Plenty of promise . . . but Greens retain title

Plenty of promise . . . but Greens retain title

Holders Guernsey returned north-west with the trophy, but this young Caesarean side, which includes just two players over the age of 17, revealed enough quality to suggest there is a bright future ahead for women’s cricket in Jersey.

The match was one of very few that survived Saturday morning’s heavy rain, initially called off before the players and officials settled on a delayed start at FB Fields.

And it was 14-year-old Jones who led the way for the ladies in red, scoring a terrific half-century as Jersey batted first. The teenager struck two boundaries as she reached 50 runs from just 51 balls, before Becky Hubbard – Guernsey’s top wicket-taker – brought the excellent innings to an end.

Analise Merritt was Jersey’s next highest scoring batsman, with nine, as the hosts reached 100 runs for seven wickets from their twenty overs.

With a sizeable total, the Reds will have felt positive as the Sarnians were contemplating their run chase. However, a measured approach from the ladies in Green took the game away from Jersey.

Katie Watson finished unbeaten on 25 runs – from 23 deliveries – as Guernsey eased beyond the required total with three overs to spare.

Jersey captain Rose Hill, who boasts much more experience than those around her, was beaming with pride following a promising display from her team.

‘We’re really pleased,’ she said. ‘In a few years’ time these girls will be phenomenal. We’ve got some really good young players here … if we can keep them, they’ll do really well as a team.

‘Our team is actually probably even younger than we were last year. We have nine-year-olds, right up to 17, and then a 50-year-old as well. But our future is bringing on the youngsters … what Jersey cricket is doing and what I’m doing is very bright. We have so many coming through from a young age.’

On the specifics of the game, she added: ‘100 was a great score; we just could have done with getting a few more. If we’d scored 120 it would have been even closer.

‘We were very tight on the field, the bowling was tight and there weren’t many wides. That’s something we have been working on, so that was great; now we really have to work on the batting. If we can concentrate on that then we’ve got a good future.’

And the skipper saved particular praise for young Jones.

‘It’s her first half-century and it’s fantastic. She batted phenomenally; she hit several fours and it was particularly hard because we had such long boundaries.’

To make the most of their trip, the Guernsey team didn’t return home until yesterday, allowing time for two further friendly T20 matches earlier in the day.

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