Fijian kids at play in Labasa Photo © ICC

On Tuesday the 2nd on February 1993 I took my daughter to Bulileka College for enrollment into form one or stage seven. When I walked into the Principal's office, I saw two sets of the best cricket equipment I have ever seen in my entire life.

I was so amazed by what I saw that prompted myself to enquire the principal about it. At this point I was picturing the type of old and torn equipment we used during our competition back home on Lakeba.

I wished at that point, that these equipment in front of me could be utilised in some way. I was told that the equipment was donated by an expatriate from Australia who was teaching at the school some years ago. I then asked the principal ( Mr Narend Nand ) what they intend to do with the equipment and he said to me that they don't know what they going to do with it since nobody in the whole school know anything about cricket.

I said to him, what if I teach your students how to use them. He jumped to the offer and at first I was not sure what I was getting into. So we both decided for me to start 2pm on Thursday 4th two days away from this unforgetable day.

When I arrived at around 1.30pm the whole forms 5 and 6 were waiting for me in the ground there were between 200 to 300 students. I can not forget the interest shown by the majority of the students and teachers who were present at the very first ever cricket clinic to held at any schools in Labasa.

It is about 1km from my home to the school and I did not mind coming back next week when I was asked by the Principal. Something interesting happens three weeks after I started at Bulileka college. When I arrived at 1pm that afternoon in the school, I was asked by a teacher to go into the pricipals office.

When I arrivbed I saw Fr Saniga. Of Alls Saints, Sister Mary of Holy Family, Mr Khan of Muslim College and Mr Bhindi of Sangam college, the news of the strange new game is spreading like wild fire right now in Labasa.

Labasa school kids with cricket gifts Photo © ICC

This is the reason why they are here this afternoon.They have come to asked me if I could also introduced cricket in their respective schools. I told them that it is a big decision for me to make considering the time and money involved so I need to consult my family before I could say yes or no. They told me that they will be responsible to pick me up and drop me back home after I finished with my sessions at their schools.

I came home that day not knowing how I was going to say it to my wife. I first started by joking to my wife about it, when I saw that she was laughing I suddenly became very serious and told her the real story. She turned to me after some deep thoughts of her own and said to me, " listen to the desire of your heart".

At first I thought she was dissappointed of me, I wasn't sure at first what she meant when said that to me, but as I sail through this new responsibility day after day, I then fully realise that it is really the desire of my heart.

This was to be my way of life for 9 months before I was assisted by the ministry of youth and sport until I started with Fiji Cricket in June 1994. At this point for me, there was no turning back, I was threatened that the cricket will die here in Labasa and countless oppositions from individuals and sporting bodies. I accept them as a challenge which I always expect to come my way.

At this time during the first years of cricket development my only concern was to spread the gospel of cricket to as many schools as posible. Most of the time I would walk as long as I do 5 or 6 schools in one day carring the bag along. My reward at this point was the satisfied and happy look on the faces of the students while they are enjoying the game. I must at this point mentioned about the support I received from Ratu Korovakaturaga.

He was the reason I was receiving funding support from the Ministry Of Youth and Sports. He requested the funds through Mr Ali whom he new very well at the time. Through his help, I was also able to go into the primary schools and start the development from that stage onward. He also donated two sheilds for the primary school competition and a sheild for the adults competition which is played between Moce and Lakeba every year since then until now.

Now when I look back at what I used to do back then, I always feel proud of the achivements up until now. I was told that the first ever cricket pitch to be build in Fiji, was built here in FSC Labasa by the English during the CSR and the picth is now burried under tons of sugarcane waste at the labasa mill.

People winned away from the game because they thought then that the game of cricket belongs only to the expatriate and the chiefs. There were only five cricket centers in Fiji, Albert park in Suva, Bau Island, Somosomo Taveuni, Veiseisei in Nadi and Tubou in Lakeba. That's why the commoners resort to soccer and rugby.

Since the colonial days the game was dead here in Labasa and was only played at homes of the Indians from India who were runing bussiness here in Labasa. This continued on almost nil level until Cecil Brown a former Fiji rep came to work in Labasa in the early 80's and revived the game here with the assistance of the Lau people mostly from Moce, Lakeba and Vanua Balavu who lived and work here then.

When Labasa won the secondary schools championship trophy in 1995 in Nadi, Ratu Tomasi organised a march through town to FSC where all the heads of government present with a big lovo feast in honour of the winning Labasa school team prepared by parents and supporters in a special prepared shed at FSC Ground. Since then we have primary and secondary schools competition at a very low but consistent rate.

Now the competition at the same level has improved and has now reached a new level. A level where now we have a lot of senior students participating in both the school and senior competition.

With the four clubs taking part in the senior competition, two of them have 100% and 75% made up ofsenior students at the age between 16 to 18 years, three of them represented Fiji in the Under 19 play offs against Hong Kong and PNG at Nadi in August this year. I must and should say that their exposure in the tournament is now paying off during our senior weekly competitions.

We now have 32 primary schools devided into 8 zones are having some sort of competition in their respective zones. The rules of the competition has also been rectified to suit the new level of development.

For example, now they play limited over and they do their own bowling, as before a teacher used to bowl under-arm to the players and the game continues until all team members are out. We have also introduced wides and no ball now as before they were not introduced because of the fear of loosing the interest.

Now with the introduction of wides and no ball, the interest of both the players and the spectators has risen to a new level. The last challenge of the primary school shield challenge was played on a synthetic pitch.

The result was such that it makes the teachers and coaches of various primary school to push for the used of the synthetic pitch during their games. So now they only play 20 overs each with the bowlers only allowed to bowl 4 overs each.

As a proof of progress in the primary level, now we have a new winner of the Shield after the lapse of seven years.

Should the development of cricket here in the North be allowed to continue, I can assure the board that the in the very near future we will be able to have some polished player from the North.

© ICC