Double appeal victory toasted
THE odds on Guernsey winning next month's European Champion-ships and with it promotion from Division Two will have been cut with the news that Lee Savident and Jeremy Frith have been given the green light to play.
THE odds on Guernsey winning next month's European Champion-ships and with it promotion from Division Two will have been cut with the news that Lee Savident and Jeremy Frith have been given the green light to play. The International Cricket Council in Dubai upheld both appeals made on the players' behalf by the Guernsey Cricket Board.
Skipper Andy Big-gins is a relieved man.
'This is obviously great news for us and will dramatically improve the depth in the squad, offering us yet more options with both bat and ball,' he said.
'Both Jeremy and Lee have made a big contribution to the Guernsey squad over the past two years and I am delighted they have been given the chance they have worked hard for,' he added.
The captain said the aims remained the same and that was to win five games.
'We owe that much to those who now find themselves not selected but who have worked just as hard as all of the squad.'
Dave Piesing, the GCB chairman, admits that he was pleasantly surprised by the judgment after both players were deemed ineligible.
'We are obviously delighted that both appeals have been upheld.
'The circumstances of the two players and the basis upon which the respective appeals were made were totally different in each case. While I was reasonably confident about Lee's situation, Jeremy's situation was more complex and it was much harder to predict the outcome,' he said.
'The ICC appeals committee clearly took all the relevant points into account and deemed the very close connections of both players with the island, albeit very different in nature, to be sufficient to make them eligible for this forthcoming tournament.'
Piesing understands that the ICC upheld both appeals because the two players concerned have both already previously satisfied the criteria.
In Savident's case, once he has represented Guernsey in Glasgow, he will remain eligible for all future tournaments as he was born in the island.
In Frith's case, while he has been granted special dispensation this year, his eligibility will be subject to review on an annual basis in relation to his residential circumstances and ongoing commitment to Guernsey cricket on the development front.
