The Fijian cricket season starts in October and finishes in April with the Crompton Cup Tournament.

The competition on the two main islands are played at Labasa in Vanua Levu and Nadi/Lautoka in the west and Suva in the east on Viti Levu.

Games in Labasa are played between the four teams consisting of Duavata, Moce, P.W.D. and the Under 19 Team. After four rounds of competition, the Under 19 Team won the competition by 21 points followed by Duavata on 19 points. Our Development Officer, Jone Salele assists the Labasa Cricket Association and does clinics in Primary and Secondary Schools.

At Nadi/Lautoka we have eigfht teams which consist of Rebels, County, Bombay Blues, Moce, M.C.C, Nakavu, Granville and Lautoka Teachers College. The teams are half way through their competition and their points table will be released shortly. Richard Wotta, our Development Officer in the west assists the association and does clinics at the Primary and Secondary Schools.

The main attraction is in Suva where there are 10 teams consisting of Moce, Q.V.S, V.I.C.C, Willow Whispers, Wonderous, Suva Water Supply, Central Queensland University, F.T.A, Army and Salvation Army. The competition was delayed due to the late finish of the rugby season. One area we face difficulty is the availability of the grounds.

The top two teams - Suva Water Supply and V.I.C.C played last week and S.W.S scored 130 runs in 40 overs. V.I.C.C had 50 overs to score 131 to win but a slump in their batting cost them the game and unfortunately they were all out for a mere 75 runs. So far the undefeated team is S.W.S. and I am looking forward for the first century to be scored for the season. In this area Seci Sekinini our Development Officer assists the Suva Association and does clinics for the schools.

As for the Island Associations like Cicia, Moce, Komo, Tubou and the new association Natokalau games are played between the villages. On these islands their major sport is cricket and they take a lot of pride in their games. They also come to Nadi to participate in the annual Crompton Cup Tournament in April.

This year we have some prize money for Labasa, Nadi/Lautoka and Suva. It is a pity that despite cricket is watched by so many millions of people all over the world, we would be fortunate to have 20 people watching our games.

Now, that I have come in as the new Operations Manager, I would love to generate interest from the Primary Schools to the Secondary and onto the Towns. It is going to be a great challenge due to the shortage of equipment and its cost, but I will give it my best shot.

There is an abundance of talent but because of the cost of gear, very few people are able to purchase it. As for rugby and soccer you can play with one ball and these two sports have been dominating our country. The funny thing is that if the kids do not have a rugby ball they find an empty plastic bottle, fill it with a little bit of water and off goes the game of sevens or fifteens as the kids please. As for cricket we have to provide everything to the schools and districts.

By being given the opportunity to attend the I.C.C. Development Conference in Melbourne in January, I would hope to be able to bring back heaps of ideas to see cricket in Fiji develop. I also wish to thank my predecessor, Mr. Robin Carr for moving cricket forward, especially reviving the Tubou Shield Challenge.

I have also arranged for Colin Rika and the Pacifica Fiji Team 2001 to represent cricket at the National Sportsman and the Sportsteam for the Year.

In our next feature we will have more as by than the schools would have started with their competitions. As for now NI SA MOCE (Goodbye) from Fiji Islands.

© ICC 2002