Jersey’s cricket team made history through a remarkable comeback, winning a thrilling one-wicket victory over Scotland. Regrettably, this victory was tainted as they missed out on qualifying for the T20 World Cup for the first time. The game was included in the EU European Qualifier. Jersey still required the results of the other fixtures in their group to go their way for a chance at a spot at the World Cup. In the most impressive performance to date, The Netherlands swept through Italy in a major upset. Consequently, Jersey dropped from second place to third on net run-rate.
Scotland had a roller coaster of a match lined up for them. They did well to put on 133-7, giving Jersey a lowish target of 133 runs to chase down. The Scottish batsman Matt Cross led the way with a solid 43, while his teammate Mark Watt contributed 28 runs. Jersey’s bowlers, notably Ben Ward and Charles Carlyon, were instrumental in limiting Scotland’s scoring. Carlyon excelled with 3-26, supported by Ward with 2-24.
As Jersey set about their chase, Nick Greenwood was the one who stood out, top-scoring with 49 runs to lead his side’s challenge. To the credit of the Scottish bowlers, they stifled in the death overs. Jersey soon were on the back foot as wickets started to fall, including two desperate run-outs that really cranked up the nerves.
Ben Ward was instrumental in keeping Jersey’s dreams alive, himself hitting what proved to be a match-winning six in the 19th over. Moments later his hopes were dashed when he was cut down by a brilliant snare from Brandon McMullen. As the jitters within the team cranked up to a fever pitch, sustainability manager Jake Dunford remained unflappable. He then manufactured the only run that secured their win.
“The coaches were trying to tell us to stay level and maybe we did, maybe we didn’t, but we got over the line in the end.” – Nick Greenwood
Scotland’s captain, Richie Berrington, acknowledged Jersey’s performance in the match and expressed disappointment in his team’s execution.
“Unfortunately, we put ourselves under a lot of pressure early in that first innings and a lot of credit has to go to Jersey the way they played the game,” – Richie Berrington
Arguably the most unfair part of destroying Jersey’s hopes is that his team had known about Jersey’s strength since the start of the tournament.
“They’ve played good cricket throughout this tournament and we knew we were going to have to be at our best today. Unfortunately, we were slightly off and couldn’t quite get over the line in the end.” – Richie Berrington
Even after their stunning victory over Scotland, Jersey’s World Cup qualification dream was still out of reach. Captain Charles Perchard couldn’t help but think about what their showing would mean for the future.
“The next few hours is potentially life defining for some of our guys, but there’s nothing really we can do about it except to enjoy our victory.” – Charles Perchard
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