Jersey women target success in T20 World Cup qualifying event

Jersey's women cricketers are ranked 24th in the world by the ICC

Having seen Jersey's men reach the final stages of qualifying for the T20 World Cup last year, the island's women's team are hoping to emulate them next week.

Jersey will host the inaugural ICC European Division Two qualifier, where they will face Italy, Germany, Turkey, France and Sweden.

The top two sides will then take on Scotland and the Netherlands in Spain in September for two places in the Global Qualifier for the 2024 tournament in Bangladesh.

"When we first got invited into this tournament, promotion was our aim, our number one goal," said Jersey captain Chloe Greechan.

"But now looking at our squad, the more we train, there's no reason why we can't win this tournament."

Jersey are the highest-ranked side at 24th in the ICC's world rankings, three places above Italy, who they face in their opening match.

Jersey have been training for five months to prepare for the tournament

It is the latest attempt by the Channel Island of around 104,000 people to make a global tournament.

Jersey's men reached the final stage of qualifying for the 2023 T20 World Cup last year and played in the Qualifier Play-off for this year's 50-over Cricket World Cup last month.

"We can play T20 internationals throughout the year, but to actually be in a pathway event is very different, it gives the girls something to focus on and dream about," women's head coach Lee Meloy told BBC Radio Jersey.

"We've seen it with the men's side for many years, so we understand how brilliant it can be travelling around the world playing international cricket with a close-knit bunch of girls who enjoy each other's company.

"It's really exciting and three years in the making with lots of hard work.

"The girls have put a huge amount of effort into this, they're a young side, they've got plenty of experience to build from and still lots of youth in the side, which means we're fit and we're young and ready to go."

'Confidence is high'

The average age of the Jersey squad is just 18. Having started training for the event indoors back in January, they are ready to try to reach the global stage, 12 years after the island's first-ever international game against France.

Jersey won all six T20 internationals they played in 2022 - twice beating France and also Austria and Spain last May before back-to-back wins over island rivals Guernsey in June.

"We've had some really good results, especially last summer when we managed to go to France and win four games from four, so we've got confidence from that," added Meloy.

"We had a successful summer against some tough cricketers in the UK, winning games of cricket which was fantastic.

"The confidence is high, the preparations have gone really well and they're backing themselves 100%. We're excited for what's to come."