Spirit of the Pacific key to Tournament success

February 4, 2001

Day two of the Pacifica Cricket Championships 2001 saw Fiji and New Zealand Maori confirm their favoritism to contest the competition final on Thursday, but also showed the value of the tournament for the countries with limited international experience. Again the spirit of the Pacific nations was to the fore, with players applauding their oppositions efforts with bat and ball, and enthusiastically celebrating their own teams successes. This feeling of competition and camaraderie has been in evidence since the official opening ceremony, and will ensure the future success of the Pacifica tournament.

POOL A

Vanuatu vs New Caledonia

Both teams entered this match with a first round loss behind them, but Vanuatu were strong favorites due to their greater cricketing experience and good bowling effort against the Tongans.

Vanuatu batted first, and the New Caledonians showed how fast they are learning the skills required to be competitive. An early breakthrough raised their spirits further, and although Vanuatu managed a succession of partnerships the New Caledonian bowlers and fielders could be pleased with their effort at restricting the total to 284 while picking up 7 wickets. Captain Pierre Chilla lead the Vanuatu effort with 63 scored from 80 balls, while Richard Tatwin and Edy Mansale also posted half centuries.

The New Caledonians improvements in the field were mirrored in their batting, with a mixture of resolute defence and entertaining attacking shots in their total of 116. Mansale followed up his half century with 3 wickets for 11 to complete a superb all round performance.

Tonga vs Fiji

This match between the two Pool A winners from day one would qualify one of the teams for the championship playoffs. Tonga batted first, and within 15 overs the Fijian bowlers had virtually put the match beyond doubt. Tonga's top order crumbled in the face of some testing medium pace bowling, with the sixth wicket falling with the score at 16. Sione Holi (21) lead a lower order fightback, but the final total of 87 did not look threatening to the strong Fijian batting line up. For the Fijians Taione Batina followed up his century from the first day with the outstanding bowling figures of 4-9, while Joji Bulabelavu continued his good form with 3-30.

Fiji made short work of the chase, reaching the target for the loss of two wickets. Colin Rika was not out 30, and former New South Wales representative (and New Zealand Cricket marketing manager) Neil Maxwell was dismissed for 25 with 3 runs required for victory.

POOL B

New Zealand Maori vs Papua New Guinea

This was the key match of Day Two, with the winner guaranteed of qualifying for the championship playoffs, and more than likely securing the top qualifying spot and avoiding a semi final against the Fijians.

The Papua New Guinea new ball attack of Toka Gaudi and Tuku Raka caused early problems for the Maori batsmen, reducing the hosts to 4-2. Philip Otto was joined at the crease by Jonathon McNamee for what would be the crucial partnership of the innings, adding 125 for the third wicket. The loss of McNamee triggered a regular fall of wickets, and Papua New Guinea would have been happy with restricting the Maori total to 210-9.

Papua New Guinea started poorly, losing two early wickets, and were never able to establish the major partnership they required to build their chase around. There were good contributions from Pala Karona (34), Rarua Dikana (21) and Keimelo Vuivagi (21), but the innings ended at 145, well short of the Maori total. Best bowling for the Maoris was from Jonathon Paine, with 3-32.

Samoa vs Cook Islands

With both teams coming off a first day loss, this match represented a must win situation to have any chance of continuing into the championship playoffs. Samoa batted first and struggled to gain any momentum to their innings, losing wickets at regular intervals. Geoff Clarke's unbeaten 43 saw the Samoans through to a final total of 136. For the Cook Islands, young captain Dunu Eliaba showed the promise that has seen him progress through Auckland age group representative teams, securing 3 wickets for 39.

Eliaba's real star turn was still to come. The Samoan bowlers looked to have secured victory for their team when the Cook Islands skipper came to the crease with 9 wickets down for less than 100. Eliaba proceeded to score 20 runs off the same number of deliveries to see his team through to what had looked an improbable victory. The Cook Islands still have an opportunity to make the championship playoffs should they be able to beat the Papua New Guineans in the third round of pool play tomorrow.

Points

Pool A
		     Played   Won  Lost  Tie Points
Fiji                   2       2    0     0    4
Vanuatu                2       1    1     0    2
Tonga                  2       1    1     0    2
New Caledonia          2       0    2     0    0

Pool B
		     Played   Won  Lost  Tie Points
NZ Maori               2       2    0     0    4
Papua New Guinea       2       1    1     0    2
Cook Islands           2       1    1     0    2
Samoa                  2       0    2     0    0

Draw – Day 3

Pool A
New Caledonia vs Tonga, Colin Maiden Park 2
Vanuatu vs Fiji, Cornwall Park

Pool B
Samoa vs New Zealand Maori, Colin Maiden Park 3
Cook Islands vs Papua New Guinea, Colin Maiden Park 1

© ICC