Duke's form could be key

AIR SEARCH ROVERS are hoping to replicate their off-the-field success on it this season. Rovers is the biggest club in Guernsey with four teams in the Barclays Evening League and two in the Carey Olsen Weekend League, which they have done without merging with other teams as all their rivals have had to do.

But more impressively they have their own ground at Port Soif and no other club in Guernsey can make such a claim.

And for the first time this year, Rovers A team will play all their home Evening League fixtures on their own wicket.

They run their own junior and colts section and again no other club does that.

Also, in a three-year deal, Louvre Group have agreed to sponsor the club's Evening League teams and their second team at the weekends.

Meanwhile an anonymous individual will pay £1 to the CI Air Search for every run, catch and wicket taken by the A team in the longer version of the game, hence the new title.

All this adds to the news released today by Rovers that they are planning extensive developments to their west coast site.

'It's brilliant what we've got,' said captain Stuart Bisson.

'It's brilliant that the Evening League is there as well. It's now the second cricket centre on the island.

'We're a big club with big aspirations proved by our off-the-field activities. Hopefully we can convert that into some silverware that the club deserves.'

Rovers certainly have the players to be able to get this silverware for Bisson.

Along with him, Aaron Scoones and Tim Duke are members of the island squad.

Bisson is a lively medium pace bowler who also knows how to hold a bat. He picked up two 90-run knocks against Mavericks along with a couple more league 50s.

Off-spinner Scoones can be a handful on his day while Duke is without doubt Rovers' big player.

The former Essex second XI all-rounder is a nippy seamer and is also one of the most elegant batsmen in the island.

His exploits with the willow on the artificial wickets in the Evening League have earned him two player-of-the-year awards in the shorter version of the game and the nickname 'Mr Plastic Fantastic' from his team-mates.

'Dukey is our main man,' said Bisson.

'His form on the matting has made him the best Evening League player for the last two years and hopefully he can convert this on the grass wickets.'

Bisson is also looking for big performances from his veteran opening batsman, Richard Headington. Quinten Hubbard, who got a number of notable scores last year at Port Soif that earned a Guernsey B team selection, will partner the former island captain at the top of the order.

The team will also be helped by island football goalkeeper Jody Bisson donning the wicket keeping gloves behind the stumps. With the Guernsey men's football team not going to the Island Games this year, he will be able to dedicate more time to cricket.

Promising junior Robbie Le Corre is also set to feature and Matt Hallett and Rob Turville will each do a job in the bowling department. But the major problem facing Rovers is that there is frankly not much else left in the cupboard.

That proved to be the problem last year as they finished second from bottom because if the top order went cheaply, the rest did not put up much resistance.