Division One of the European Championship kicked off today in Jersey, with the hosts giving a thumping to Norway, Guernsey beating Denmark and Italy beating France in a closer than expected game.

France won the toss and chose to bat first in their match against defending champions Italy. France showed the improvement they've made in recent years with a 100 run partnership for the first wicket between Komalan Thavalingam and Waseem Bhatti, which ended when the former was out for 41.

Bhatti went on to score 65 from 53 balls, but the rest of the batting line-up let France down somewhat, with the only other double figure score being Usman Khan's 17. Carl Sandri was the pick of the Italian bowlers with 3-28 as France scored 150-8 from their 20 overs.

Italy started their run chase quickly, scoring at over 10 runs per over at the start of the innings. They lost wickets in the process, but Carl Sandri was able to stay in and complete a fine all round performance by scoring an unbeaten 51 from 36 balls to secure a six wicket win.

In a rematch from the 2013 semi-final, Guernsey took on Denmark at Grainville, with Denmark winning the toss and choosing to field first. That 2013 semi-final saw Guernsey lose by 113 runs after Freddie Klokker scored 129 from 64 balls, but things were quite different this time around.

Guernsey didn't start too well, with Jason Martin being dismissed by Amjad Khan for a duck in the opening over. An innings of 55 from Tom Kimber was the top score for Guernsey, as they scored 131-7 from their 20 overs, Bashir Shah taking 3-22.

Denmark started poorly with both openers out cheaply early on. There was no repeat of Klokker's heroics from that semi-final as he was dismissed for 22. He wasn't even the top scorers as Mads Henriksen scored 35. Guernsey bowled well to bowl the Danes out for 110, winning by 21 runs.

Hosts Jersey got their tournament off to a flier with a thumping win over promoted side Norway. Batting first, they started rapidly with Peter Gough and Ed Farley putting on 103 for the first wicket in 8.5 overs before Gough was out for 63 from just 29 balls. Farley went on to score 55 before he too was out.

The run scoring wasn't about to stop though. Jonty Jenner smashed 81 from only 34 balls, including seven sixes. Jersey racked up 236-5 from their 20 overs, Norway having to use eight bowlers in a vain attempt to stop the carnage.

Norway batted out their overs but got nowhere near their target, being restricted to 128-9 and losing by 108 runs. Ehtsham Ul-Haq top scored for them with 51.