The first official scorecard of a match in Jersey was at Victoria College in 1861, when they played the first of what is an annual fixture against their counterparts in Guernsey, Elizabeth College.

In 1870 the first official cricket club, Jersey United was formed, and in 1906 officers from the garrison formed the Jersey Leopards club. The two clubs amalgamated in 1911 forming the Jersey Island CC. In the 1920s the club employed a professional, Ernest Remnant of Hampshire, who was instrumental in the Island beating a strong MCC side by eight runs on their first visit in 1924.

Until the 1960s all home matches were played at Victoria College which had the only grass wicket on the island. Since then other clubs and grounds with grass wickets have been formed at FB (Florence Boot) Fields, Grainville, Les Quennevais, and Farmers Field.

The Jersey squad at the World T20 Qualifier in 2015

There are alternative theories as to exactly when international matches against Guernsey started - initially it was thought 1957, but recent archive finds suggest it could have been as early as 1950 or 51. Jersey has had the upper hand against their neighbours in these keenly contested rivalries.

They were elected an Affiliate Member of the ICC in 2005, gaining Associate status two years later.

Their first appearance in ICC European competition came in 2006 when they finished runners-up to Norway in Division Two in Glasgow.

2006 Jersey Squad: Matthew Hague (captain), Peter Blackburn, James Brewster, Tony Carlyon, Ian Crocker, Nigel Crocker, Andrew Dewhurst, Jonathan Gough, Peter Gough, Christopher Jones, Robert Minty, Thomas Minty, David Morfee, Mark Saralis, Coach: Ryan Driver, Manager: David Gorman.

They were successful hosts of the WCL Division Five tournament in 2008, where they gained promotion as they finished runners-up to new kids on the block Afghanistan. Peter Gough scored four half centuries to finish second in the run charts, while Andy Dewhurst took six wickets against the Bahamas, and Matty Hague five in the win against USA to clinch promotion. Their joint hosting of the website with CricketEurope would also win them a Global Marketing Award from ICC.

Peter Gough - Jersey's greatest player

Their elevation to WCL4 was short-lived as they struggled in the heat of Tanzania and won just one match, against Fiji to be relegated back.

They won European Division Two in 2008, with Ryan Driver making 113 as they beat Guernsey by one run in a game to remember, which saw them promoted to Division One in 2010, where they again emerged winners, beating Denmark, Italy plus the A sides of Ireland, Scotland and The Netherlands, with Ryan Driver winning the MVP award.

The ground at Farmer's Field

There wasn’t such good fortunes for them in WCL5 as they suffered another relegation, managing to beat only Fiji in Nepal. They managed to arrest the slide with a fourth place finish in 2011 in WCL6 held in Malaysia – Ben Stevens (15) and Tony Hawkins-Kay (13) the tournament’s two leading wicket takers. They missed out on a place in the T20 WCQ losing a crucial semi-final to Italy by 14 runs when they co-hosted European Division One.

In 2013 they began their climb back up the WCL ladder as they won Division Six beating Nigeria, Kuwait, Vanuatu, Argentina and Bahrain. Peter Gough made a century against Bahrain and was the leading run scorer, while Ben Stevens took five wickets versus Argentina, and his 17 wickets saw him in second place in the bowling charts. There was heartbreak though as they again just missed out to Italy in the semi-finals of the European Division One competition in Sussex, losing by six runs chasing a modest target to be denied a place at the T20 World Cup Quaifiers.

2014 saw them yo-yo again in the WCL, as they won Division Five in Malaysia – the win overshadowed by the death of former President Keith Dennis who was attending the event. Nat Watkins hit 116 in the final against Malaysia, while Ben Stevens scored five half centuries and took 13 wickets to be named Player of the Tournament. However in Singapore later in the year they were relegated again.

They enjoyed better fortunes in 2015 as they won European Division One which saw them qualify for the T20 World Cup Qualifiers in Ireland/Scotland. They acquitted themselves well beating Hong Kong and Nepal on the way to an 11th place finish.

The winning run continued into 2016 as they won WCL5 on home soil, beating Oman in the final. Highlights were Ben Stevens hitting a century against Tanzania, and Ben Kynman taking 6 for 18 against Nigeria on his way to being the leading wicket taker in the competition with 15. Their elevation saw them heading to Los Angeles where despite two wins they found themselves relegated and back in the familiar territory of WCL5.

In 2017 they took part in an expanded eight team tournament and won the final convincingly against Vanuatu with Ben Stevens making 86 and claiming three wickets.

With the ICC rejigging the tournament structure they finished fourth in the 2018 WCL Division Four which was enough to ensure they would be in the new ICC World Challenge League B.

Also in 2018 they took part in the 18-team European Division One tournament in The Netherlands in which they and Italy qualified from their group for the T20 World Cup Qualifiers (Europe) in 2019 in Guernsey. They beat Guernsey by 8 wickets with Corey Bisson making 54 and Tony Hawkins-Kay taking four wickets. Jonty Jenner’s 71 and four wickets for skipper Chuggy Perchard helped them beat Italy, while there were also wins over Norway, and Denmark before losing to Germany. Still it was enough to make the T20 WCQ in the UAE.

Peter Gough and Corey Bisson after a win over Hong Kong

They lost three matches in Doha against Qatar as a warm-up, and finished 10th in the tournament proper with three excellent wins against the higher ranked UAE, Oman and Nigeria.

They started the World Challenge League in Oman losing to Uganda and Hong Kong, before Nick Greenwood hit a century and Jonty Jenner 88 as they added 146 to beat Italy by 122 runs. They then lost to Kenya by seven wickets before ending 2019 on a high as they beat Bermuda by six wickets – four wickets for Dan Birrell and Elliot Miles as they currently occupy fourth place in the table.

To date they have played a total of 18 T20I’s winning 10, losing 7 and one tie – against Guernsey. In the latest official ICC Rankings they occupy 25th place.

This article was first written by Roy Morgan in 2006 and has been updated by CricketEurope.