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Juniors from seven
International Cricket Council (ICC) East Asia-Pacific (EAP) Member
countries arrived in
Melbourne this past week in
preparation for the ICC EAP Under 15 Cricket 8s to be held from 7-11
February.
The tournament, hosted by Cricket
Victoria, will bring together
talented youngsters from
Fiji,
Indonesia,
Japan,
Papua New Guinea,
Samoa,
Tonga and
Vanuatu for an 8-a-side
round robin competition to be staged at
Melbourne’s
Royal
Park.
The event marks a significant milestone in the evolution of cricket
development within the East Asia-Pacific region, in that it is the
first junior regional tournament ever played.
When the event was first discussed as a possibility in 2002, it became
the catalyst for unprecedented growth of junior cricket in many
regional countries. The EAP region now has over 27,000 players
involved in organised cricket activities, compared to only 5,000 four
years ago. 23,000 of these players are juniors.
Teams will play two 20-over innings matches each day over the week
long event, with finals played on the afternoon of Friday 11
February. First-up matches on day one are
Fiji v
Indonesia,
Japan v
Papua New Guinea and
Samoa v
Tonga.
The tournament was officially launched this evening at the
Melbourne
Town Hall.
For further information on the ICC EAP U/15 Cricket 8s please
visit
www.icc-eap-cricket.com and follow the tournament links. |
