European Cricket League: Will Peatfield gets a hat-trick in Independents first win

Guernsey international bowler Will Peatfield took a total of eight wickets in Independents' opening two matches

Will Peatfield took a hat-trick as Guernsey champions Independents began their European Cricket League campaign with a win and a defeat in Spain.

The island's champions lost by 34 runs to German side Darmstadt in their opening 10-over game.

But they recovered to beat Greek side Byron by eight wickets in their second game as Peatfield took three wickets with his first three balls.

Having bowled Byron out for 66 Indies reached their target in 4.2 overs.

The win moved Independents up to second place in Group A on net run rate, two points behind Darmstadt and level on points with Byron and English side Hornchurch.

Under the lights at the Cartama Oval Guernsey's bowlers never let Byron settle and took regular wickets.

Only opener Ahmez Mumtaz (13) and captain Aslam Mohammad (17) made double figures as Peatfield took four Byron wickets for just five runs in 1.2 overs.

Matt Stokes returned figures of 3-11 from his two overs as all five bowlers in the Guernsey attack claimed at least one victim.

In reply Stokes was bowled for four with the second ball but skipper Nathan Le Tissier ruthlessly punished any short ball as he hit three sixes and two fours to make 30 not out from 14 balls.

He and Tom Nightingale (21) put on 54 for the second innings before CJ Peatfield (7) hit the winning runs as Indies ended on 67-2.

Batting struggles in opener

Independents won nine of their 10 matches to be crowed Guernsey Evening League champions in 2022

In their opening game on Monday afternoon Peatfield again impressed with the ball.

Having seem Darmstadt get off to a fast start - they were 64-0 off the first four overs - Peatfield helped rein the Germans in with figures of 4-16 as they ended on 122-6 from 10 overs.

Darmstadt captain Azmat Ali (30) and Muhammad Umar put on 66 in 4.3 overs for the opening wicket.

But over the next three overs the Germans struggled - Ali was caught off Jake Roussel's bowling and Umar was superbly run out by Le Tissier for 49 off 17 balls as Darmstadt were reduced to 88-5.

Back-to-back sixes from Majeed Nasseri in the ninth over saw Darmstadt move into three figures before they ended on 122-6.

Indies failed to assert themselves in their reply as Ali ran out Tom Nightingale for three at the end of the second over while Le Tissier (5) and Matt Stokes (28) were both caught on the legside boundary in the fourth over as Indies slipped to 48-3.

The Guernsey side's middle and lower order could not bring them back into the game, with CJ Peatfield's 13 off eight balls proving to be the best resistance as the Germans impressed in the field with a total four runouts, while Parwaiz Akhoudzada returned figures of 2-17 as Indies ended on 88-9.