Up against a side led by a man with four Test centuries for Australia in Joe Burns and also including the likes of Durham's Emilio Gay, who is tipped to play for England one day having already featured for the Lions, as well as numerous others who play in franchise cricket around the world, the Sarnians had their work cut out, but they did not play well enough for long enough periods to trouble their opponents.
Having been asked to bat by Burns, Guernsey fell at least a couple of dozen runs short of a truly competitive total at Voorburg Cricket Club in The Hague as they posted 122 for 9.
A few of the batters got starts, but Tom Nightingale’s 35 from 26 balls with four fours and a six proved to be the top score for the Greens against a disciplined and varied Italian bowling attack.
Ben Fitchet, Martin-Dale Bradley, Matt Stokes and Ollie Nightingale all contributed double-figure scores, too.
With net run-rate likely to play a part in who qualifies at the end of the tournament, Italy quickly set about chasing down their target with Gay playing a couple of majestic drives to the boundary in Luke Bichard’s opening over before the bowler, who passed a late fitness test on his hamstring, got his revenge when the left-hander miscued to Fitchet at mid-on.
That just brought Burns to the crease and his timing was superb, together with his pinpoint placement, as he eased to 30 off just 19 balls in joining Justin Mosca in a partnership of 62.
However, teenage seamer Harry Johnson claimed the big scalp of the Italian captain with a bumper that was miscued to deep midwicket in one of the highlights of the day for Guernsey.
Another came with Italy on the verge of victory when Ant Stokes took a terrific one-handed leaping catch to give Bradley a deserved wicket.
Player-of-the-match Mosca, though, went on to finish 66 not out and finished the game in style with a straight six as Italy won by seven wickets with six overs to spare.
UPDATE: Guernsey’s second game of the tournament against Scotland, scheduled for Sunday morning, was called off because of rain in the Netherlands.
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