The national under-19 cricket team won its first two match during the International Cricket East-Asia Pacific World Cup qualifiers after beating Papua New Guinea and Indonesia in Darwin, Australia.
On Monday, the side scored 117 runs all out in 33.4 overs, and bowled PNG out for 98 runs in 30.4 overs for 31 overs.
Yesterday, the side beat Indonesia by one run. The side scored 112 runs all out. Indonesia tallied 111 runs in 49 overs.
Team manager Tomasi Nawaciono said the game against PNG was their first match.
They won the toss and elected to bat first. He said the core of the team had been training since March and majority of the players were selected from the Fiji secondary schools competition.
A national trial was conducted in Suva during the annual Easter Championship and a squad finalised to prepare for the Darwin qualifiers.
“Top scoring for the match was Sunia Yalimaiwai, scoring 28 from 32 balls,” Nawaciono said.
“Another notable performance with the bat was from Liga Manara who scored 26 from 39 balls faced.
“With the bowlers, it was Viliame Waqavakatoga who was the pick of the bowlers after only conceding 23 runs from his 10 overs and taking a total of three wickets.
“Another notable performance was from the man of the match, Sunia Yalimaiwai, taking three wickets in his 6.4 overs and conceding only 23 runs.
“Cricket is still a minor sport in the country, and as such it is a challenge to compete against rugby and soccer in terms of securing partners in the private sector. However Cricket Fiji has a Strategic Plan (2022-2026) in place to bridge the gap and to create a lot of support for the sport as a whole,” he added.
The national under-19 side played its second match of the tournament yesterday against Indonesia.
