Papua New Guinea are 22nd in the ICC men’s T20I rankings – 15 places above the Sarnians and also ahead of both Jersey and Italy, who got the better of Guernsey in the Netherlands earlier this summer – and have competed at two recent editions of the Men’s T20 World Cup, so they arrived at the KGV as red-hot favourites to take the honours in this historic clash despite being travel weary from their long journey to the Channel Islands.
In the home camp, the big question was how would Guernsey respond to their heavy defeat in a one-sided Inter-Insular just five days earlier.
The answer was impressively.
It helped that they were returning to the shorter format at which they have worked so hard over the last couple of years and also that key figures in Josh Butler and Zak Damarell were back in the team, even though best player Matt Stokes was absent, as they rose to the challenge, especially with the bat.
Having been inserted by PNG, who possessed a well-balanced attack of both seam and spin with left and right-arm options, the home side set about posting a competitive total with intent but not recklessness.
They lost Lucas Barker early on, caught at midwicket from a leg-stump half-volley that would normally have yielded a boundary, and Tom Nightingale was given an early indication of PNG’s high standards when his gorgeous cover drive went unrewarded by a brilliant diving stop.
But Nightingale stuck to his task and produced arguably his best innings in a Guernsey shirt with quality shots all around the wicket – one hook for four from a sharp Damien Ravu delivery and a back-foot punch down the ground later on were particularly eye-catching.
Butler initially gave him support before falling when trying to clear mid-on during the powerplay off Alei Nao, then skipper Ollie Nightingale was content in giving his brother the strike as he contributed just eight to a partnership of 49.
But it was in tandem with Damarell that the younger Nightingale did the majority of the damage as they hit the accelerator to add 73 in seven overs.
It even looked at one stage that the right-hander could threaten a century, but having bludgeoned two sixes and a four off successive deliveries from spinner John Kariko, Nightingale top-edged another attempt to clear the rope and gave wicketkeeper Kipling Doriga a simple catch. He had made 75 from 51 balls with nine fours and two maximums.
On another day, Damarell’s 45 from 27 balls would have been the star turn as the left-hander demonstrated his hockey-influenced wristy power with his sweeps as well as his shots through the V as he hit eight boundaries.
It was certainly a valuable contribution which played a key role in getting Guernsey up to 165 for 6 by the end of their 20 overs.
On a good pitch with a rapid outfield, though, the hosts knew they had plenty of work to do and the gamble of trying to sneak an over of Tom Nightingale’s off-spin at the start of the reply did not pay off as hard-hitting left-hander Sese Bau took back-to-back boundaries off the first two balls.
He was to prove a thorn in Guernsey’s side throughout the run chase as he struck a masterful 85 from 52 balls with 13 fours and two sixes, but having opened up the other end during the powerplay when Charlie Forshaw removed Peter Karoho in the fourth over, the hosts had their chances to test the strength of the PNG batting order only to squander them.
Some of the opportunities were harder than others, with the usually safe hands of Ben Ferbrache spilling Boio Ray when he was on just eight whereas had bowler Martin-Dale Bradley managed to hang on as he dived to his right off a full-blooded drive from Bau, it would have been an absolute 'worldie'.
There were also a couple of chances in the deep that were so poorly misjudged that it suggested the fielders in front of the pavilion were having trouble picking up the ball in the setting sun.
Had they had been taken, it would have been a very different story, but the second-wicket pair ended up putting on 99 to break the back of the chase.
There was still a twist or two to come, though.
Butler eventually dismissed Ray but it was the penultimate over that nearly turned the game on its head as teenager Forshaw returned to pick up two wickets in successive deliveries, starting with the big scalp of Bau, and conceded just one run from the set.
That left PNG requiring six off the final over, but Hila Vare quickly eased any nerves among his teammates as back-to-back boundaries off Luke Bichard sealed the win with four balls to spare.
‘We were really good in patches, but we probably let ourselves down in the field in split moments, and that’s what’s cost us. If we’d held our catches, we’d probably win the game, fairly comfortably potentially,’ said Guernsey captain Nightingale.
‘So that’s disappointing, but actually the cricket we played today was so much better than on Saturday, and that’s all we could ask.’
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