‘You wouldn’t want to call a winner’: Guernsey Cricket EL1 preview

Guernsey will spearhead the return of club cricket to the British Isles this week when the island’s premier T20 competition gets underway.

Odey Wealth Evening League 1 now features six sides, up from four in 2019, with defending champions Cobo set to the feature in the opener against newly-promoted Optimists on Tuesday evening.

Irregulars and Independents, alongside Wanderers/Rovers, make up the other new names for the competition, which will be played across 30 games at the KGV in an eight-week window.

“From when we did our first game on 30 May, we had a lot of interest there with 100k views on YouTube, but the key thing for us now is getting the domestic game going and the interest on-island’, said Guernsey Cricket CEO Mark Latter.

“We’re lucky that we’ve got a lot of the players available that we might not have had because they can’t get off the island, so that strengthens the leagues and creates more interest.”

“Increasing to six sides, with the players that are available, it’s going to be a really good competition and at the moment, who’s going to call a winner? I wouldn’t”, he said.

The return of competitive club cricket in Guernsey follows the islands move into the penultimate phase of its exit from lockdown, when social distancing guidelines were removed entirely.

While some might have feared the local cricket season would be lost entirely, the summer will now see three Evening League divisions contested in full, alongside two weekend competitions.

EL1 kicks off with two rounds of fixtures in the first week, culminating in a double header on Saturday which will both be streamed live online.

View from the captains:

• Cobo - Josh Butler

• Optimists - Alex Robin

• Griffins - Tom Kirk

• Wanderers/Rovers - Lucas Barker

• Independents - Nathan Le Tissier

• Irregulars - Matt Southwell

Click here for the full Guernsey Evening League fixtures.