It'll be a showdown of old rivals Jersey and Guernsey on Saturday in the final of this European sub-regional qualifier for the next men's T20 World Cup aftet both finished their round-robin stage campaigns unbeaten.
Guernsey secured their place on top of group B this morning when they took on Slovenia. Josh Butler took 3-16 as the Slovenians were bowled out for 99. Guernsey didn't have a completely smooth ride as they chased down their target, losing six wickets, but completed the four wicket win with 5.5 overs to spare.
The other morning match was between Switzerland and hosts Cyprus. The Swiss batted first and scored 155-9 from their 20 overs, then bowled out the home side for 130 to win by 25 runs. Sheraz Sarwari (3-29) and Musa Khan Ahmadzai (3-7) wew the leading wicket takers.
Jersey secured their place in the final in the afternoon with a thumping win over Croatia. Batting first, they scored 280-3 from their 20 overs, the ninth highest team total in men's T20Is. Harrison Carlyon top scored with 83, with contributions also coming from Patrick Gouge (58), Nick Greenwood (66) and Jonty Jenner (66 not out). For Croatia, Connor Carroll followed yesterday's 150 with 74 from 31 balls, but the next highest score was 23 and they were bowled out for 171, losing by 109 runs.
Nick Greenwood batting during the match (ICC)
The other match in the afternoon was a high scoring and closely fought match between Sweden and Malta. Sweden batted first and recovered from losing both openers cheaply to post 181-8 from their 20 overs. Malta then took until the last ball of the 19th over to chase down their target, winning by six wickets with Priyan Pushparajan top scoring with 52.
The final takes place on Saturday, but there is still one more round of group stage matches to come on Friday. But those teams are just playing for scraps now - the real prize will be in that all Channel Islands final.





