Having been set 161 for victory in their T20 World Cup Europe Final clash at Voorburg Cricket Club, the Sarnians were put in a spin by Jersey’s opening bowlers Harrison Carlyon and Dom Blampied as they were reduced to 4 for 3 in the first three overs of the run chase, which gave the Greens a mountain to climb.
However, Matt Stokes was joined by captain Ollie Nightingale and together they rebuilt the innings with a stand of 124, with both scoring half-centuries, and even briefly revived hope of the most unlikely of victories.
But in the end, the ask was too great and the pace of Julius Sumerauer helped turned the screw for Jersey towards the death and the Reds, ranked 10 places higher at 27 in the world, secured a 22-run win.
‘Obviously you’re not going to win many games of cricket when you are 4 for 3 in the powerplay,’ said the Guernsey skipper, who made 57 from 52 balls while Stokes finished unbeaten on 62 from 49 deliveries.
‘We came back nicely, but probably needed to go a bit harder, or at least get a start, and we didn’t do that.’
Carlyon was named player of the match for his 63 runs and brilliant bowling figures of 2 for 8 from his four-over spell.
Guernsey face the hosts tomorrow in the their final game of the tournament, having been beaten by a talented Italy side in Saturday’s opener and seeing Sunday’s clash with Scotland washed out.
It is the first time the Sarnians have competed at this stage of World Cup qualifying, with the top two sides at the end of the week progressing to next year’s global event in India and Sir Lanka.
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