Scoones wants Port Soif to be 'fortress Rovers'

2006 is a big one in the history of Rovers Cricket Club. A grass square was laid down at their Port Soif ground in autumn 2004 and this season all their home Carey Olsen Championship fixtures will be played there. Rovers are now the only club on the island to have their own grass square.

'We're hoping it's going to be fortress Rovers,' said captain Aaron Scoones.

'It's a massive step forward for the club. The GCB, KGV groundsman Alan Hamilton and the Rovers committee, especially Paul Porter, have done some excellent work and the ground looks a right treat.

'We are the only club to have four teams in the evening league and two in the afternoon leagues. We are also the only one to have their own ground and their own junior coaching set-up.

'Now to add a grass wicket to this is something that every Rovers cricketer should be proud of.'

For this development to happen in an 'even' year is a good thing for the blue-and-whites whose fortunes on the cricket pitch seems to go in two year cycles. In 2000 they did the cup double of the Guernsey Press knockout and the GCA Cup under the stewardship of Richard Headington.

The following year no cups were won but then in 2002, with Glenn Milnes instrumental, Rovers won the afternoon league.

However, 2003 turned out to be their annus horribilis. With Milnes gone and key members Stuart Bisson, Andy Mountford and Ed Benfield all leaving the island to go travelling, Rovers finished bottom of the weekend league table and only narrowly avoided the drop from the evening league.

Things again turned around for 2004 with the arrival of former Essex fast bowler Nick Derbyshire and island all-rounder Tim Duke from Pessimists. Both the evening and weekend league trophies ended up in their Port Soif trophy cabinet.

Last year turned out to be a dry one as Derbyshire left the island, Rovers took up the third place in the evening league and, more disappointingly for them, fourth at the weekends.

So if things go to form, 2006 could be silverware year.

'I truly hope so,' said Scoones.

'I really don't know why we go in cycles. We win a trophy and we never seem able to build on it.

'I think it's probably to do with the fact that we can't get the same nucleus of players on the pitch from game to game, let alone year to year.'

Scoones will be light of a couple of players this season.

Rob Turville, who signed from Cobo at the start of the 2005 campaign, is out for most of the summer with a shoulder injury. He hopes to be back for the KPMG Channel Islands Club Championship in August.

Another player not available is Rovers stalwart Matt Jeffery.

The seam bowler and hard-hitting batsman is moving to Oxford shortly to start a new career as a personal trainer.

The skipper said that both players will be missed, but he was philosophical about the situation.

'Life goes on and it gives the likes of Matt Hallett the chance to stand up and be counted,' he said.

'Matt will play an important role for us this year.'

Hallett broke into the A team last year where he performed admirably. He bowls a heavy ball and is a strong fielder.

He could share the new ball with island seamer Bisson with Duke offering the other quick option. Spin will be provided by the off-breaks of Scoones and Richard Hamilton.

Duke and Headington carried out the bulk of their batting last year with the former having a fantastic season on the artificial wicket in the evening league, with 598 runs including two centuries at an average of 85.4. That earned him the evening league player of the year award.

'Duke was certainly ?plastic fantastic? last year,' said Scoones.

'Both he and Headington are our best batsmen and we did rely on them too much.

'The rest of us put too much pressure on them because we couldn't buy a run between us for most of the year.

'The likes of myself, Richard Hamilton and Quinten Hubbard need to step up to the plate with the bat this summer.

'I'm hoping for a good summer where my boys enjoy their cricket,' added the captain.