MacRae targets T20 World Cup after Jersey return

Returning Jersey director of cricket Neil MacRae says his target is to lead Jersey's men to the T20 World Cup.

The Scot has been reappointed to the role as director of cricket and head coach of the men's national team two years after leaving the island side.

Jersey narrowly missed out on making the 2026 T20 World Cup after being pipped to qualification by Italy and the Netherlands, having beaten Scotland in qualifying.

"I think a T20 World Cup has been a realistic goal for a number of years now and the team played some outstanding cricket in July in the Netherlands," MacRae told BBC Radio Jersey.

"They beat Scotland and showed that they can compete against anybody.

"Unfortunately that tournament didn't end up going to the World Cup, but certainly that's a goal going forward and a realistic goal at that."

MacRae succeeds Paul Hutchison at the helm of the men's side, as well as overseeing the island's women's programme and youth systems.

Jersey are currently top of their 50 over ICC Challenge League pool with one round of matches to go, knowing a top two finish will take them through to the next round of qualifying for the 2027 Cricket World Cup.

MacRae says Jersey's squad, led by England Lions and Glamorgan batter Asa Tribe, has huge potential to continue to grow.

"Those players have all come through the Jersey youth systems from a young age and have already done brilliantly," he added.

"Asa's obviously doing exceptionally well with England Lions this winter, but throughout the team there are proven players who have still got the potential to improve a lot.

"I think as the team continues to grow and develop over the next two to three years there's almost unlimited potential in them.

"They're at a good age now where a lot of the players have had huge amounts of tournament experience at an international level, but are still at an age where you'd expect their best years to come, so it's a really exciting time."