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Two wins from two for Guernsey in Cyprus

Guernsey started their ICC Men’s T20 World Cup Europe Sub Regional Qualifier campaign with back-to-back victories over the weekend in Cyprus.

Guernsey have a rest day today before they face Austria tomorrow afternoon and then finish the group stage against Slovenia on Wednesday.
Guernsey have a rest day today before they face Austria tomorrow afternoon and then finish the group stage against Slovenia on Wednesday. / Picture by Martin Gray

The Sarnians had a few anxious moments in their opener against Sweden before coming through with a 12-run win, which was followed up in more convincing fashion yesterday morning as they saw off Malta by six wickets.

After being asked to bat by Sweden on day one, Guernsey lost Lucas Barker and Tom Nightingale early on in the powerplay but Josh Butler was joined by Matt Stokes and together they put on 85 for the third wicket in less than 11 overs.

However, when they were dismissed in consecutive overs – Butler for 43 from 32 balls which included four fours and a six , and Stokes for 51 from 41 with two sixes as well as four fours – the rest of the batting line-up were unable to maintain the momentum and the Greens finished on 151 for 8.

At the start of the reply, Swedish batters Ajay Mundra and Saeed Ahmed looked to make the most of the fielding restrictions and got their side off to a flier, scoring 46 inside four overs.

However, Guernsey gained control as they stopped the flow of runs and picked up wickets at regular intervals with two apiece for five bowlers.

Some lusty blows from Zabiullah Zahid late on caused a few anxious moments, but Sweden were bowled out for 139 with a couple of balls to spare.

Yesterday’s victory over Malta was far more straightforward with only two of the opposition batters reaching double-figures as they were skittled out for 74 after Ollie Nightingale had elected to bowl.

Man-of-the-match Martin-Dale Bradley was the pick of the bowlers with 4 for 9 from his four overs of leg-spin, while both Adam Martel and Ed Robinson claimed a couple of wickets apiece.

With Guernsey trying to boost their net run-rate in the run chase, they did lose a couple of cheap wickets early on, but Stokes and skipper Nightingale took them to the brink of victory before Zak Damarell hit the winning boundary with more than eight overs to spare.

Guernsey have a rest day today before they face Austria tomorrow afternoon and then finish the group stage against Slovenia on Wednesday.

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