Cricket: Tough day two for Isle of Man at ECC

Manx side taste defeat against Spain and France

The Isle of Man men's cricket squad navigated their way through a challenging second day at the 2023 European Cricket Championship yesterday (26 September).

Having registered back-to-back wins on the opening day on Monday, the Manx side faced hosts, Spain and France in their latest Group A games of the series at the Cartama Oval.

First up was Spain with the Isle of Man winning the toss and choosing to bat first with Ollie Webster and Nathan Knights going on the offensive in the first few overs.

Webster managed 47 off 19 balls before being dismissed with Knights following five balls later, registering 33 off 13.

Christian Webster came in to stem the Spanish bowling to register 40 from 14 as the Isle of Man finished on 143-4.

Spain went into bat and some powerful performances, including a 68 not-out from their captain, Daniel Doyle Calle, saw Spain take the victory on 147-2.

Into the evening, and the Isle of Man side faced France, again winning the toss and choosing to bat.

This time, however, Ollie Webster, Nathan Knights and Christian Webster all fell relatively quickly before steadying the ship to finish the innings on 91-8.

It proved not enough to stop the French squad who lost just one wicket to take victory at 97-1.

The journey isn't over, however, for the Isle of Man as they face Greece today (27 September) in an eliminator for a chance to reach the first qualifying finals taking place later today.