World Cup qualification target part of new Jersey Cricket strategy

Jersey Cricket has set out a new three-year strategy, aimed at delivering excellence across the game.

Seven priorities have been set out between 2026 and 2029 to reach the next level, while building on the strong foundations set in recent years.

The priority areas are:

• Facilities and infrastructure - To establish a new indoor home for Jersey Cricket and an all-encompassing national cricket centre at Grainville, while improving year-round access to quality facilities across the island.
• Thriving clubs and community cricket - To strengthen the quality, sustainability, and attractiveness of club cricket through improved coaching, competitions, player retention and progression, alongside the development of officials, volunteers, and club capability.
• Women and girls - To create a clearer pathway from first participation to senior cricket, increase opportunities to play and develop on and off the island, grow female coaching and officiating, and establish a standalone annual women's competition.
• Future Reds and Player pathways - To strengthen the Future Reds programme, relaunch the Junior Super Series, improve transitions from schools and community cricket into clubs and performance programmes, and develop Jersey's coaching capability.
• High-performance cricket - To pursue continued international progress for both men and women through stronger performance systems, player development and clearer pathways from age-group cricket to senior international teams.
• Leadership and governance - To strengthen governance, accountability, financial transparency and engagement, while advancing inclusion and accessibility and developing a Volunteer Strategy.
• Commercial growth and sustainability - To build a more commercially-minded organisation and develop the National Cricket Centre as both the home of Jersey Cricket and a sustainabile community and commercial asset.

Jersey Cricket is aiming for the men and women to achieve a T20 ranking of top 25, for the women to qualify for ICC Europe World Cup T20 Division 1, and for the men to continue to win regional qualifiers with the goal of qualifying for a World Cup.

Director of Jersey Cricket, Neil MacRae, said:

"We're hoping to have the next three months leading into League 2 50-over cricket, we are part of the men's 50-over World Cup pathway.

"We've also got big ambitions to play at T20 World Cup and we'll have a T20 Europe qualifier next summer, having won the sub-regional qualifier in May in Cyprus, so both of those World Cup pathways are live, as is the women's T20 World Cup next summer as well.

"Its always been a huge ambition to have a Jersey team at World Cup. The under-19 boys have a European qualifier next year which is an under-19 World Cup pathway tournament as well.

"All sides are pushing for that dream of achieving World Cup qualification and representing Jersey in a World Cup."

Plans were submitted earlier this year for an indoor cricket training hall at Grainville.

Mr MacRae added:

"Hopefully we're at the final stages of planning and we can get the building up soon. We're excited because it gives us a much bigger capacity for coaching in the winter, it makes it a lot easier when we can have a facility at our home ground, it gives us a facility that everybody can access and enjoy.

"It's also a time where we've got two senior tournaments coming up with the men's team. Challenge League in Kenya in October and then in December, World Cup and elite two pathway tournament, so there's a lot to look forward to for the men's team.

"The women's team will have a European World Cup T20 qualifier next summer, that's the big focus for them, and as always we're putting a huge amount of resource into boys and girls age group pathways to produce the next round of Jersey stars so there's a lot going on this winter."