KEEGAN RUSSELL REFLECTS ON DRAWN 'A' TEAM SERIES IN JERSEY
Scotland Men's 'A' team kicked-off their 2026 schedule at the weekend, with a drawn 2-2 T20 series against a full-strength Jersey.
The series was played across grass and artificial surfaces at Jersey's National Cricket Centre, Grainville - to aid the hosts' preparation for their sub-regional T20 World Cup Qualifier, played on an artifical pitch in Cyprus - with two games on each.
Lloyd Brown (76) and Michael English (57) both made runs in the opening fixture, backed-up by Conor McKerr's 4-35 with the ball - before Ali Orr struck an unbeaten 102 and 93 in consecutive games.
Keegan Russell, Head of Boys Pathway and Head Coach on the tour, said:
“It was a brilliant tour to get the summer started, being able to get out to Jersey and outside on the grass.
“Having a game on grass and on artificial each day was a challenge, and it really tested how quickly you can adapt and shift your individual plans, and also team game plans to match the different surfaces - it was a really good challenge with some really good learnings for everyone.
“These 'A' team series are a mixture of looking to develop players, and also recognising this is a great platform for players to put their hands up for national selection for upcoming tours.
"In terms of individual highlights, Lloyd (Brown) and Mikey (English) made some excellent contributions in the first game, as did Conor (McKerr) with the ball.
"It was great to see Ollie Jones, as a youngster, really step up as he transitions from the Under 19s into the senior space, and he impressed across the whole tour bowling some really tight spells.
"The big highlight was Ali (Orr) scoring 100 not out, and backing that up with a 90 in the following game - and Jamie Dunk (126 runs in three innings) at the top of the order put in some strong performances across the weekend."
The Scots won both games on the opening day of action, by 17 runs and nine wickets respectively, before Jersey bounced back to win twice on Sunday - against a Scotland side hit by injury.
"Unfortunately we had a few injuries early on in the tour which meant that our seam attack was lighter than we would have liked, and having to manage loads and bodies at this time of year is always a challenge.
"The positive from that was that the spinners managed to get some really good overs into them and perform under pressure with a small margin for error bowling on an artificial with a short boundary.
"Looking forward from now, it gives us a line in the sand in terms of where we start the season, where we’re doing things well as a group and where we’re going to look to develop further.
"A team cricket is always a changing landscape in terms of the squads from series to series, but we've had an opportunity to see where we're at, and we're really happy overall with the trip."