It was announced at the weekend that the Island side have been drawn in Sub-Regional Qualifier A at the start of the European pathway for the ICC Men’s T20 World Cup 2028 along with Austria, Croatia, France, Jersey, Malta, Slovenia, Sweden, Switzerland and the host nation.
With the tournament taking place from 16-23 May, it is the earliest of the three European qualifiers, but Guernsey men’s team manager Rob Thomson revealed yesterday that warm-up fixtures are already in the pipeline.
He added that the Island squad will face some quality sides in the build-up to ensure they are ready to hit the ground running in Cyprus.
‘For now the focus is on building a pre-tournament training and fixture programme which puts us in the best possible shape to go to Cyprus and win the tournament next May,’ said Guernsey men’s team manager Rob Thomson.
‘I’m anticipating us playing a lot of hard cricket across April and May with various discussions already well progressed across county academy and international sides.’
In previous editions, only one nation has progressed from each of the three Sub-Regional events to the Europe Final, but whether that will be the case next year has yet to be decided.
With the group draw for the Cyprus tournament having not been finalised – although world rankings suggest that Guernsey are unlikely to meet Jersey until the play-off stage – the Sarnians are not being drawn on the possibility of an ‘inter-insular’ in the Mediterranean.
However, their stated objective is to try and replicate their Sub-Regional success of 2024 when they memorably won the tournament on home soil, beating favourites Denmark in the final at the KGV.
‘It’s always an exciting moment whenever tournaments are announced and draws are made, and this time is no different. This is the third consecutive year of ICC tournament cricket for our senior men, which is fantastic for our ongoing development,’ Thomson said.
‘Cyprus is also a new destination for all of us, which adds to the excitement. While it’s back to mat cricket, the facilities are located in the RAF base near Akrotiri and are of a good standard.
‘Our aim is to reach the Europe Final Qualifier again, which would be played in the summer of 2027.
‘The performance of the European countries in the upcoming T20 World Cup proper in March will dictate how many teams qualify from next year’s sub regional qualifiers – there is a chance this could be two teams per group, which would naturally give us a much greater chance of progressing.’
At 27th in the world, Jersey are the highest ranked of the 10 nation who will be competing in Cyprus.
Guernsey are next at 37th, followed by Austria (40th), Switzerland (48th), Sweden (50th), France (54th), Cyprus (64th), Malta (71st), Slovenia and Croatia (equal 96th).
2026 Sub-Regional events
Qualifier A – Cyprus, 16-23 May
Austria, Croatia, Cyprus, France, Guernsey, Jersey, Malta, Slovenia, Sweden, Switzerland
Qualifier B – Denmark, 8-15 July
Belgium, Denmark, Estonia, Gibraltar, Hungary, Norway, Romania, Scotland, Serbia, Turkey
Qualifier C – Finland, 14-21 August
Bulgaria, Czechia, Finland, Germany, Greece, Isle of Man, Israel, Luxembourg, Portugal, Spain
