Jersey beat Guernsey in tense inter-insular
- Published
Jersey have retained their inter-island one-day title after beating Guernsey by two wickets in a tense encounter at Grainville.
After travel and rain delays reduced the game to 42 overs a side, Guernsey made 204-7 as Matt Stokes scored 85 and Ollie Nightingale 49, with the pair putting on 103 for the fifth wicket.
They both fell victim to Jersey captain Charles Perchard, who returned figures of 4-45 off nine overs.
In reply, Jersey hit 207-8 with just a ball to spare as Harrison Carlyon top-scored with 73.
He and Stan Norman (58) shared a first-wicket partnership of 115 before Luke Bichard bowled Norman at the end of the 25th over.
Carlyon's 100-ball knock ended when he was caught off Dane Mullen's bowling after 32 overs to leave Jersey on 143-3.
The hosts - who were without players such as Asa Tribe, Nick Greenwood and Jonty Jenner - made heavy work of reaching their target as they lost five wickets for 29 runs as they slumped from 171-3 to 200-8 in the final over.
But Charlie Brennan and Scott Simpson guided Jersey home as Simpson hit a four with the penultimate ball to secure an eighth successive win in the fixture as Mullen ended with figures of 3-50.
The victory means Jersey keep up their excellent record in the fixture in recent years.
Since 2012 Guernsey have only won the match once - in 2015 - although the fixture was not held in 2020 or 2021 due to the Covid-19 pandemic.
The game came after both sides ensured qualification for next year’s final round of qualifying for the 2026 T20 World Cup earlier this summer.