Watson shines with bat and ball in Guernsey win

Heavy rain in the morning in Jersey looked set to wipe out the cricket programme in the sister isle, but the players and officials of the inter-island clash agreed on a delayed start to a T20 contest at FB Fields.

Jersey opener Lily Jones made the most of the opportunity as she hit her maiden half-century for the home side, but she was ultimately unable to help a youthful Jersey XI regain the spoils.

The 14-year-old struck two boundaries as she reached 50 from just 51 balls, before Becky Hubbard – Guernsey’s top wicket-taker – brought the excellent innings to an end.

Analise Merritt was Jersey’s next highest scoring batsman, with nine, as the hosts reached 100 for 7 from their 20 overs.

With a sizeable total, the Reds will have felt positive as the Sarnians were contemplating their run chase.

However, a measured approach from the team in green took the game away from Jersey.

Katie Watson, who had earlier taken two wickets, finished unbeaten on 25 from 23 deliveries as Guernsey eased beyond the required total with three overs to spare.

‘It was a hard day in terms of not knowing whether we were going to be playing and there were some nerves at the beginning, but in terms of performance we were pretty happy with keeping them to 100 and we chased it down fairly comfortably,’ said Guernsey’s Colette Gooding.

‘Bex [Hubbard] bowled really well and had some big hits at the end to bring it home while I think Katie, who was captain last year, liked the fact that she did not have that pressure this time and she did really well both bowling and batting.’

Jersey captain Rose Hill was proud of her young team’s display.

‘100 was a great score, we just could have done with getting a few more,’ she said.

‘If we’d scored 120 it would have been even closer.’

To make the most of their trip, the Guernsey team did not return home until Sunday, allowing time for two further friendly T20 matches earlier in the day, with each side winning one apiece.