GuernseySport Island cricket ...
ALAN Hamilton looks after two cricket grounds on the island and was project manager of the new, state of the art Indoor cricket facility.
Northampton, he moved to Guernsey four years ago, bringing with him his desire to improve the provision of cricket on the island. Last year he was voted ICC Cricket Groundsman of the Year for his services to cricket on the island. Alan’s opportunity to
Originally from
On you marks ...
Funding for sport T
come to the island was through Jason Shambrook, Guernsey’s Cricket Development Officer against whom he used to play in Northampton. They had been on cricket courses together and, when the Guernsey Cricket Association started talking about bringing someone over in a groundsman role, Jason recommended Alan.
His assistant is the island’s current international cricket captain, Stuart Le Prevost who, last year, oversaw two highly successful World Cricket League divisional campaigns, including wins over the likes of Malaysia, Norway, Nigeria and Japan. Alan has been kept busy
(left) with Stuart Le Provost
overseeing the building of a brand new square at Port Soif, home of Rovers Football club. The square came into play this summer. The main cricket facility on the island is at the King George V playing field.
featured in issue 28, but here’s what he has been up to recently: “After an extremely wet winter,
we find ourselves watering like mad after having around seven weeks with no significant rain here in ‘sunny’ Guernsey! How quickly things change!
rolling for different amounts of time, and leaving more grass on wickets in the build up to games, has produced drier, harder wickets which, in turn, have produced more runs and higher scoring games. At Port Soif recently, we were lucky enough to host the Sussex 2nd XI for two fixtures which was, hopefully, a forerunner to hosting a First Class game in the not too distant future. All went really well, and the tourists were very impressed with the facilities, both on the pitch and off it. Grass practice wickets, fielding nets and a general training area are all par for the course in a first class match, and the Sussex coaches and players reported that all were very much to their liking. Watch this space!
A comprehensive article on Alan
With the ICC European Division 2 Tournament looming (July 13th-
Alan Hamilton The independent, Guernsey Sports Commission,
provides development officers in a number of key sports.
The island, along with Jersey, operates a Channel Island lottery, but the amounts raised are relatively modest. The leisure centre does receive some funding from this source, but the bulk of the proceeds goes to Guernsey charities.
The States attracts significant help from the local business community, and many support sport through sponsorship.
Online gambling company, Sportingbet, moved its
European operation to the island three years ago. Employing 100 staff at its headquarters in St Peter Port, the company has become heavily involved with local sport.
In its first year on the island, the company secured a
three year sponsorship deal with the Watson family to help their daughter and local rising tennis star,
Saying that, temperatures have not been as high as we had hoped (as I’m sure is the same on the mainland), so seed germination hasn’t been as good as it could have been - especially when we have to get from football and rugby pitches to cricket outfields in about two weeks! On the cricket wicket front, both King George V and Port Soif have produced an encouraging amount of runs for early season games. Having taken some advice from Andy Mackay (Sussex CCC Head Groundsman), we have tweaked our rolling programme and pitch preparation slightly, and it seems to be doing the world of good. It is amazing to think that such small adjustments to our daily routines can have such a big effect on the way our pitches play. Simply
19th), we have to be more aware of our wicket usage on the squares. On our nine wicket square at KGV, we will use five wickets in the space of two weeks during the build up to, and during the tournament. It is a similar situation at Port Soif, where we have eleven wickets. This event is the highlight of our
Island football...
cricket season and, having successfully hosted a European tournament and, more recently, a World Cricket League tournament, we are looking to maintain the high standards we have set for ourselves. Hopefully, our national side can do us proud on home soil and become victorious on July 19th.”
THERE are currently ten clubs on the island, all very active and very much involved with the community in running teams (senior, juniors, girls and womens) playing at various levels. All have reasonable standard stadium and social facilities, and generate their own funds to maintain their operations. During my visit, I was able to see a number of these
grounds which, on first impression, looked in good condition. However, when it came to a closer inspection of the playing surfaces, they all lacked the polish I was expecting. Presentation, grass cover and levels were poor. Admittedly, it was coming to the end of a long playing season, after a poor winter and a very heavy fixture list. Talking to some of the clubs, it was apparent that the lack of resources was a contributory factor. Equipment is
hanks to the States of Guernsey, the island is well provided for in terms of facilities, despite the fact that there is no financial support at all from the UK government.
The Channel Islands are independent of the UK in the same way Gibraltar is, with its own government and laws. The link between Guernsey and the UK is through the Crown. It means that all the revenues required to finance the island’s services, such as health, education and sport, have to be self generated. Sources of funding available for sport in the UK, such as the National Lottery, are not available to Channel Island sports. In fact, it is not possible to buy a National Lottery ticket on any of the islands. The Culture and Leisure Department has a rather modest £3.6 million annual budget, of which just £967,000 is allocated to the Leisure Services section. The department also receives £250,000 a year for capital items, but this has to be shared between various sections and is not just for sports facilities and services. Nonetheless, the facilities are extensive and of a high standard.
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