THE Jersey and Guernsey Cricket Association’s have resurrected a B-team inter-insular for the forthcoming season.
The game will replace the under-25s inter-insular, which will now cease to be played after just three years.JCA president Albert Brown said: ‘Guernsey wanted to replace the U25 game with an U23 game but we were not in favour.
We said that a B game was a good way of keeping senior players in the game a bit longer and that’s what has now been agreed.’The U21 game remains so we now see the B game as the next step towards the full Island side.
B games will allow for slightly older players to take part so anyone who may have had a good season could be chosen on the back of what they have done.’In the past three seasons a lot of the U21s have also played in the U25 team so having a B game now will open the door wider to give other players the chance to represent the Island.’We all want cricket in the Channel Islands to progress and lowering the level to U23 we feel is wrong.
To improve cricket we have to have progression so the B game is the way forward.’Guernsey’s Dave Piesing said: ‘U25 is not an official age group and any player good enough to be in that team should be pushing for a full island place or at least be in contention for the B side.’There is no downside to it because it also gives an opportunity to reward older players for an exceptional season and there are players older than 25 who are knocking on the door of the full side.’Both islands are being trusted to take the B game in the spirit that it is intended which is to give players on the periphery of full island selection a chance to impress and also allow up-and-coming cricketers the chance of a competitive senior inter-insular fixture - and not to pack the team with ‘ringers’.The B inter-insular will be played in Guernsey on Sunday 25 July.
Article posted on 4th March, 2004 - 12.00am
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