Sarnians line up USA and Canada

GUERNSEY could do battle with the USA and Canada on a cricket pitch next year. Following the disappointment of the ECC European Second Division Championships in Glasgow last month, where the island failed to gain promotion to the first division, sights have now been set on the 2008 championships.

In preparation for that, a number of matches against international opposition, including the Canadians and Americans, are being planned for next summer.

Canada have been drawn in the same group as England in March's World Cup in the West Indies.

'We have to make sure that the squad continues to be prepared specifically for 2008,' said GCB president Dave Piesing.

'Feelers are already out for potential fixtures in 2007 against Scotland A, Ireland A, Holland A, Italy and Norway, and I am looking into the possibility of a tour to Toronto in August or early September to play against the likes of Canada, Canada A, Bermuda and the USA.

'Obviously not all of these initiatives will come off, but we need some of them to happen and the more that can be structured into a tournament format, the better.

'Working with Jersey to bring these sides to the islands obviously has merit and I am in contact with my counterparts there to fully exploit those opportunities for mutual benefit.'

Piesing was also keen to defend Guernsey's record at the European Championships.

It was the island's first international tournament since joining the International Cricket Council as an affiliate member last year.

There had been criticism that the team had gone to the tournament expecting to win and were too casual as a result.

'I certainly don't think that the management or squad were over-confident or cocky,' he said.

'I think we were realistically confident about our chances. We prepared very well and picked a strong squad.

'I think we were a bit surprised at the high standard of some of the teams that we played against, and maybe we possibly thought that the advantage that we had over some of the other teams in playing regularly on grass would be a bigger advantage than it turned out to be.

'In terms of an inquest into the disappointing end result, the reality is that we won three out of the four matches that we played (discounting the Greece match which we lost but were deemed to have won).'

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Of those three games, Piesing recalled that the Sarnians outplayed Gibraltar, who went on to beat Germany in the same group, comfortably defeated Israel despite a few stutters with the bat and easily overcame France, who had previously beaten Jersey.

'In our first tournament attempt, we as a new affiliate member country beat three experienced associate member countries who each had many years of playing in ICC tournaments, including the ICC Trophy,' he said.

In a bid to raise the standard of the island team to reach the European top flight with the likes of Scotland, Ireland, Denmark and Holland, Piesing identifies that improved indoor facilities are required and that the island youth teams need to have more tours away to play strong opposition.

He is also keen to see some changes to the island leagues.

'Several ideas have been mooted to improve the quality of our local cricket,' he said.

'We cannot just rely on imports to raise the standard. These include: (a) the GCA Championship being extended from 45 to 50 overs per side and starting earlier than the current 1pm; (b) using a higher standard of ball which will retain its shape and shine for far longer than the current balls to encourage bowlers later in the innings; and (c) possibly playing Division One Evening League matches on two nights only at the KGV and Port Soif, say Tuesdays and Thursdays to provide more practice opportunities for top players and to remove the Friday night, Monday night impact for those also playing at weekends.

'All are worthy of discussion and consultation with the clubs to see if they are viable.'