50-over cricket returns to Fiji after decade hiatus

Cricket Fiji has announced that the country’s cricket players have begun preparations for two international events scheduled to be held next year. Cricket Fiji’s CEO Alex Konrote was quoted by The Fiji Times as stating that ‘Next year the men’s and the women’s teams schedules will see them will be going around October and November to the East Asia-Pacific Qualifier scheduled to be held in either Indonesia or Japan’. 

The start of the preparational process sees the country’s cricketers compete in the Associations Cup which has recently commenced with the action taking place at Albert Park in Suva.

The tournament’s format will see the group stage matches take the form of T20 matches, but then the players will have the opportunity to play 50 over matches during the elimination rounds of the tournament.

As explained by Konrote, ‘We haven’t played 50 overs in Fiji for more than 10 years, and International Cricket Council requires that Associate Members must have a competition with a minimum of 40 overs. These teams have never played 50 overs before’.

Whilst many of the players embark on the challenge of 50 over cricket for the first time, it is positive to see nations such as Fiji play longer formats of the game. 

During the running of the recent Fiji T0 Bula Bash, Konrote had said that the event would be used as a further guide for national squad selection.

Despite that initial statement to local agency FBC News, the Cricket Fiji CEO has recently gone on record saying that the Associations Cup ‘is the beginning of our selection to the national team’ with the country looking to finalise teams for the upcoming male and female East Asia-Pacific Qualifiers in July next year.

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