The teenage seamer has been featuring for the county in red-ball cricket and followed up taking 3 for 46 in a drawn three-day friendly game against the University of Exeter last month with a wicket in each innings on his Second XI Championship debut against Yorkshire.
Forshaw claimed 1 for 22 from his eight overs in the first innings and 1 for 34 from 10 overs in the second to help Hampshire to a six-wicket win on the Nursery Ground at the Utilita Bowl.
The best was yet to come, though, as he claimed 4 for 44 against Sussex Seconds in the first innings of a four-day game and 1 for 29 in the second as Hampshire won that match by 93 runs at Horsham.
Guernsey national men’s team head coach Jeremy Frith is delighted with how well Forshaw has made the step up so far.
‘Hampshire like Charlie and Harry Johnson a lot and there’s a plan for both of them,’ he said.
‘Charlie is just a bit further ahead in terms of readiness, so he has got his opportunity in the Second XI because he has done very well in the games he has played with the academy in the last couple of years. He is enjoying the opportunity and has responded well to the challenge.
‘Hampshire play an important part for us in developing players because they can give them exposure to a level of cricket that we simply cannot do on a regular basis, so our job is to get players to Hampshire’s door and ultimately they can make them better cricketers for Guernsey.’
Sarnian trio Forshaw, Johnson and now Ed Robinson are on the Hampshire Academy pathway, with Frith revealing that the signs are promising for all three.
‘While they are budding seam bowlers – and Ed a batter too – they are all very different.
‘Charlie’s point of difference is his accuracy and he has the potential to be a highly effective red-ball bowler, having already shown his skills for us in white-ball cricket. We’d hope that he picks up another yard of pace in time, but his accuracy is his main attribute that’s got him where he is.
‘Harry’s point of difference is his physiology as he gets a lot of hyper-extension, so his pace and height of release generate extra bounce, and hopefully he will be in a similar position to Charlie next year and getting these opportunities.
‘Ed is that bit younger and will probably be playing academy cricket over the next couple of years, but based on the evidence of what we saw in the Academy Series at KGV last month, which is a good measure, he was comfortably on a par with the guys he was playing against.
‘To have those three with Hampshire and the likes of Freddie [Forshaw], Alfie [Gallienne], Evan [Le Huray] and Sam [Gregson] coming through here, it is a measure of how far we have come over the last few years and it is exciting.
‘There’s still a long way to go yet, though.’
Robinson is part of the Guernsey squad who head to Cyprus on Thursday. Forshaw will join up with once he has completed exam commitments. Johnson is unavailable for the tournament due to exams.
