Let us improve the CI League

WITH the inter-insular 24 hours away, the only man to captain both Guernsey and Jersey has called for greater links between the great rivals by expanding the Channel Islands League. At present the NatWest CI Club Championship runs through August and sees the top four teams from both islands play each other once. Ward Jenner, who was Jersey's captain before he temporarily moved to Guernsey and was the greens' skipper in 1998 and 1999, wants to see the number of games doubled.

The 42-year-old is presently vice-chairman of the Jersey Cricket Board and has been heavily involved with them in obtaining associate membership to the International Cricket Council.

The main stumbling block for the venture is travel cost between the two islands, but with the increased funding that Jersey now enjoys and with Guernsey looking set to reach associate membership next year, Jenner thinks that some of associate funding which is earmarked for cricket development could possibly be used to help finance the league.

He says he not the only person in Jersey who would like to see a bigger CI league happen.

'It's a long-term thought that a few of us over here have,' he said.

'Basically we're stuck with a limited resource in terms of talented players. We've probably got enough talent for four teams on each island and I see with sufficient funding and maybe with ICC support, we could create an eight-team league.

'I envisage that it should happen in the middle-term future. But the funding is crucial to the whole thing.

'What has held us back in the past has been funding. It has to be a five to 10-year plan.

'It makes sense to me.'

Jenner has yet to seriously look into how the league would work but he sees teams playing each other twice over 14 weekends from the start of the season. This would effectively mean Guernsey's and Jersey's top domestic divisions would have to be scrapped but the Channel Islands League teams would still be involved in their respective island's cup competitions.

Jenner also pointed out that the two islands' top players will be involved in more ICC cricket in the near future and that would restrict the time available.

Next year, Jersey could potentially feature in three international tournaments.

They host the 2008 ICC World Cricket League Division Five one early next summer and, if they are successful, they will be promoted to Division Four which has its own tournament in Septem-ber, possibly in Arge-ntina or Singapore. Along with Guernsey, they also take part in the ECC European Second Division tournament next August.

As for tomorrow's match at the KGV, Jenner, who has a total of 16 caps for Jersey along with his two for Guernsey, feels that the Caesareans look good to stop Guernsey's winning run over five years. The Jersey camp are buoyed having defeated Italy in March that helped secured their associate membership.

They also crushed Guernsey in last month's triangular tournament with France after they bowled Guernsey out for just 74.

'From a Jersey point of view it's been going incredibly well - maybe too well,' he said.

'We respect the Guernsey side but I think we've got a belief that perhaps we've not had in the last few years. There's a great belief in the side and they are very confident.

'If they all perform to the level that they can do - we'll get a positive result this year.'

Jenner suggests that Jersey will target Cobo's triumvirate of young quickies.

Pete Le Hegarat, Kris Moherndl and Blane Queripel, are all under 21 and some see it as a big risk to put them in together.

'Guernsey have picked an interesting squad with three pretty young bowlers, he said.