need to improve, for sure. We need to improve in connections, in support, in interactions in the group. 'I feel we are too isolated on the pitch. We have not clicked yet. I don't see it has clicked between the players. 'We haven't done that yet, but it's also not the moment to look only on the negative side. We have a lot of positives to take away in training and in the sessions I see a lot of it, and it will obviously take a little bit to translate it to the pitch. 'The best thing is to focus on the principles of the game, to give clear instructions to the players, what we expect from them in their role,' he said. 'And then they forget about the shirt and how heavy it is, that they are free in the role and that they know what to do, and they have people around with whom it is easy for them to connect. And then just go for it.' Arsenal winger Bukayo Saka missed the Andorra game with a minor knock but Tuchel confirmed he would start against Senegal in a friendly at the City Ground in Nottingham on Tuesday night. It will be the first time the 23-year-old has played for England since Tuchel took charge, after he was unavailable for the international games in March as he recovered from a hamstring injury. The German also indicated the match could present a good opportunity for him to give some minutes one of his back-up goalkeepers, Dean Henderson or James Trafford. Tuchel and the England squad watched the Nations League final on Sunday between Spain and Portugal, with the German admitting the high-quality football played in the final four of that tournament was the 'benchmark' England had to reach. He has every faith in England to achieve the same standards though when it really matters, despite the poor performance against Andorra. 'We will rise to the occasion because it's very different. This will come. It will bring out the very best in us. We shall not develop a complex, because there is no need for it. Everyone is beatable,' he said. 'It is one of the most difficult things to do to play Spain in a final. They play with this natural self-confidence to be on the ball, to pass the ball around and to play through gaps. 'This is what they do. This is what they love. They make you suffer. They make you run behind. 'It takes a lot of time until you have the ball, but I think we have the quality, we have the ability and we have the courage. 'I struggle to say (it) because we were not there (as the coaching team in the Euros final in Germany), but it was 1-1 in the final and Spain scored in the last minute and it was the moment that gave the title to Spain. 'We have what it takes to compete.'
BBC News
an hour ago
- BBC News
T20 expert Pooran retires from West Indies duty at 29
Nicholas Pooran, one of the world's leading T20 batters, has retired from international duty with West Indies aged Trinidadian has played 167 times for West Indies, but the decision will allow him to concentrate on playing in lucrative franchise had already skipped the ongoing T20 series against England to rest following his time playing for Lucknow Super Giants in the Indian Premier League (IPL).He also has deals in Major League Cricket (MLC) and The Hundred this Pooran is not the first player to retire from internationals in favour of franchise leagues - South Africa's Heinrich Klaasen did so last week - his decision is one of the most significant, given his age and Indies captain Shai Hope was asked about Pooran's decision to skip the England series last week but said that decision would not impact his future is understood Pooran told West Indies of his retirement on last played for West Indies in December 2024 in T20s against Bangladesh, but has not played an ODI since July 2023 and does not play Tests.
Times
an hour ago
- Times
Thomas Tuchel: We train with a smile, now it's time to play with one
England have been instructed to start playing with a 'smile on their face' again by Thomas Tuchel, who insisted there is no need for the country to develop an inferiority complex when measuring themselves against other elite nations. After the strident criticism of performance levels in the unedifying 1-0 victory over Andorra on Saturday, the England head coach appeared to emphasise that his immediate task was to raise self-esteem within his squad in a throwback to the task that confronted his predecessor Gareth Southgate in 2016. 'I see the structure in the game, I see the control, I see the amount of passes,' said Tuchel, who will ring the changes, including in goal, with Jordan Pickford set to be rested. Before Tuesday's friendly with Senegal at the City Ground, England's players had spent part of Sunday watching the French Open men's singles final between Carlos Alcaraz and Jannik Sinner together, followed by Portugal's Nations League final success against Spain. Tuchel highlighted a lack of physical effort against Andorra in a team meeting, but noted that the atmosphere around their St George's Park base camp had been good and he now wants to replicate that against the Senegalese. 'But we can do better. We can be more fluid. We can be more exciting, which since a long time I feel has been a bit of a problem. I feel a bit stuck. I see us train with a smile but not play with a smile.' Tuchel maintained that his scathing assessment from the weekend remained pertinent, but frequently repeated 'no harm' should have been done to the morale of a group who reached the final of Euro 2024 in Berlin last summer before losing to Spain. He believes England's level of performance would have automatically gone up a notch had they been playing against more adept opponents than unambitious minnows, and added that watching Portugal edge past Spain on penalties in Munich on Sunday night did not leave him thinking he had taken on an impossible challenge as he looks to win the World Cup next summer. Asked how important it was that England did not develop an inferiority complex, Tuchel said: 'Very important. We shall not develop a complex because there is no need for it. 'Spain qualified for the final four with a very lucky win over the Netherlands. Everyone is beatable. 'They play together in a fluidity and a rhythm which is outstanding and the highest level. It is one of the most difficult things to do to play Spain in a final, to play against Spain in a semi-final, because they play with this natural self-confidence to be on the ball, to pass the ball around and to play through gaps. 'This is what they do. This is what they love. They make you suffer. They make you run behind. It takes a lot of time until you have the ball but I think we have the quality, we have the ability and we have the courage. 'I struggle to say 'we' because we [Tuchel and his coaching staff] were not there [with England for Euro 2024], but it was 1-1 in the final and Spain scored in the last minute and it was the moment that gave the title to Spain. 'We have what it takes to compete. We need to improve, for sure.' The captain, Harry Kane, is set to start again and Bukayo Saka will make his first appearance under Tuchel after missing out due to injury. The head coach added that his line-up would 'not be as offensive on paper [as against Andorra] but will give the players more freedom to express' themselves as he looks not only for a win but a convincing display. Jude Bellingham missed training on Monday to attend a family funeral. He was due to return to camp later in the day. Tuchel: Club World Cup will benefit City and Chelsea rivals Thomas Tuchel believes Liverpool and Arsenal will have a 'huge advantage' over their title rivals next season by not participating in the Club World Cup this summer. The controversial Fifa tournament, which has been added to an already cluttered schedule, begins in the United States this week with Manchester City and Chelsea representing the Premier League. England have nine players in Tuchel's squad who will head to the competition and while the head coach is not second-guessing what the individual impact will be on players, he is sure that the league champions, Liverpool, and runners-up, Arsenal, will benefit. 'I think it will have a huge impact and it will give Liverpool and Arsenal a huge advantage in the next season to not be there,' he said. 'I think it will be a very nice experience for the players who are there to play this tournament for the first time, so it is mixed feelings about it,' Tuchel said. 'I decided not to worry too much because why should I? It is a given and no one knows what will be the outcome of it or the effect. We will deal with the effect when the effect comes and let's see. We have a lot of teams in the Champions League next season and European football.' Jude Bellingham, Trent Alexander-Arnold, Harry Kane, Conor Gallagher, Reece James, Levi Colwell, Noni Madueke, Cole Palmer and Trevoh Chalobah are all due to head out to the month-long tournament and Tuchel will consider their workload for tonight's friendly with Senegal. Kyle Walker, who finished last season on loan at AC Milan, will not travel with Manchester City, having been omitted from Pep Guardiola's plans alongside Jack Grealish. England v Senegal
