As the senior men’s Jersey Cricket side jet off to Spain for the T20 Europe Finals Dan Andrade caught up with Dan Birrell about the trip, and also about how his experience playing for Preston Nomads was.
Check out the full interview below!
Firstly, how easy a decision was it for you to head to England to play cricket for Preston Nomads once you knew the opportunity was there to do so?
It is obviously a bit of a scary jump leaving home, especially away from my lovely mum and my best mates but if there is an opportunity to go away and play at a very good standard and improve I will never turn that down.
How long did it take you to settle in?
To be completely honest with you it didn’t take me long. I’m quite a sociable person and everyone at the club made me feel very much at home, just took me a couple of weeks to find my feet.
Could you notice the quality difference and how much did you cherish that and improve you as a player?
There are some very good players on the island and I will never take that for granted, however at club level you are coming across ex-professionals and county players every single week. It almost makes the desire to take wickets even greater as there are some good players to add to the CV, and those better players will punish you if you’re not firing on all cylinders every week.
What was the experience like as a whole? How did you perform?
It is by far one of the best decisions I have made. I have met many friends that I got to share winning a league title with and that’s something I’ll cherish forever. I ended up on 18 wickets for the season with some good names on there too and I hope that this gave the team some help in winning so many games this season.
Is it something you’d be keen to do again/is there anything agreed that you will be out there again next summer?
I will be there next summer, it would be rude not to try and defend the league title with a great set of lads in what will be a big year for the club!
Now you’re back in Jersey and are set for the T20 Europe Finals – how’s prep gone for that?
Prep has been different to years in the past with the ongoing restrictions however it has been good. We have played various teams in the UK such as Preston Nomads, Richmond, Crouch End and Kent u19 which were all good contests. We have also had the use of the Strive Academy which has been a big help for the boys, as well as training throughout the week.
For those who don’t know, tell us a bit more of what’s in store for you guys over the next few weeks?
We will be playing in the European T20 Qualifiers which is a stepping stone to the World Cup. We will be playing Germany, Italy and Denmark at Desert Springs in Spain in hope to make the global qualifiers to get ourselves to a World Cup.
How good is it to have the opportunity to play in different countries for Jersey?
The opportunities available to travel the world playing cricket is something me and the lads do not take for granted. We know we are all in a very lucky position and that’s why everyone trains and plays their heart out.
How much are you looking forward to playing against the countries you’re set to play against as well!
The teams we are playing have a lot of good players as well as a few new signings that should make the tournament more exciting and competitive and the boys are right up for the challenge.
Finally, what are the teams goals for the trip?
The boys really want to qualify for a World Cup, this is just a stepping stone and we are looking to finish top and get ourselves to another global qualifier and cause a big upset which we are more than prepared to do.
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