With both the Jersey Post 40-over Weekend League and Fairway Super Series seeing recent conclusions the cricket season in Jersey came to an end in exciting fashion.
Jersey Post 40-Over competition comes down to bonus points
Prior to the start of the final round of fixtures from Jersey’s 40-over competition, both the Farmers Caesareans and the Old Victorians were in with a chance of lifting the trophy after their enthralling draw ensured the title race went down to the wire. Rathbones Old Victorians were in action against Walkovers while the Farmers Caesareans faced off against St Ouen-Springfield. With no social media posts about the games being posted, fans were travelling between the two grounds to keep up with the action and update each other, the title came down to a matter of points.
Old Victorians were able to restrict the Walkovers to 150 runs, as Joel Duckett took five wickets for 24 runs. In a high-pressure situation, as it was essential knockout cricket, chases can often become harder than they first appear; however, Victorian’s openers Elliott Corbel and Andy Dewhurst were able to chase down the target successfully. Meanwhile, the Farmers scored 332 against their opposition which included contributions from Nick Ferraby (117) and Zak Tribe (75). However, in order to win the title, the Farmers had to bowl the opposition out to claim maximum bonus points; the title race wasn’t over yet. St Ouen-Springfield’s batting line up now had the opportunity to decide the title race. On what was described as a batsman-friendly wicket by the Jersey Evening Post, the chasing side showed resilience with Ollie Nightingale scoring 83 runs and Dom Blampied batting well. The Farmers, despite their best efforts and claiming victory, were only able to take 9 wickets meaning that the Old Victorians won the competition after securing maximum bonus points.
When talking to the Jersey Evening Post about the result and the season overall, Old Victorian’s captain, Luke Gallichan, reflected that ‘It’s the best cricket that a lot of us have played in a couple of years and the best standard of cricket definitely. It’s been really good to get out there and play a whole T20 season and get a 40-over competition in so thanks to JCB (Jersey Cricket Board), it’s been a really good season for the boys,’
Super Series concludes in style
Following the first round of fixtures from the Fairway Super Series, which offered a valuable insight into the development of Jersey’s next generation of male and female players, there was all to play for.
The weekend kicked off with the final action from the group stage as the Every Child Our Future – Jersey Eagles came up against The Lord’s Taverners Lightning while The Shelter Trust in Jersey Titans were against the Beresford Street Kitchen Bandits.
Every Child Our Future – Jersey Eagles Vs The Lord’s Taverners Lightning
The Eagles batted first in their game against the Lightning and scored 152-6 from their allotted 20 overs, with Jack Stevens top-scoring for the team with 68 runs. The Lightning were yet to win their first game of the competition prior to the game against the Eagles, but this time the team were able to secure the victory. A well constructed and timed partnership of 95 between Ali Webster (58) and Toby Thirkettle (48) was the mainstay of the Lightning’s innings as the team won by five wickets.
The Shelter Trust in Jersey Titans vs Beresford Street Kitchen Bandits
Thanks to a fantastic team bowling performance, which saw Jack Kemp finish with figures of 4-9, the Bandits were restricted to 86-9 from their 20 overs. In response, despite another good overall bowling performance by the Bandits, the Titans were able to chase down the target to secure a 5 wicket win. Once again Kemp impressed as he scored 42 runs which helped the team stay on course for victory.
The two final group stage results meant that the final would be contested between the Titans and the Eagles, whilst the Bandits and the Lightning would play in the third-place playoff.
Third-place play-off
The Bandits batted first in the third-place play-off and finished on 97 all out with Drew Boylan, Sam Watling and Louis Kelly making key contributions for the batting side. In response, the Lightning was able to chase down the target in 10 overs with the team’s middle-order impressing. The Bandits were able to take six wickets before the Lightning chased the total during what was another decent bowling performance by the team.
The result meant that the Lightning finished third while the Bandits finished fourth.
The Final
The final started with the Titans winning the toss and electing to bat first against the Eagles. Over the course of the Titans innings, Adam Bradbury (61), Jack Kemp (26) & Theo Pullman (26) all made important contributions as the team posted 142-6. The final came down to the wire with both teams being in with the chance of winning up until the last over. Eddie Rothwell (54) and Will Hodgson (40*) top-scored for the Eagles as they managed to win the match scoring the winning runs off the penultimate ball. The Eagles won the game by 7 wickets and are the inaugural Fairway Super Series champions.
One of the final bits of action from the tournament was the presentation of shirts to the four charities involved to be displayed in the charities headquarters. Not only did the tournament promote Jersey’s upcoming talent but the tournament raised awareness of some important causes.
Lee Meloy, the Jersey Cricket Board’s cricket development manager and assistant national coach, told Emerging Cricket that ‘We are delighted to have had all games played with some fantastic competitive cricket on show whilst bringing the junior cricket season to a close. The Fairway Super Series has given our young cricketers something to aim for and work towards throughout the club cricket season. The extra level of cricket on our pathway has provided more players with the opportunity to show their skills to our performance coaches ahead of potential selection for the Jersey age groups’.
Despite the unusual context surrounding cricket this year, the 2020 cricket season in Jersey has seen some exciting action. For those involved in the Farway Super Series, the tournament has provided additional opportunities for participants to grow as individuals beyond the playing field.
‘Linking them with the four local charities has helped to raise awareness of the work done away from cricket and to promote the values we want to instil in our cricketers of the future’, Meloy concluded.
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