European Cricket League: Jersey's Old Victorians target international glory

Old Victorians are the second Jersey club side to play in the tournament after Farmers qualified for the previous two events

"The boys are up there with some of the best talents around in Europe," Old Victorians captain James Duckett says of his side as they prepare for their first international foray.

The side, made up of former students of Jersey's Victoria College, are preparing to play in the European Cricket League.

The 10-over-a-side event in Spain sees club champions from nations around the continent come together to slog it out to be the best in Europe.

It is the first time that Old Victorians have ever played internationally; they follow former Jersey champions Farmers in taking part in the competition, which is played near Malaga in Spain.

"Getting out of the group is the first objective and one that everyone is very clear on," Duckett tells BBC Sport.

"But I would love, and I think we absolutely have the capability of, getting all the way to the final and winning the competition.

"But if we do win our group, the finals week is two and a half weeks after, so potentially getting a team together for that, trying to get guys off work, will be a struggle," Duckett adds.

"But if we manage to get everyone in, I think we have a very, very good shot going all the way."

International experience

Jonty Jenner has scored 900 runs in 39 T20 internationals for Jersey since 2019

While Old Victorians have never played internationally, a number of their squad have.

As well as being part of Jersey's international side that have pushed to qualify for the 50-over and T20 world cups, a number of the team have already played T10 cricket at the same venue for Jersey in the European Cricket Championship last year.

The biggest name in the squad is probably Jonty Jenner, a former Sussex youngster who was once 12th man for England and has gone on to be one of the stalwarts of the Jersey international team.

Other Jersey internationals include Charlie Brennan, Theo Pullman and Elliot Corbel - who were all part of the Jersey side that reached the final round of the tournament in October - while Duckett is the reigning Jersey cricketer of the year.

It should stand them in good stead for a tournament which is tougher than the cricketing reputations of the countries competing may suggest.

"We played against the Spanish international team and the Germany team and a large portion of those players were Indian or Pakistani," says Corbel, who opens the batting.

"We came up against a former Pakistani first-class cricketer.

"I think it's a total lottery. I don't know a huge amount about the teams we're going to be facing and I think we're just going to have to adapt on the day."

Victoria College is an independent school based in St Helier in Jersey

"But we've got a good squad," he adds. "We know where our strengths are, we've got 13 lads who can seriously play cricket."

However, training for such an event has proved problematic, with the winter weather far from conducive to any sort of cricket practise.

The club has been limited to indoor nets sessions and ensuring their fitness is as high as it can be ahead of their group fixtures, which start on Sunday, 3 March as they take on the champion sides from Switzerland, Portugal, Turkey and Bulgaria.

"You just go out and smash it as hard and as far as you can," says Duckett.

"It's certainly something that's completely different.

"We had one year of playing a T10 tournament a couple of years ago, which we did very well in actually - I believe we made the final - so the boys have experienced it before and obviously the lads who have been out there got that experience.

"We're the first group game of of our of our group, so there will be a little bit of rust to get off.

"But I think once that first ball starts flying around, everyone will be straight back into it and it won't be an issue for us I should hope."

And Duckett thinks the shaded experience of having all been to the same school can only stand his side in good stead when they take to the field at the Cartama Oval.

"We've all experienced the same things at school," he says.

"We've all grown up playing cricket together, certainly for the last few years.

"It's definitely like of one big family, if you can put it that way, and the boys are very close, everyone gets on really well with each other."

The European Cricket League was founded in 2018 to encourage the playing of the sport across Europe.

In 2023, French side Dreux beat England's Hornchurch CC in the final.