'Victory this year would be the most impressive'

ANDY BIGGINS is not one to dwell on things. As he racks his brains for details of the four inter-insulars in which he has captained Guernsey, there are several pauses followed by retractions as memories and years get muddled up.

However, in the wider context of Guernsey cricket he has no doubts about the crucial moment of his tenure.

'The most important win we have had was at Grainville four years ago because it was something we had to sort out and break the pattern of 11 years of defeat,' Biggins said.

'Once we had done that, everyone was relieved and, thankfully, we have moved on since then.

'It was a fantastic feeling. It set us on our way and we could look to the future. We picked a team with experience, including some of the fiercest competitors I have played with. We had just one thing in mind. We could say we could compete and beat Jersey.

'That was a big victory and as each of the inter-insulars have come and gone since then, we have grown in confidence.'

Biggins was appointed captain by Peter Vidamour for that 2002 season following much success as Optimists skipper and Dave Hearse has found no reason to change the winning formula since taking over as island manager.

Even though he is now only 31, Biggins is a veteran of nine inter-insulars, having made his debut at the College Field in 1995.

He has seen much change in that time, most of it for the better.

'One thing we have done in recent years is back our players a lot more. It is a hard squad to break into, but once you are there you get a fair crack of the whip,' he said.

'In the old days, if you did not perform in one friendly game that would be your chance gone.

'It is now a more squad- based thing. I felt when I became captain that we did not necessarily play as a team as well as we could. Now, we all mix, we socialise together and when we go away we all tour well. We enjoy each others' company.

'Dave Hearse must take credit for having the foresight to get us training together regularly. It helps us to have that ?club mentality?, which I think is very important.'

Biggins does not deny, however, that he got lucky in the way his period of captaincy has coincided with an influx of quality players to the island.

The current crop includes Ami Banerjee, Jeremy Frith, Tim Duke, Justin Meades and GH Smit who will all be in the Guernsey line-up tomorrow.

'The previous 11 years of defeats would not have happened if a lot of the captains I have played under - specifically someone like Ralph Anthony, who was a terrific skipper and got the best out of his players - had had the side we have had recently.

'I was very fortunate to take the job on at the right time. It has been a special era in terms of the quality of talent.'

But Biggins emphasised how the essence of the team was still very Sarnian.

'It is important that we do not lose sight of the fact that the locals have raised their games as well. Stuart Le Prevost and Gary Rich have been the ones to stand out over the five years - their competitive instincts are second to none,' he said.

'The determination of the local cricketers has brought so much to the squad. One of the best examples of that was Pierre Moody's innings three years ago to win us the game in a partnership with Justin Ferbrache. Their determination was immense.

'A lot of top quality cricketers have arrived in the island. They have been committed to Guernsey cricket - they would not have been playing otherwise - but our success has been borne out by their fitting into the way that we do things.'

Due to having so many quality options at his disposal, Biggins the batsman has become something of a peripheral figure.

'I have tried to concentrate on being a captain rather than a batsman and there is no doubt my own form has suffered,' he admitted.

'I have tried to accommodate others first and because of that I think I have batted everywhere in the top eight in 27 games as captain.

'But that was my decision and the idea was to get more from the resources in our line-up. We have a lot of stars in our team and the best thing I could do was to accommodate them and help them perform.

In those matches when Biggins has taken charge Guernsey have lost just five times - once to Namibia, twice to Bermuda and twice to the MCC - all high class sides.

'I have to say we were disappointed to lose those games. That is an indication of how we have progressed,' he said.

Perhaps the biggest disappointment came this summer and the failure to make at least the semi-finals of the ECC Division Two Championship in Scotland.

In typical Biggins fashion, he reflected on those 10 days in a considered manner, rather than a downbeat one.

'We lost to the tournament - we did not play

'We just lost the wrong game and, if anything, the tour taught us to play each game as we see it and prepare for each game equally.

'There were positives such as the ability to win a very important game against Israel up at Lossiemouth. Our future depended on it and the conditions we played under were absurd.

'Mentally, it was a tough experience to get through and we showed we could do it.'

Jersey, of course, reached the final of that championship. But the Sarnian skipper insisted that nothing should be read into that ahead of tomorrow's game because of the personnel changes in both sides with the likes of Smit, Meades, Duke and, for Jersey, Ryan Driver coming in.

He added, though, that this would be the toughest inter-insular of his five in charge. The key, he said, could lie in the greater variety of bowling options at his disposal.

'The important thing is to react to different situations. We have always been a side who come out with a plan but we have got to be prepared to adapt if things do not go right.

'The first win in 2002 was the most important, last year was the most convincing and I think this year, should we have a positive result, it would be the most impressive because this is the biggest test we have faced from Jersey.

'I see nothing between the sides and we have to play to our potential.'