Few records exist of early cricket in Guernsey. In 1813 a combined team from Guernsey and Alderney were defeated by Jersey by an innings. By the time Elizabeth College began its regular series of fixtures with Victoria College, Jersey, in 1862, the game was certainly well-established, probably in part as a result of fixtures between the local population and the British Garrison.

In 1867 the United All England Eleven visited the island. From the early 1900s , matches were regularly organised against touring sides from England, some of which like the Cryptics, Incogniti and the MCC were of reasonable strength.

Cricket declined during the 1939-45 War when the island was under German occupation but a few local enthusiasts managed to organise some matches and, more importantly, protect the wicket on the King George V ground of Elizabeth College.

A view over College Field in St Peter Port (© CricketEurope)

The Guernsey Island Cricket Association was formed in 1927. In addition to organising the island’s weekend and evening cricket leagues and helping touring sides with their visits, it ran an extensive development programme involving some 1200 school children and arranged the island’s international fixtures.

Since 1957 they played a two-day match against Jersey and in 1990 they hosted and won the European Cricketers Cup. They were granted Affiliate status by ICC in 2005 and the following year made their debut in European Division Two.

They finished fifth in the tournament which was memorable for the wrong reasons. There were significant protests against the involvement of Israel and Greece/Hellas also were found to have played ineligible players leading to points deductions. The highlight was a brilliant 136 by former Hampshire player Lee Savident, who also took four wickets as they beat France. They faced Israel at the RAF base in Lossiemouth and Pierre Moody’s five wickets ensured victory. They were coached by former England Test player Jack Birkenshaw, who had earlier played and coached Leicestershire, as well as being an international umpire.

2006 Guernsey squad: Stuart Le Prevost, Richard Veillard, Matthew Oliver, Mark Jefferies, James Nussbaumer, Gary Rich, Andrew Biggins (captain), Lee Savident, Stephen Queripel, Kristoffer Moherndal, Stuart Bisson, Pierre Moody, Jeremy Frith, Amitava Banerjee, Coach: Jack Birkenshaw, Manager: David Herse, Assistant Manager: David Piesing

Their Under 15 side led by Thomas Kirk won the Division Two youth competition in La Manga.

Thomas Kirk receives the 2006 European Under 15 Division 2 trophy from Roger Knight (© CricketEurope)

Having been granted Associate status by ICC in 2008, they hosted the Division Two tournament in 2008, finishing second to bitter rivals Jersey, losing the decisive contest by one miserly run, as the run out of the tournament’s leading scorer, Lee Savident for 98 proved crucial. Jeremy Frith (11) was joint leading wicket taker, including a five wicket haul against France.

In 2009 they hosted the World Cricket League Division Seven tournament, where they finished runners up to Bahrain, and gained promotion. Jeremy Frith scored hundreds against Suriname and Nigeria, while he also picked up five wickets against Suriname.

The Guernsey squad that won the 2010 European Division 2 tournament (© CricketEurope)

Over the next eight years they would yo-yo between Division Six and Five. In 2009 in Singapore they finished third, Frith again the tournament leading scorer including a century against Malaysia.

They won European Division Two in 2010, with that man Froth getting yet another Player of the Tournament award as he scored hundreds against Norway and Germany, finishing top of the tournament runs and wickets charts. Gary Rich (4-22) was their best bowling display.

In 2011 they won World Cricket League 6 in Malaysia, going through the tournament unbeaten, including a nine-run win over Jersey. Frith was gain to the fore, leading the run charts with three half centuries, while Jamie Nussbaumer took five wickets in the win over Kuwait.

Winners of World Cricket League Division 6 in 2011 (© CricketEurope)

They were also in Division One for the first time in 2011, co-hosting the 12 team competition with Jersey, but the T20 format wasn’t their strongest suit and they finished fourth, well beaten by a Freddie-Klokker inspired Denmark in the semi-finals.

In Singapore in 2012 they just missed out on promotion losing a crucial game versus Malaysia by just four runs, although they did beat Cayman Islands, Argentina and Bahrain. Their stand-out performers were bowlers David Hooper and Jamie Nussbaumer who both had five wicket displays, and finished the competition with 17 and 14 wickets respectively.

They finished fourth in the 2013 Division One T20 tournament in Sussex, with Frith again in the runs and just missing out on another century – making 99 not out against Norway.

2013 Squad: James Nussbaumer, Lucas Barker, Matthew Breban, Isaac Damarell, Max Ellis, Jeremy Frith, David Hooper, Thomas Kimber, Ross Kneller, Jordon Martel, Oliver Newey, GH Smit, Matthew Stokes, Christopher van Vliet, Nikolaos Pothas (Coach)Andrew Perkins (Strength and conditioning coach), Lee Savident (Manager)

2014 saw them relegated from World Cricket League 5 as they failed to win a match in Malaysia. Highlights in a disappointing campaign were Max Ellis and Will Peatfield who both claimed 11 scalps, while Lee Savident hit 98.

They bounced back in 2015 as they finished runners-up to Suriname as World Cricket League 6 was held in Essex. Matt Stokes hit 135 not out against Botswana, while Oliver Newey made an unbeaten 129 in their win over Fiji. Tim Ravenscroft (4-21) had their best bowling display against Fiji.

2015 World Cricket League squad: Ben Ferbrache, David Hooper, Matthew Stokes, Tim Ravenscroft, Max Ellis, Jordon Martel, Jason Martin, Lucas Barker, Oliver Newey, James Wilkes-Green, Oliver Nightingale, Tom Nightingale, William Fazakerley.

They also played in European Division One where they finished fourth, while the following year they were back in World Cricket League 5 action where they finished third behind winners Jersey and runners-up Oman. Matt Sykes made their highest score, 82 against Vanuatu and finished second in the overall batting list, while Max Ellis (10) was their leading wicket taker. Their last World Cricket League 5 event saw them finishing sixth in the tournament held in South Africa. Their only win came against the Cayman Islands thanks to five wickets by David Hooper and 93 from Josh Butler. That saw them going back to regional events, missing out on the new ICC competitions.

The Guernsey squad at the 2018 European Division 1 tournament in The Netherlands (© Martin Gray)

In 2018 they lost three matches against Jersey which served as preparation for both sides ahead of the Division One European tournament which served as a qualifying pathway event for the T20 World Cup qualifiers Europe. They were placed in Group C and despite losing against Norway, they gained one of the qualification slots by beating Israel, Gibraltar, Czech Republic and Sweden.

They played Jersey in three T20 Internationals in May and June 2019, the first of which was the sides’ first official T20I and what a dramatic encounter it turned out to be. The scores were tied at 128 apiece – Jersey clinching the super over thanks to Jonty Jenner, and they subsequently won the other two matches completing a 3-0 clean sweep.

In the T20 World Cup European qualifiers home advantage didn’t help as Guernsey finished fifth, losing to Jersey, Germany, and Italy, but they did beat Norway and Denmark.

In 2020 they managed to play one official T20I, hosting the Isle of Man and they duly completed a comprehensive eight-wicket win with Isaac Damarell and Josh Butler in the runs.

That win saw them achieve 36th place in the official ICC Rankings.

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