Vanuatu Cricket has dedicated the last Seven years (2012 – 2019) to developing the Women’s Island Cricket Program (WICP) and this year, the WICP competitions are as tough as nails with mamas from communities all around Port Vila participating and competing.
The purpose of the WICP is to promote a healthy lifestyle for women especially mothers through cricket and this year the Women’s Island Cricket also celebrated Vanuatu’s 39th Independence anniversary with an Independence knockout.
The Independence knockout featured mamas from Beverly Hills, Eratap, Pango, Ifira, Imaki, Seaside and the inclusion of Black Sands who are new to the program.
With the tournament played in knockout format, there was fierce competition to knock the opposition out and Ifira and Eratap were the most successful competitors which saw them in face off in a close final.
The grand final between Ifira and Eratap took place at the Vanuatu Cricket Grounds (VCG) in a match that could have gone either way. Eratap won the toss and decided to field first, a decision that would prove to be exciting for the match as they restricted Ifira to just 54 runs at the end of their innings.
Ifira bounced back to claim the victory with a 4 runs win over Eratap after defending their mere 54 runs to end the fierce competition and rivalry between the teams.
Rose Bakokoto of Ifira won the player of the match award for her 14 runs contribution to her team’s victory.
In the third place play off, new comer Black Sands defeated Beverly Hills by 2 runs to claim the win after holding Beverly Hills to a tie resulting in a super innings (45 balls per inning) to determine the winner.
Amelia Lawac, the WICP manager expressed that she is impressed with the consistency of the participating teams throughout the competition and she is pleased with the improved standard of cricket that the teams are playing.
“I am very pleased to see how consistent all the teams were at turning up for matches and their commitment is unbelievable. These women are mothers who have taken time of their busy schedule at home to enjoy some cricket and their passion and participation has proven that they are serious about their health and fitness.
“I would like to congratulate the mamas who participated because their participation motivates the VCA to keep this program going and in saying that I would like to acknowledge the Australian Government for funding this program through the Pacific Sports Partnership Program,” she concluded.
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