Top players could be lost to evening league

GUERNSEY'S top players could be lost to evening league cricket from as early as next season. Moreover, island squad members are also being encouraged to spread their talent evenly among the GCA Championship sides for the good of local cricket as the Sarnians look to progress through the International Cricket Council ranks.

Guernsey Cricket Board president Dave Piesing has revealed that, following on from their Sussex trip when they played Namibia and Bermuda, the island players understand changes need to be made if they are to improve sufficiently.

'The feedback from our squad has been excellent.

'The guys are now looking at the bigger picture and beginning to realise what they need to do in terms of fitness and technical development,' he said.

'They know that they will have to start practising twice a week rather than once in the summer next year and realise that the attitudes of themselves and their clubs towards evening league commitments will need to change.

'It already seems certain that Division One evening league cricket will carry on without them when away on future island tours and, when island training clashes with their club fixtures next season, then they will be expected to attend island training.

'This will give added opportunities to young players within their clubs and will perhaps encourage some of the island players to switch clubs to even out the talent across the league to make it more competitive and also to level out the impact of them being unavailable for their clubs.

'Separate evening and weekend registration systems seem inevitable.'

Piesing added that with the vast majority of the island squad coming from just three clubs, there are too many of them picking up easy runs and cheap wickets against weak sides in both formats of the local game.

'Island batsmen need to be tested regularly by island bowlers and if they are all concentrated in the same sides then that crucial requirement is lost,' he said.

'Guernsey cricket can only benefit from more evenly distributed talent and a more competitive league.

'Club loyalty is admirable, however, senior island players just need to remember that they are no longer mere club players looking to enjoy the social side, but in fact are international players seeking to play the best international cricket available to them.'

Other potential proposals being mentioned are that newcomers to the island of a decent standard will be allocated to those clubs who need them on a 'draft' basis, as well as a 'loan' system for under-21s, so that they can get the right exposure if their opportunities turn out to be limited.

'We have to focus on developing at least five new players each year into players capable of representing the island, whether they are currently 14-years-old or 30,' said Piesing.

'If we assume that maybe 18 to 20 players are capable of playing for the island now at senior level, then within three years we need that number to be increased to 30 so that standards continue to rise.

'Ambitious players who can't get a bat in the top five or can't get to bowl a full quota every week need to consider whether they should continue to accept that or whether they want to progress in their games.'