Disappointing start for Jersey's cricketers in Rome

Jersey had been unbeaten since July before the start of the tournament

Jersey face an uphill struggle to reach the next round of qualifying for the T20 World Cup after losing two of their opening three matches in Italy.

The islanders, who are playing in the Europe Division Two Qualifier 2025, are third in their group and must reach the top two in the six-team group with two games to go.

Jersey lost to the hosts by seven wickets in their opening game before being beaten by seven runs by Germany in their second match.

They recovered to defeat Spain by seven wickets in their third game and are third in the group, two points off Germany and four behind Italy.

Analise Merritt is Jersey's top batter, with 123 runs in three innings

Poor batting hindered the islanders in their defeats against the two strongest opponents Jersey will face in Rome.

Against the hosts, they got off to a good start as 77 from Analise Merritt and 35 from Grace Wetherall saw the pair put on a 74-run second-wicket stand.

But the tournament's highest-ranked side took control as Jersey went from 92-2 after Wetherall was run out in the 10th over to 117-6 four overs later.

No other Jersey batter made double figures as bowler Kumudu Peddrick had figures of 3-28 as Jersey made 162-9 in 20 overs.

In reply, Italy reached their target with an over to spare, with Dilaisha Nanayakkara's 86 off 54 balls providing the foundation as they hit 163-3 in reply.

It was another disappointing batting performance on Monday after Jersey had restricted Germany to 106-6 in what was a crucial second game against a side below them in the ICC rankings.

Wetherall was excellent with the ball, taking 4-17 as just three Germans made double figures.

But in reply, opener Merritt's 25 from 21 balls was Jersey's top score - Florence Tanguy hit 19 and Wetherall 11 as Jersey were restricted to 99-8 from their 20 overs.

There was better news later on Monday, with victory over Spain - Jersey restricted their opponents to 94-5 with four different bowlers taking wickets.

Jersey needed just 11 overs to reach their target as opener Aimee Aikenhead scored 32 not out off 34 balls, while Merritt got 21 and Wetherall 26 as they ended on 95-3.

The islanders will face Isle of Man on Wednesday and winless Sweden on Thursday.

They must win their remaining games and hope Italy beat Germany to have a realistic chance of getting second place in the group and a spot in the top tier of European qualifying in August.