Hearse grateful for match despite defeat

FROM this showing Jersey should go to the European Second Division Champion-ship in Scotland in confident mood. On the other hand, it is difficult to gauge Guernsey's position because they were severely under-strength at the KGV, despite the conditions of this warm-up being that both sides could utilise all their 14-man squad.

By the time the hosts came around to chase a target of 260 in 50 overs, none of the top five Dave Hearse would like on the scorecard were there.

Lee Savident and Jeremy Frith did not come back to the island for the fixture, Tim Duke and Mark Jefferies were unavailable, Ami Banerjee did not play as he rested an injured shoulder and Matt Oliver hurt a finger while keeping wicket so couldn't bat.

So whereas Jersey played their cards perfectly to the rules and had quality batsmen in the shape of Jonny Gough and Andy Dewhurst coming in at nine and 10, Guernsey were forced into pushing Stuart Bisson up to open.

Hearse, who admitted 'it would be nice to know who we are allowed to take to Scotland' with regards to the appeal on the eligibility of Savident and Frith, was not too downbeat, though, after his side were dismissed for 146.

'Lee will be a big player for us in Scotland if he can play. If you bring in Lee, Ami, Tim Duke and Matt Oliver into the batting, that's four out of the top five you would expect to score the bulk of your runs,' Hearse said.

He added that Oliver's finger had not been broken 'so that's a positive'.

On the day, two teenagers were the home side's best batsmen.

Jamie Nussbaumer, coming in at number three, was tentative early on against some very accurate Jersey bowling, but he grew in confidence as his innings progressed and fully deserved his half-century.

Later on, Kris Moherndl contributed a classy 31 when the cause was long lost.

GH Smit's 30 was the only other double-figure score as the hosts struggled to keep the board ticking over as Jersey's medium pacers continuously hit the ideal line and length. Mark Saralis was the pick of them with a fine 10-over spell in which he claimed two for 12.

'Young Kris and Jamie batted well. Jamie was perhaps a bit slow early on, but without his contribution it would have been a lot worse and when you think in a full island team he would be batting nine, 10 or jack, it's pleasing to have that depth,' Hearse said.

Earlier, the two Queripels - Blane and Steve - both produced decent opening spells as Jersey were restricted to just 18 runs from the first 12 overs.

But, after Saralis had fallen to Steve Queripel, Ian Crocker and top scorer Mathew Hague laid the foundations for a big total with a second-wicket stand of 93.

Captain Hague was not particularly fluent and you would normally expect more than four boundaries when he scores 66, but he worked the ones and twos well to set the tone for the innings. If there was something Jersey did infinitely better than Guernsey it was rotate the strike and utilise the big outfield.

Spinners Gary Rich and Aaron Scoones turned the ball considerably in the middle of the innings as they collected five wickets between them and bowled well in tandem, but once Jersey had seen them off, they accelerated over the final 10 overs, scoring 109 in that period.

Jamie Brewster supplied the big blows in his quickfire 32 while Gough and Dewhurst added an unbeaten 80 for the ninth-wicket.

'Steve and Blane bowled very well at the start and both spinners bowled tidily,' said the island manager.

'There were some fielding positions we will have to look at and, like when we played Bermuda and Namibia last year, we have got to have bowlers to bowl in the last 10 overs who have weapons to keep the total down.

'In saying that, it was possibly a slightly false total because you would not normally have batsmen like Gough and Dewhurst coming in at nine and 10.

'If we could have beaten them with the team we had, it would have been a good boost, but it was another good training game for us and Jersey.

'They will obviously be pleased to have beaten us and it will give them a confidence boost but we are not going to read too much into the result, especially with us being five or six players down.'