Guernsey can return with less trepidation in future

THE phrase 'learning curve' was not used sparingly over the 10 days of the Guernsey development squad's South African tour. Encouragingly, though, it was not used as an excuse for a succession of defeats as the Sarnians arguably exceeded expectations in winning two of their five tough games.

'We have shown we can compete with and beat quality opposition,' said tour manager Dave Nussbaumer.

'The boys can go back proud of their achievements because we could have gone back having lost 5-0.

'They have now given Mike Kinder an opportunity to work on a lot of aspects when they start again in January.

'If we continue to show that rate of improvement in ICC competition, we will acquit ourselves well.'

The tour began in worrying fashion when Guernsey were crushed by an excellent Rustenberg outfit in sweltering heat at altitude.

There was a definite anxiety in the Sarnian camp for the game as they took their initial steps into the unknown.

They failed to carry out the basic fundamentals such as build partnerships when batting and being disciplined with the ball. They were made to pay with a nine-wicket defeat having been bowled out for 81.

However, the manager himself took responsibility for the loss, saying that it was asking too much of his charges to open the tour in those testing conditions.

On a positive note, despite the margin of defeat, in terms of natural talent, Guernsey had players who were not far behind, if not the equal of the hosts.

That point was emphasised in the second fixture when the two senior players of the squad, James Warr and captain Jamie Nussbaumer, produced a marvellous, match-winning stand of 116 against Kingswood College at Cuylerville Cricket Club in the Eastern Cape.

The school side, whose skipper, Ryan van Niekirk, displayed exactly why he plays provisional cricket a year above his age group with an outstanding all-round display, had the visitors reeling at 27 for three when set a target of 172.

But Warr and Nussbaumer complemented each other excellently, the former playing the calm anchor role while the skipper was typically positive with his approach.

'The partnership between Jamie and James was superb. Importantly, they batted to the overs,' said the manager.

After both were run out in the same over, though, with 39 still required, Ben Ferbrache and Kris Moherndl, who had earlier taken a sensational catch at deep mid-wicket to dismiss van Niekirk shortly after he had reached his half-century, showed character to steer their side home.

The next day, Warr was at it again, carrying his bat for an unbeaten 47 as Guernsey successfully chased 128 against Bergvliet in Cape Town.

It had been an impressive performance in the field to restrict the hosts to that 30-over total, with captain-for-the-day Moherndl leading by example.

Warr finished the match in fine style, hammering a full toss for six in the final over.

'James again paced the innings beautifully after a strong bowling and fielding performance,' Nussbaumer snr said.

Guernsey were brought back down to earth after those successive victories with the most disappointing performance of the tour.

Richard Angliss (31) and Jonny Warr (55) had given their side the foundations of a good score at the picturesque Fish Hoek High School ground, but from 125 for two, the Sarnians capitulated to 163 all out.

A lacklustre display in the field on another hot day saw the hosts win at a canter by nine wickets.

'I was gutted that from 125 for two, none of the boys showed any application after that,' said the manager.

'We lost eight wickets in the space of seven overs for only 30-odd runs when we should have been looking at 200-plus.

'We followed that with a poor bowling display. It seemed that the side was jaded because the spirit we had seen in the other games was not there.'

The tour then ended in defeat against Bellville development XI, a side that included the South African under-19 opening bowler, but again there were positives to take.

Warr and Nussbaumer both notched half-centuries after the fielding performance that showed a lot of courage in restricting the hosts to 246 in 40. At one stage it had looked like being many more.

'On a difficult day, the last of the tour, I was really proud of the team's efforts,' Dave Nussbaumer said.

The lessons to be learned by the Guernsey players centre on application.

When players took responsibility and stamped their authority on a game, they showed they belonged on this stage and confidence began to flow throughout the team.

Having embarked on this initial trip, they can approach the next with far less trepidation in the knowledge that they are very capable cricketers in their own right.

However, in saying that, the highlight of the tour in the manager's eyes was when his young charges were humbled by a Guernsey veterans' team, which included the over-18 players as well as parents and officials on the trip, in a 10-over challenge match.

'Dave Warr was the hero,' admitted Nussbaumer, referring to James' and Jonny's father who took a breath-taking catch and cover drove the winning boundary through the covers.