The Inter-insular match is a cricket match played annually between the representative teams of Channel Islands Jersey and Guernsey. It has been played since 1950 and often attracts crowds above 1,000.
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History
Guernsey and Jersey had played inter insular games between clubs in the 1930s. After the war, there had been two annual games which appeared to be made up of players from different clubs to make an island team. In 1949 the press reported that GICC (Guernsey Island Cricket Club) would meet JICC (Jersey Island Cricket Club). It would appear that the games were played all day, irrespective that the second team had passed the score of the first. In 1950 GICC scoring 129, followed by JICC achieving 196 for 4.
In 1951 the media began calling the teams Guernsey and Jersey rather than GICC and JICC. The Elizabeth College magazine for 1951 reported V G Collenette as the captain of the first Guernsey v Jersey match in 1950. The 1952 match did not take place as Jersey did not turn up in Guernsey, having "forgotten to select a team", according to the Guernsey Press reporter. The same problem occurred in 1956. Caps for the inter island match were first awarded by GCA (Guernsey Cricket Association) in 1960, but backdated to 1957. GCA claimed the first match was in 1957.
Jersey claimed an outright win in 1960, followed by three successive wins for Guernsey. Several draws took place in the 1960s and 70s, leading to the match being switched to a limited overs format. Between 1992 and 2001 Jersey won ten matches in a row.
Related events
In addition to the main match, games have also been played at various age-groups: Over-40s, Under-25s, Under-23s, Under-21s, and Under-19s. The first Twenty20 match was played in September 2007, Guernsey winning by five wickets, and this is set to become an annual event.