Vanuatu Cricket’s Next Generation: A New Era Begins

VCA CEO Highlights Development Vision as 14-Year-Old Anna Griffin Makes Senior Tour Debut

As 14-year-old Port Vila International School student Anna Griffin prepares to celebrate her 15th birthday this weekend with a potential debut for Vanuatu at the inaugural PacificAus Sports Cricket Invitational in Papua New Guinea, her inclusion in the national women’s squad highlights the rapid progress being made through Vanuatu Cricket Association’s (VCA) renewed focus on youth development.

In a recent interview with ABC Radio Australia’s Richard Ewart, VCA CEO Tim Cutler outlined the vision behind the newly launched Interchange Cricket Academy — a major initiative to accelerate the identification and development of young talent across the islands.

“The offices that we’ve had on those other islands — Santo, Malekula, Tanna — have been called ‘outreach’,” Cutler explained. “But to me, that was very early days. We’re really trying to take that step forward… not just places where we find talent and bring them to Port Vila, but where we grow and try to create a real cricket atmosphere there as well.”

(L to R) Interchange GM Niall Downey, Anna Griffin, VCA HPM Chris Laffan

Backed by VCA partner Interchange, the Academy is delivering a year-long program combining high-performance cricket and academic support for 50 young players — 30 from Port Vila, and 20 from Santo and Tanna. The program is led by High Performance Manager Chris Laffan, with regional development staff now reporting directly into the Academy structure in a major shift toward inclusive, decentralised cricket development.

“That is absolutely the plan… we’re really trying to start the conveyor belt up again and start kids as young as possible,” Cutler said.

Griffin’s inclusion is a case in point. Having only taken up the game a few months ago through her school and local club, she quickly progressed into the Academy environment — a testament to the kind of opportunities VCA hopes to create for young athletes across the country.

Cutler also reflected on the setbacks caused by the COVID-19 pandemic and the importance of rebuilding momentum in junior pathways.

“We probably lost a generation of young cricketers over COVID — some of it for reasons that weren’t in our control, but probably there were ones that we could have done better.”

Interchange Cricket Academy trials were held in April and May

He also addressed the broader challenge faced by Associate cricket nations in trying to balance short-term performance pressure with long-term development goals under ICC funding structures.

“That’s the danger of Associate cricket… you’re always trying to win that next game, and you’re not able to blood players, and you’re not able to pick teams that are going to grow into it. You need to be winning.”

Cutler believes that building strong partnerships — such as the one with Interchange — is key to reducing reliance on international funding cycles and giving VCA the freedom to plan sustainably.

“Partnerships like this… can hopefully make it easier for us to diversify our income streams and not have to rely on the ICC, and not rely on every result.”

Looking at the regional landscape, he noted the growing strength of other Pacific cricket nations, such as Samoa and Japan, but believes Vanuatu has barely scratched the surface of its own potential.

“I think it’s a big challenge all across the Associate cricket world, but I still think there’s seven out of 10 people in Vanuatu that don’t actually know how good Vanuatu are at cricket… All I see there is opportunity.”

The full interview is available on ABC Radio Australia’s digital platforms here. [here].