The eight nation Pacifica Cup, won by the New Zealand Maoris in Auckland recently, will possibly be the first and last of its kind.

The ICC Trophy qualifying fornat being considered by the International Cricket Council would see separate tournaments for the region's Associate and Affiliate members, making this month's jamboree of South Pacific cricketing nations a one-off affair.

Despite some one-sided results, ICC and national association officials were ecstatic at the success of the event, citing the improvement in standards of the various teams and the spirit in which it was contested as major highlights.

Affiliate members who had been opposed to the inclusion of Associate members, Fiji and Papua New Guinea and the Maori team prior to the tournament, said playing these teams provided a true gauge of their own standard.

There were three distinct levels of playing standards - at the top were the Maoris, Fiji and PNG; in the middle were Tonga, Cook Islands, Samoa and Vanuatu; and lastly, New Caledonia coming into the tournament with six months experience at 'international' cricket (as opposed to its local variety).

This will conveniently suit the qualifying process for the ICC Trophy, with the middle group and New Caledonia playing off to see who challenges Fiji and PNG in a separate tournament.

Proof of the learning curve of some countries was the improvement in Tonga's play - it was all-out to Fiji in its second game for 88, and then nearly beat PNG in a semi-final, ultimately losing by two wickets.

Two other pluses to come out of the tournament, were a rare chance for the national associations to meet and compare notes on development issues, and agreement that the Pacific nations must arrange similar albeit smaller tournaments amongst themselves.

There is a possibility the Cook Islands may host Samoa and Tonga in the next 18 months.

It was agreed that while the Maoris' participation in this tourament was worthwhile, they would not be included in future events of this nature.

While not begrudging the Maoris their success, 'Beyond The Test World' heartily concurs, as this is the Pacific nations' only real chance of winning a trophy.

It is to be hoped that the new qualifying process does not rule out the opportunity for teams like Tonga and Vanuatu to play Fiji and PNG. They obviously need to play teams of better quality than themselves to improve.

The 2003 South Pacific Games in Suva, Fiji may provide that chance with cricket making a rare appearance. Hopefully the ICC's East Asia-Pacific Development Officer, Matthew Kennedy, can assist in ensuring cricket becomes a permanent part of the programme at the Games.

© 2001 CricInfo Ltd