Fijian cricket team
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
| Fiji | |
 |
|
| ICC membership granted | 1965 |
| ICC member status | Associate member |
| ICC development region | East Asia/Pacific |
| Captain | Joeli Mateyawa |
| World Cricket League division | Three |
| World Cricket League EAP region division | Trophy |
| First recorded match | 25 January 1895 v Auckland at Auckland Domain |
| ICC Trophy | |
| Appearances | 7 (First in 1979) |
| Best result | 11th place, 1997 |
| First class cricket | |
| First class matches played | 15 |
| First class wins/losses | 5/8 |
| As of 10 September 2006 | |
The Fijian Cricket Team is the team that represents the country of Fiji in international cricket.
Contents |
[edit] History
[edit] The early years
European settlers introduced cricket into Fiji, forming the first club in 1874. The native population had begun to take an active interest in the game within in a few years. [1]
[edit] Tours to New Zealand
The Fijians have taken part in three tours to New Zealand, playing first class cricket on each of them.
The first tour took place in 1895, and Fiji played 6 games, winning 2, drawing 2 and losing 2. [2] The captain on that tour was John Udal. His great-great-grandson is Shaun Udal [3] who has played Test cricket for England.
It was a long wait for the next tour, which took place in 1948. Fiji won twice and lost 3 times on the 5 match tour. [4] They returned in 1954, playing four games, winning one and losing the others. [5]
[edit] ICC Membership
Fiji became an ICC member in 1965, and were one of the first group of associate members. [6]
They have taken part in every ICC Trophy with the exception of the 2005 tournament, for which they just missed out on qualifying, after finishing second in the World Cup Qualifying Series Division 2 tournament in early 2005. After qualifying undefeated at the top of their group, Fiji defeated Nepal before falling to fellow east Asian side Papua New Guinea by 30 runs in the final.
[edit] Recent Activity
Fijian interest in cricket has waned in recent years, with rugby sevens dominating the culture as the most popular sport, especially among youths. Iliesa Kacisolomone, chairman of the Fiji cricket team, has opined that the dropoff in interest is partially due to sporadic television coverage. Said Kacisolomone: "Some years back when the 1992 World Cup was shown live in Fiji, Albert Park (Fijian cricket's main ground back then) was full of kids playing cricket. Now, they don't see it on TV and want to play rugby sevens."
The chairman made these comments in advance of the 2006 EAP Cricket Trophy, suggesting victory in the East Asian-Pacific qualifier for the World Cricket League was crucial for Fijian cricket. "If we don't do well it will be hard to keep the game alive," Kacisolomone said.[1]
Fiji took part in the East-Asia Pacific Trophy [7], where they took on Affiliate nation Cook Islands and recently promoted Associate Japan for a place in Division 3 of the ICC World Cricket League in 2007, and a chance at qualification for the 2011 World Cup.
Fiji cemented their status as a regional power by winning all four of their matches, downing each team twice. Fiji's closest call came in its final match against the Cooks where the Fijians, chasing 115, found themselves at 6/49, then 7/55 and 8/69 before rallying for 27 runs off their last partnership to finish with a one-wicket win after 47 overs. Josefa Dabea was 43 not out, while Samu Draunivudi took 4 wickets for just 16 runs.
Three Fijians scored fifties in their first match, an 8-wicket win over Japan — Josefa Rika, Tiko Kida and Neil Maxwell — though no batsman topped fifty in any other match. Draunivudi led bowlers with 8 wickets taken, 7 of which came in Fiji's final two matches.
[edit] Tournament History
[edit] World Cup
Fiji have never qualified for the World Cup.
[edit] ICC Trophy
- 1979: First round
- 1982: First round
- 1986: First round
- 1990: Plate competition
- 1994: Plate comeptition
- 1997: 11th place
- 2001: First round
- 2005: Did not qualify
[edit] EAP Cricket Trophy
- 2006: Won
[edit] ACC Trophy
- 1996: Semifinals
Fiji withdrew from the Asian Cricket Council soon after this tournament.
[edit] Cricket in 2007
In April/May 2007, Fiji will participate in Division Three of the ICC World Cricket League, to be played in Cairns. They will take on the Cayman Islands, Hong Kong, Italy, Papua New Guinea, Tanzania, Uganda and the USA. Later in the year, they will play in the cricket tournament that is part of the South Pacific Games in Samoa.
[edit] Famous Players
Fiji's most famous player is Neil Maxwell, who has played state cricket in Australia, and represented Australia Under 19s and Australia A.
[edit] References
- ^ Munro, Tony (2006-06-26). Must win tournament for Fiji starts tomorrow. CricketEurope. Retrieved on 2006-07-19.
