Job done, that is very much the sentiment from within the Guernsey camp this week. A great week of cricket and weather but most importantly for the players, management and the GCB, we are promoted.

Since our debut in 2006 it is fair to say we have not really nailed tournament cricket. To date we have put in some great performances against Namibia, Bermuda and Kenya but fallen at crucial hurdles in competition to the likes of Germany, Greece and Jersey.

Last year we had all but won ICC Europe Div 2 when the mother of batting collapses saw us falter at the final hurdle against Jersey. That result it was said was the determining factor between us being placed in WCL Div 7 compared to Div 6. Therefore as players we definitely felt we owed ourselves and the GCB a proper performance in WCL 7.

Many commentators suggested that we were under strength and it was therefore great to see the young and new players put in some strong performances amongst the more established players. Ben Ferbrache stepped up to the plate scoring a crucial 20 against Gibraltar in our first game and followed it up with a well constructed 51 against Bahrain in the final. Kris Moherndl, Ross Kneller, Justin Meades and Tom Kimber all played important roles within the squad contributing significantly on and off the field.

One of the highlights of the tournament for me will definitely be the spirit in which the tournament was played and the rapport that was struck up between players and officials. The umpires I thought were brilliant allowing the game to be played at full throttle knowing a light hearted moment was never far away and the players spoke openly to each at games and in the hotel. Its only when you speak to some of the players from other countries that it hits home just how lucky we are over here with the facilities we have.

Whilst with the facilities topic, rain was not something that anyone wanted however it was fantastic to see all of the countries using the new indoor centre when the weather did not allow for cricket. I am sure that having the indoor centre will add to our Island’s reputation and ability to host high quality tournaments. Pitches were of a high quality and there were some huge scores racked up and thankfully only a couple of low scores. 220 seemed to be an average first innings score.

And so Singapore, all eyes turn to Asia as in August we make our first venture in to cricket outside of Europe. Personally I am very excited although the scale of the challenge awaiting us is by no means small. Both players and management fully understand that preparation will be vital in enabling us to cope with conditions out there. I am sure that our skill levels will take care of themselves if we can keep our bodies and minds in the right place and we have every right to be positive looking forward.

Now its back to the day job and thinking about other people’s cricket rather than my own. Our junior training sessions for European Champs at U15, 17’s and 19’s start on 1st June and we move in to the season of inter-insulars (local annual game vs Jersey) which we play at all age groups. I am very much now looking forward to Guernsey’s youth writing the headlines and continuing their development as we begin cementing ourselves as a force in international cricket.