“WELL that got a bit exciting at the end, didn’t it?”
Those were the slightly tongue-in-cheek words of Jersey Men’s cricket captain Chuggy Perchard after his side secured their eighth successive 50-over Inter-Insular crown over Guernsey at Grainville.
Missing key first-team players and contending with challenging weather conditions throughout, Perchard and his troops secured a two-wicket victory over their Sarnian rivals, with just a ball to spare.
Harrison Carlyon was named man of the match for his excellent 73 with the bat, combining brilliantly with debutant Stan Norman (58) for an opening partnership of 115, chasing 205 for victory.
Perchard himself was also in fine form, picking up four wickets for just 45 runs in his nine-over spell.
“We’re absolutely delighted with the win,” Perchard continued. “We have had a stranglehold on this trophy for a good time now, but we never take Guernsey for granted.
“They’re an excellent side who came into this game off the back of a very successful summer for them, so we knew the challenge they were going to put up would be a stern one.
“I thought we were really solid with the ball, but I think there was some room for improvement in the field.
“We felt confident at the innings break and for Harrison [Carlyon] and Stan [Norman] to play so well opening the innings was fantastic.
“Stan getting to a well-deserved 50 was amazing, he was extremely impressive, as were all of our debutants today.
“Scott Simpson as well, with both bat and ball, he took a massive wicket up top early to get us going and to come in at the end with all that pressure and hit the winning runs is a great moment for him and we’re all chuffed for him.”
Perchard was missing several players for this clash, with the likes of Asa Tribe, Dan Birrell and Jonty Jenner all unavailable.
However, interim head coach Paul Hutchison was particularly impressed with the level of quality on display.
“I’m extremely proud of the boys today,” said ‘Hutch’.
“Yes, we were missing some key men, particularly in the middle order, but the boys who came in really stepped up. With some massive tournaments coming up for us, it’s great as a coach to know we have such quality strength in depth if required.
“We are building a really solid squad now and I’m excited to move ahead to Kenya now and see what more this group can achieve.”
Opening batsman Carlyon, who was named man of the match for his innings of 73.
He said: “This is a very satisfying win for us, we were made to work hard for it.
“The wicket was a bit sticky and with the cloud cover, it was always going to be a fiddly chase.
“Stan batted brilliantly on debut and for us to take such a deficit out early was massive.
“I was annoyed to get out when I did, but the rest of the boys got the job done and we’ll celebrate this one well.”
Debutants Norman and Simpson also spoke of their first Inter-Insular experiences, with the young Norman saying: “It’s an amazing feeling.
“I’ve come through all the age group teams from U11s all the way through, so to get my first senior call up and to contribute is such a big confidence boost.”
Simpson, who has made a dazzling start to life in the international area in both T20 and now 50-over cricket, also added: “The lads were superb.
“Guernsey made us work really hard for it so fair play to them, but to get over the line was very satisfying.
“Making my 50-over debut at the young age of 32 probably doesn’t happen very often, but to get to hit the winning runs is a memory I’ll always cherish.”
Guernsey’s head coach, Jeremy Frith, also added how proud he was of his side both in this match and across their extremely successful summer.
“It was an excellent game today and it’s a shame to have come out on the losing side in the end.
“Jersey are a really good side and coming to play away is always challenging.”
