Isle of Man Cricket Association took advantage of the air bridge to send a squad of 50 players to Guernsey for senior and junior games last week.

The national team’s programme included a T20 World Cup ranking game and two friendly international T20 matches.

Although they lost all three, promising juniors - Carl Hartmann, Ed Walker and Jacob Butler - made their senior team debuts.

After an eight-wicket defeat in Friday night’s T20 game, notable for an excellent 43 by Adam McAuley, the Manx side came back strongly in Saturday’s opening T20, losing narrowly by eight runs.

McAuley (44), Nathan Knights (38) and George Burrows (31 not out) all made significant contributions with the bat, while Butler and Chris Langford took two wickets apiece.

But a strong Guernsey side again showed their ability with a nine-wicket win in the last of the three games later in the day, although Matt Ansel provided some resistance with a rapid 30 from 24 balls.

The under-17s were unable to play their 50-over match because of a waterlogged pitch. Although they lost both of their T20 games, the first was a close encounter with Carl Hartmann top-scoring with 45 off 33 balls in a narrow seven-run defeat. Josh Clough hit 35 in the second.

The Isle of Man’s u15 side enjoyed a successful tour with three wins out of three.

Dollin Jansen was top scorer in every match with half centuries in each - a five-wicket win in the 40-over match at King George Playing Fields and wins in both of Saturday’s T20 matches at College Fields.

Fraser Clarke’s three for 25 in the opening match was the pick of strong bowling performances, while the second game featured an opening partnership of 119 between Jansen and Luke Ward (33).

The u13 side enjoyed three wins out of four. Ollie Quinn’s three wickets and Cameron Roome’s 50 secured the first game, while Lucy Barnett’s 62 and Will Wiseman with four wickets, including a hat-trick, clinched the second.

The third match of the u13 tour saw IoM bowl Guernsey out for 64 in a reduced 15-over match - Oli Poole-Wilson and Joel Williams each taking two wickets.

Openers, Jared Shepherd (30) and Thomas Ackron (25), passed the Guernsey score in seven overs for a 10 -wicket win.

In the final game of the tour, Isle of Man scored 109 for eight in a reduced 18 overs match. Lucy Barnett top-scored again with 51, but Guernsey came back strongly with a fourth wicket partnership of 75 to win the game with four balls to go.