Guernsey has a deep tradition in sport and with a population of only 65,000, can put claim to a number of high-achieving sports personalities – tennis player Heather Watson, Captain of Manchester United Ladies Maya Le Tissier and world bowls champion, Alison Merrien, to name a few.
Guernsey Cricket is another recent success story and with the local team currently ranked at 37 in the world, the island is certainly punching above its weight. Guernsey became an associate member of the International Cricket Council in 2008 under the guidance of Guernsey Cricket. Up until that point, local cricket had been run by the Guernsey Cricket Association which was formed in 1927 and was manned by an enthusiastic group of volunteers. Now Guernsey Cricket employs four full-time staff in coaching, grounds management and general administration roles (supported by a team of volunteers) and it’s based at the recently renovated premises at KGV in the Castel parish.
Captain Ollie Nightingale has been playing for the island on and off for 11 years and has been wielding a bat since the age of seven. Ollie took over the captaincy at the beginning of the last season. Ollie, together with Director of Cricket Jeremy Frith and coach Craig Hogan, have been working as a unit trying to develop the talented young island squad to maximise their potential as well as establishing a longer-term strategy to secure the future of the sport locally.
“Craig was tasked with looking at everything we were doing, and he fed back that there were plenty of talented local youngsters out there so it’s all about getting them interested in cricket. Our age group coaches have told us that participation has definitely grown and that’s through word of mouth, advertising and general awareness through social media.
“The number of girls taking part this year has increased massively and there is a big push on inclusion. We are trying to get a pathway and age group structure for the girls that mirrors what’s there for the boys, which is really positive.”
Last summer the focus for the team was to qualify for the world cup through the European divisional qualifiers. Guernsey hosted one of the three qualifiers and beat Denmark in what was undoubtedly the team’s greatest achievement to date. The other two were won by Jersey and Italy. The three will now go on to the final European qualifier, joining Scotland and The Netherlands in a group of five, from which two teams will go through to the world cup in 2026 taking place in Sri Lanka.
“The Denmark match was definitely the highlight of the year for us,” said Ollie. “It was the most important and biggest game we’ve played. There were about 1,500 people watching the match. It was a lovely sunny day; there were families and lots of young children asking for autographs afterwards. It finally felt that as a team we had totally engaged with the public. It was just the perfect day for Guernsey cricket.”
As with any local group, team or individual trying to compete at national or international level, funding to attend away fixtures and competitions is always the biggest challenge. Guernsey Cricket team members were individually tasked with seeking personal sponsorship as a contribution towards the ever-escalating costs. This funding supplements the team’s headline sponsorship from Darwin Escapes and funding from the ICC itself and the approach seems to have been successful.
Swoffers is proud to sponsor batsman Josh Butler (who opened the batting against Denmark scoring an impressive 43 runs). Guernsey’s very own ‘Butler and Stokes’ partnership at the wicket made a 65-run stand that day that built the foundation of the team’s victory.
Josh said: “I am extremely grateful to Swoffers. It’s particularly nice to have a local company as my sponsor and this additional funding is a huge help towards our off-island trips.”
For Ollie, the biggest challenges of his role as captain are off the field.
“I am lucky in that I have had some captaincy experience at club level. The on-field role is more instinctive, and I feel I can do that pretty well. Off the field the more challenging aspects are things like taking decisions on who is going to play; telling others they’re not playing; and generally just keeping people happy and motivated.”
Ollie has always been passionate about Guernsey sport and representing the island. He was brought up in a sporty family and went to a school with a strong sport focus. His sporting prowess is not limited to the cricket pitch as her represented the island in swimming at the Island and Commonwealth Games.
2025’s European qualifier is an enormous step up for the squad. Scotland and The Netherlands rank 12 and 13 respectively, Jersey ranks 27 and Italy 30. But the team is looking forward to the challenge and will give it everything they’ve got.
