This Is Guernsey

By Aaron Scoones

Jeremy Frith pulls for four against Kenya at Hove. (Picture by Terry Connolly, 0610846)

THERE was a new chapter in Guernsey cricket written on Thursday. The island side went down to a 72-run defeat at the hands of Kenya at the County Ground, Hove.

But that does not tell the whole story. Guernsey have just been awarded associate membership of the International Cricket Council and are in international cricket infancy, whereas Kenya are ranked 12th in the world, have reached the semi-finals of a World Cup, are in the top division of the World Cricket League and are arguably the best team outside the Test playing nations.

Getting onto the same pitch as them was an achievement in itself and a sign for things to come. ‘It’s another step in the process,’ said the chairman of the Guernsey Cricket Board, Dave Piesing.

‘But the reality is we are probably a minimum of four or five years from playing sides of that calibre in competitive cricket. With the best will in the world, we’re not going to progress to division one or two in the World League for a minimum of four years.

‘But this gives us the encouragement and belief that it’s a gamble well worth taking and that we’ll have nothing to fear if or when we get there because we know it’s within reach.’

The ICC are expanding the World Cricket League from five divisions to eight next year.

Teams will be allocated into the three new divisions depending on how they do in the regional and global tournaments this year.

Which division Guernsey go into depends on how they fare in the ICC European Division Two Championship that is being held in the island next month.

‘We should be aiming for division three in three to four years’ time,’ said Piesing.

‘Then consolidate at that level and then look to progress from there up to division two. You’re then involved in World Cup qualifiers and that becomes your aim from there.

‘Division two might take one, two, three, four years. Who knows?

‘But with the high calibre of youngsters coming through, it’s a question of when not if because the infrastructure is in place. When you talk to the people from the other countries, you realise that our infrastructure is arguably better than these countries so there really is no reason why we can’t get there.’

Piesing was instrumental in Guernsey entering international cricket and another man who takes a lot of credit is former Guernsey Cricket Association president Gary Tapp.

He now lives in Kent but he found time to come to Hove to watch Guernsey play Kenya.

It was a proud moment for him.

‘At the end of the day I can only refer to the comments of the Guernsey supporters when Kenyan wickets were falling who said, “This is a dream”,’ he said.

‘We are now living the dream. The only way we’re going to get better is if we play teams that test us.

‘You’re never going to get better if you’re living in your comfort zone.’

Another interested spectator was journalist Tim Brooks who is the international editor for Cover Point magazine, which specialises in ICC associates’ cricket.

‘I think for a start Guernsey and Jersey’s appearance on the European scene has been very good for European cricket,’ he said.

‘It potentially bridges the gap between the top sides like Scotland, Ireland, The Netherlands and Denmark and teams like France, Germany and Norway. It effectively provides a second tier that can provide the top teams a game.

‘Guernsey look like a well organised outfit. Probably lacking a bit of penetration in the bowling department and building partnerships in batting.

‘But that’s a common theme at this level. From what I’ve seen, Guernsey will be competitive in division five and possibly four in the World Cricket League.’

Kenya’s coach Andy Kirsten also had some constructive criticism for Guernsey.

‘For a nation trying to find their place in world cricket, they certainly did well,’ he said.

‘Their fielding and bowling were very disciplined. But like most emerging nations, their batting is more of a problem, especially when they come up against a bit more pace.’

The South African is the half-brother of former Test opener Gary Kirsten who is the coach of India.

And his brother, Pete, is Jersey’s new coach.

The inter-insular is coming up in a couple of weeks.

‘He’s been in touch and he wanted to know what happened in this game,’ Andy said.

‘I’ll be giving him a few tips.’

Article posted on 26th July, 2008 - 9.29am