Jersey beats Scotland 'A' in final warm-up matches
· Yahoo Sports
Jersey director of cricket Neil MacRae says his side's two wins over Scotland 'A' on Sunday have been great preparation for their T20 World Cup qualifiers.
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The islanders head to Cyprus next month for the first round of European qualifying for the 2028 T20 World Cup.
The matches were the last of six preparation fixtures for Jersey - they played two historic T20 fixtures at Lord's against the MCC on Thursday and were beaten twice by the Scots on Saturday in two T20 matches.
In their opening game at Grainville, Zak Tribe hit an impressive 71 not out, including two sixes and two fours in his final four balls, to guide the islanders to a dramatic five-wicket win.
Tribe, the brother of Glamorgan and Jersey star Asa, took 3-31 as Scotland ended on 192-6 before his 42-ball knock helped Jersey reach 196-5 in reply in the final over as he and Julius Sumerauer (46) put on a crucial 75-run fifth-wicket stand.
Jersey had their best win of the weekend in their final game as they crushed the Scots by 134 runs.
Harrison Carlyon's 46-ball knock of 96, which included seven sixes, laid the foundation for the win as he and fellow opener Charlie Brennan (83) had a 183-run opening stand.
Jonty Jenner hit 46 not out and Tribe scored 40 as Jersey made 261-3 off their 20 overs.
In reply, Carlyon took 4-21 as Jersey bowled out the Scots for just 127 in 15.3 overs.
Harrison Carlyon impressed with bat and ball against Scotland 'A' [ICC]"Two games of cricket at Lord's on Thursday and really competitive fixtures all weekend against Scotland 'A' have been the perfect start to the season," MacRae told BBC Radio Jersey.
"We're tailoring everything towards Cyprus in May, and we've faced stiff opposition already - the MCC had a good side on Thursday at Lord's.
"Scotland 'A' have taken a strong side down; the two games yesterday were fought closely. Today we've won the first one in a brilliant finish with Zak Tribe at the crease hitting two sixes in the final over.
"He's bowled well this weekend, and with the bat yesterday and today he's started to show his striking potential, and that partnership with Julius Sumerauer this morning was absolutely outstanding.
"We've also seen some dynamic starts from Harrison Carlyon, so really good signs."
Jersey have been drawn in a group with hosts Cyprus, France, Croatia and Switzerland in the T20 World Cup Europe Sub-regional Qualifier A next month.
Should they top their pool, they will play the winners of the other five-team group, which includes Channel Island rivals Guernsey, for a place in the final round of European qualifying next year.
Jersey came third at that stage last summer, missing out on a place at this year's T20 World Cup in India and Sri Lanka on net run rate as hosts the Netherlands and Italy qualified.
"The squad are really ambitious to go to the World Cup," added MacRae, who has returned to lead the island side this year.
"First of all, we need to deal with this Cyprus tournament; it's a tough format, there are some good teams, and it's on a mat in Cyprus, so it's a venue we haven't been to before.
"We're really excited about the potential of this T20 side, but first of all we just need to focus on the Cyprus tournament and play our best cricket."