Tourists will provide tough test - Hearse

GUERNSEY will need more than Dutch courage to compete with a strong Netherlands representative side next month. Island manager Dave Hearse is not underestimating the size of the challenge ahead.

'It's a huge test - it's the second best test you can get after the World Cup. It's their second team which will be made up of experienced campaigners and some youngsters,' he said.

'It will be tough.'

He believes the standard of opposition will probably be on a par with Bermuda.

He insists three 50-over games in three days will be a big ask for his squad and he may take the opportunity to further blood a few youngsters such as Peter Le Hegarat, Kris Moherndl and Blane Queripel alongside more experienced players.

'You have to see how they will develop,' he said.

The Dutch Cricket Board have announced a 12-man squad to tour for the limited-over series against the island's senior side.

All the players have represented the Netherlands at either under-19 or under-23 age-group levels and three of them have represented the country's A team.

They include skipper Tom de Grooth, 27, who has made 21 appearances for the full national side.

The right-handed batsman and off-break bowler made his ICC Trophy debut against Papua New Guinea in Belfast in July 2005 and his ODI debut against Scotland in Ayr in August.

The visitors, coached by Roland Lefebvre, will be known as the Flamingo A side and the rest of the party are aged between 19 and 25.

The matches will be played on consecutive days from Wednesday 23 to Friday 25 May at the KGV.

'I think they will be fairly fit. With a team like Holland they will probably have better training facilities and a more regimented training programme,' said Hearse.

'They are in division one of Europe and have gone to the World Cup and they will be pushing their lads hard.

'If we achieve one win and play well in three games, we will be very happy. It will be good disciplined cricket - that is what I want from my players,' he said.

Hearse believes Guernsey has players to maybe spring a surprise or two.

'We are now looking at 2008 and the European division two tournament,' he said.

Everything this season will be geared towards that and Hearse will select his squad for the Dutch visit in the coming weeks, depending on avail-

ability.

'We are lucky to get these games but we put a lot of effort into it.

'We played Scotland A twice and the quality of opposition was superb,' said the island manager.

The rest of the touring party are: Jelte Schoonheim, Mudassar Bukhari, Geert Maarten Mol, Daan van Everdingen, Lesley Stokkers, Mohsin Ghaznavi, Maarten van Lerschot, Harro Seelaar, Tom Heggelman, Vimal Tewarie and Steven de Bruin.

This series is sponsored by Fortis Guernsey, which will provide a trophy to the winners.

It follows the home series against Bermuda in 2006 and games in the UK against the Scottish Academy, Bermuda and Namibia in 2005 with the aim of exposing the island's best cricketers to high-quality international opposition before Guernsey's first foray into European tournament cricket.