Guernsey begin T20 World Cup bid as tournament hosts

Tom Nightingale enjoyed success against Jersey in their recent T20 series

A year of hard work comes to a head for Guernsey Cricket on Wednesday as hosts of qualifying for the 2026 T20 World Cup.

Success off the field is just as important as on it as nine other teams make their way to the island with dreams of making it all the way to India and Sri Lanka in two years' time.

"Doing well in this tournament is important to us," chief executive Carl Brooks told BBC Radio Guernsey.

"But probably not as important as hosting a really good tournament."

Guernsey Cricket successfully bid last September to host Sub Regional Europe Qualifier Group C - the third of three tournaments at the first stage of qualifying.

Ten teams are split into two groups and play a round-robin. The top team in each group meet in the final, with the winners going through to the next stage of qualifying.

"We’ve been working very, very hard over the last few months to make sure the tournament is ready to go," said Brooks.

"We’ve got nine teams coming over and we’re looking forward to seeing them."

Extensive preparation

Guernsey will play group matches against Bulgaria, Estonia, Finland and Malta.

Ranked 37th in the world, they are the second-highest ranked team in the tournament behind Spain, who they could meet in the final.

"The team has been working hard all season," said Brooks. "We’ve tried to design our domestic season to give the team the chance to sharpen up for this tournament.

"Spain are quite well known for the way they’re playing at the moment. They had a good series against Jersey earlier this summer."

Guernsey also warmed up for this tournament with a series against Jersey, with their island rivals winning the three-match contest 2-1.

Jersey went on to win the second T20 World Cup qualifying tournament in Germany last month.

Preparation off the field has also been extensive - arranging logistics and preparing two grounds - King George V Memorial Playing Fields in Castel and Rovers Cricket Club in Port Soif.

Mark Latter was Brooks' predecessor as chief executive and led the bid for the tournament.

"When I handed over the job to Carl, having got us into it, the least I could do was help out and make sure it will happen," he said.

"We’ve been working to get flights into the island and matching up with flights coming in from Europe.

"All the games are live on ICC TV so we’ve almost had to redesign our grounds to accommodate everyone. But the legacy is then there and we have that infrastructure for the future."