In brief: Jersey all-rounder Zak Tribe has declared the island’s cricket side is performing at its highest ever level after winning Cricket World Cup Challenge League A. Jersey will travel to Nepal next month for an eight-team qualifier play-off, with the top four progressing to the final round of qualifying for the 2027 Cricket World Cup.
Champions of Challenge League A
Jersey cricket has something to shout about. The island side topped their group in Cricket World Cup Challenge League A last week, finishing five points clear of second-placed Kuwait. It is the second successive time Jersey have progressed to the Cricket World Cup Qualifier play-off, a feat that Zak Tribe believes speaks volumes about where the squad currently stands.
“I think we’re playing at a higher level than we’ve really ever played,” Tribe told BBC Radio Jersey. “The side is obviously another three years older than they were back in 2023, so they are improving.”
Jersey reached this same play-off stage in Namibia in 2023 but could not progress beyond it. Getting there in back-to-back years, Tribe argues, is proof that the island genuinely belongs at this level, not merely visiting it.
Tribe’s Tournament to Remember
Zak Tribe, 25, was named best batter at the final round of Challenge League A matches, and it is easy to see why. He struck his highest-ever international score of 150 in Jersey’s win over Papua New Guinea, followed by 65 against hosts Kenya and 53 against Qatar. He also chipped in with nine wickets across the five matches. Team-mate Josh Lawrenson was named best player of the tournament overall.
Adding a pleasing family dimension to proceedings, Zak’s younger brother Asa, a Glamorgan and England Lions batter who averages more than 40 in first-class cricket and almost 58 in List A cricket, featured in Jersey’s first three matches. The brothers put on a 133-run partnership in the win over Kenya, and Zak was candid about the benefit of having his sibling in the dressing room.
“He views the game in a slightly different way and a slightly more advanced way, which is quite nice, and you can pick his brains out there batting in the middle,” Zak told the BBC. “You bounce ideas off each other and learn to build an innings in a way which is actually beneficial for the team.”
Nepal Awaits, and the Challenge is Real
Jersey will travel to Nepal in December for an eight-team tournament played at one-day international status. The top four sides will progress to the final round of qualifying for the 2027 Cricket World Cup. Alongside Challenge League A rivals Kuwait and hosts Nepal, Jersey will face Italy, Canada, Uganda, Namibia and the United Arab Emirates.
Tribe is optimistic but clear-eyed about the scale of the task. Jersey hosted the UAE and Nepal in preparation matches in July and were defeated in all four games. The four sides joining from the other side of the bracket, Namibia, Nepal, Canada and UAE, have been playing ODI cricket year-round for several years.
“They are going to be very strong sides and we know that we’re going to have to play well when we come up against them,” Tribe acknowledged. “But with the experience we’ve had of playing Nepal and UAE earlier on in the year, we’re able to take things from those games to learn how we can better play.”
His target is measured: “I think we can do well, we can definitely turn over a few of those sides and ultimately we’ll be trying to finish in that top half of the table.”
Source: BBC News
