Academy sides from Hampshire and Surrey are visiting the island for the next four days and Essex Academy will be following on a week later to take on the Island side in a series of T20 matches with the Sarnians aiming to make up for lost time following the cancellation of their warm-up trip to Cyprus last month due to military action in the area.
‘We trained over Easter weekend and everyone is very excited and looking pretty good to go,’ said Guernsey senior men’s national team head coach Jeremy Frith.
‘Most of the players have been coming in for sessions since before Christmas and the idea of the March trip to Cyprus was to break up the winter for them.
‘Unfortunately we weren’t able to do that, so the plan for the next week or so is for the guys to find their feet outdoors again and play some good cricket, which we know the academy games are.
‘Hopefully by the end of Essex’s visit, everyone will have had a good bat and bowl and built some confidence.’
Hampshire and Surrey face each other today in what is scheduled to be a 40-over game starting at noon at the KGV before they go head-to-head in back-to-back T20s tomorrow.
Guernsey then have T20 matches against both on Saturday and Sunday.
‘Hampshire are bringing a lad who can bowl 85mph,’ Frith said.
‘Every time academy sides have been over, they have had players who have gone on to play first-class cricket and some who have played for England U19s.
‘Ben Mayes and Manny Lumsden came here with Hampshire last year and both played in the U19 World Cup final in February.’
