Guernsey’s T20 World Cup journey to continue in 2027
- Guernsey Cricket
- 2 days ago
- 2 min read
Guernsey Cricket is delighted to confirm that the Senior Men’s team will progress to the next stage of qualification for the ICC Men’s T20 World Cup 2028 following a review of the European qualification pathway by the International Cricket Council (ICC).
The decision means Guernsey will compete in the ICC Men’s T20 World Cup Europe Qualifier in 2027, keeping alive the island’s ambition of progressing towards the global tournament, which will be staged in Australia and New Zealand in 2028.
Guernsey had initially believed that its World Cup qualifying campaign had come to an end following the ICC Men’s T20 World Cup Europe Sub-Regional Qualifier A in Cyprus in May.
The island produced an outstanding performance during that tournament, winning all four of its group matches against Sweden, Malta, Austria and Slovenia to finish the group stage with a 100% record.
That set up a final against Channel Islands rivals Jersey, with Guernsey knowing at the time that only the tournament winner was due to progress to the next European qualifying stage.
Guernsey pushed Jersey hard in the final, posting 139 for five before reducing their opponents to 61 for five during the run chase. Jersey eventually recovered to secure a four-wicket victory and, under the qualification arrangements then in place, Guernsey appeared to have narrowly missed out on progression.
Following a subsequent review of the European qualification pathway by the ICC, however, Guernsey has now been awarded a place in the next phase of qualification in 2027.
The decision represents a major opportunity for Guernsey’s Senior Men and ensures the island will once again compete against leading European Associate nations as part of the pathway towards the ICC Men’s T20 World Cup 2028.
Guernsey Cricket Chief Operating Officer Richard Headington said:
“This is tremendous news for Guernsey Cricket and particularly for the players and management team who performed so well in Cyprus. There was obviously considerable disappointment when we lost the final to Jersey because, under the qualification structure as we understood it at the time, that result brought our World Cup campaign to an end.
The team had gone through the group stage unbeaten and demonstrated throughout the tournament that Guernsey deserved to be competing at this level, so to now learn that we will have the opportunity to continue that journey in 2027 is hugely exciting.
It is also significant for Guernsey Cricket more widely. International competition at this level gives our players something tangible to aspire towards and provides an important pathway for the talented young cricketers currently progressing through our age-group and development programmes. We are enormously proud to represent Guernsey internationally and we now have another major tournament to work towards over the coming months.”
The qualification represents another important step for Guernsey Cricket as it continues to strengthen its high-performance programme and create a clear pathway from junior and age-group cricket through to senior international representation.
Further details regarding the 2027 ICC Men’s T20 World Cup Europe Qualifier, including the venue, dates, participating nations and competition format, will be announced in due course.
