Hands on at the KGV: Top, Jersey all-rounder Ryan Driver examines the ball at the end of his run. (Pictures by Steve Sarre, 0628536)
GUERNSEY threw away the ICC European Division Two Championship title in their winner-takes-all clash with Jersey on Saturday.
Chasing Jersey’s 218 on a flat KGV track, the Sarnians were coasting to victory at 184 for three and plenty of time left.
But what followed will go down in Guernsey sporting history as the island side collapsed astonishingly, losing five wickets for five runs to finish one run short.
The defeat was particularly galling for Lee Savident who scored 98 before he was run out, a loss which effectively kick started Guernsey’s demise.
‘I’m gutted but unfortunately cricket has a habit of doing that when you’ve got games won,’ he said afterwards.
‘We gave them half-a-chance and, fair play to them, they took it but we shouldn’t have given them a half-a-chance. It’s just gutting after all the effort the boys put in but, on the other hand, it’s a massive improvement from two years ago.
‘The boys shouldn’t be disappointed. They should be holding their heads up high.’
At the end, it seemed the Jersey team could not believe they had won.
‘Unbelievable – Guernsey must be gutted,’ said Jersey captain Matt Hague.
‘Everyone around the ground thought they had won the game but the Jersey-Guernsey games always seems to go down to the wire. The key turning point was running out Savs.
‘If he batted through they would have won with two overs to spare. But saying that, you’ve got to take your hats off to all those youngsters in our team.’
Article posted on 26th August, 2008 - 12.15pm
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