Papua New Guinea continued their dominance in Apia with another convincing win to take the World Cricket League section of the East Asia Pacific (EAP) Trophy.

From day one Papua New Guinea have exuded class, professionalism and a team-first attitude to be by far the best team in the EAP Region. Led superbly by rookie captain Chris Amini, Papua New Guinea again excelled today, knocking over Japan for just 60. Amini was the standout, grabbing 3 for 6, well supported by Loa Nou (2 for 18 from nine overs) and young leg-spinner Vali Albert (1 for 15). In reply, Papua New Guinea chased down the required 61 in just 7.1 overs, with star opener Vani Vagi Morea smashing an unbeaten 41.

In the all-important round 5 clash of the non-World Cricket League competition, Vanuatu were looking to continue their unbeaten run against a Cook Islands team desperate to notch another win and progress to the final ahead of Samoa. Cook Islands began well, with Etita and Tangimatua putting together a partnership of 51, before Kenni Tari got the all important breakthrough of Etita to a skied outfield catch by Damian Smith. From there the Vanuatu bowlers applied excellent pressure, with medium-pacer Edy Mansale (2 for 25) and his younger brother Andrew (3 for 25) bowling particularly well. Cook Islands eventually dismissed for a disappointing 119. In reply, Vanuatu aptain Andrew Mansale followed up his century in round 4 with a stylish 47, while allrounder Jonathon Dunn steered the team home with an unbeaten 31.

In the final match, Tonga and Indonesia went head to head with both desperate to take their first points of the competition and make the third v fourth play-off. Indonesia won the toss and elected to bat, and following from a solid batting performance in round 4, were looking to again get above the 200-run mark. Unfortunately, the Indonesians were unable to hold firm against star pace duo Mafi Langi (4 for 22) and Simione Latu (4 for 33), crumbling to 29 for 5, before eventually being dismissed for 112 in the 33rd over. Indonesian wicketkeeper Thenuara was the only batsman to show resistance with a fighting 37. Tonga began their chase poorly, losing Holi and Mau with the score on 21, before inspirational captain Aisake Haukina strode to the crease with only one intention, to hit the ball hard and far. Haukinima looked at ease at the crease before unleashing against spinner Gede Suda Arsa, smashing three sixes, including two in consecutive balls, before finally being bowled for a quick-fire 34. Moala (43) and Valu (21*) added to the scoring spree, the Tongans passing the required target in just 14 overs.

Scores
Papua New Guinea def. Japan by 10 wickets

Japan 60 (33 overs) (N Miyaji 18*, T Fuji 12; C Amini 3-6)

PNG 61-1 (7.1 overs) (V Morea 41*)

Tonga def. Indonesia by 6 wickets

Indonesia 112 (32.4 overs) (A Thenuara 37; M Langi 4-22, 4-33)

Tonga 116-4 (14 overs) (F Moala 43, A Haukinima 34, M Valu 21*)

Vanuatu def. Cook Islands by 7 wickets

Cook Islands 119 (38.3 overs) (T Etita 42; A Mansale 3-25, P Haines 3-38, E Mansale 2-25) Vanuatu 122-3 (18.1 overs) (A Mansale 47, J Dunn 31*; T Etita 2-36)

Papua New Guinea are the East Asia-Pacific Under-19 champions after they beat Vanuatu by 172 runs in the final at Amini Park, Port Moresby.

PNG won the toss and elected to bat in overcast conditions and scored freely early on, reaching 24 without loss before Lega Tau was well caught by Karl Laau from the bowling of Niko Unavalu. Heni Siaka was hitting everything in the middle, and started to free his arms, ably supported by middle-order batsmen Tony Ura (27) and Jason Kila (48).

The talented Siaka scored his maiden century for PNG, by far the best innings of the tournament. He was eventually dismissed for 101, but by then the damage had been done and PNG raced towards a huge total, batting their full 50 overs reaching 276 for 8.

It was to take a monumental effort by Vanuatu to chase down these runs, and early on the fielding talents of PNG rose to the fore, with two magnificent run-outs reducing Vanuatu to 31 for 2. They fought on valiantly before they were eventually dismissed for 103 after 34 overs. Jason Kila was the chief destroyer with 4 for 20.

In the battle for 3rd place at Colts Ground, Fiji beat Indonesia by six wickets in a game affected by rain.

PNG and Vanuatu will head to Canada to participate in the ICC U-19 Cricket World Cup Qualifier.

ICC staff

The 11-team Jakarta Cricket League reaches the business stage of the season this weekend when eight sides contest the quarter-finals.

The quarter-finals begin a knock-out process which culminates in the Grand Final on May 17.

The three quarter-finals being played this weekend are minor premier Senayan vs Bogor at Cibubur, Ceylon v Rebels at Karawaci and GMIS-1 plays India XI at Purwakarta on March 22. The fourth semi-finalist will be decided when ISCI Woods plays Challengers at Cibubur on April 5.

The highlight of the domestic season was the addition of the Jakarta Globe Tigers, the first club in the league to be run completely by Indonesian officials, and comprise primarily locally born players. Although winless, the players showed great improvement as the season went on.

Those players will no doubt be keen to play the visiting Marylebone Cricket Club when it visits Indonesia in October.

And other international cricket will be played in Indonesia when seven teams - Fiji, Papua New Guinea, Japan, Vanuatu, Samoa, Tonga and the Cook Islands descend on Jakarta to join the host for the East Asia-Pacific Under-15 tournament.

	© Getty Images

While all attention is on Afghanistan and their seemingly relentless progress towards the 2011 World Cup, their success story has served to inspire others around globe.

Twenty years ago cricket was almost unknown in Indonesia, but then a few expats started to play and the game has taken off beyond their wildest dreams.

"Because the expatriates needed more people to make their teams of 11 players, they started to ask locals to join. And it turned out that some of the locals were excellent players," Cricket Indonesia chairman Sachin Gopalan told AFP. "It used to be only social games played by expatriates. But it has changed."

Local associations were formed to administer the clubs, and eight years ago a national board came into being. It is now estimated that as many as 30,000 people play the game, a three-fold increase in two years.

"Cricket is growing exponentially here and there is a lot of hidden natural talent," Gopalan said.

Australian vet Bruce Christie is credited with being among the first to raise the status of the game in the 1990s. "I had to keep my 11-year-old son amused," Christie told AFP. "So we started playing cricket and invited about 20 to 30 local people of mixed ages to play."

Matches were played on any flat ground that could be found, mainly on football pitches and hard tennis courts. "The locals picked up the game pretty quickly as they'd played 'kasti' [a local bat-and-ball game] before and they were good at throwing stones at birds or whatever. I also had videos and books to show them. We also had an Australian female teacher in Kupang who played with us. I think she attracted the locals to join."

To keep things in perspective, cricket is not even recognised by the country's sports council as an official sport, but the ICC is interested and in July Indonesia stages its first competition, an East Asia-Pacific region Under-15 event.

A seminar for the ICC’s East Asia – Pacific (EAP) Development Program kicked off today in Melbourne. The five-day course is “a key component in the process to achieve sustainable cricket education within the EAP region and includes an ICC Level 1 coaching Cricket Instructors Course,” the statement read.

Nine highly regarded coaches were selected from an extremely strong pool to attend. The participants are:

PNG John Ovia & Rarua Dikana

Vanuatu Richard Tatwin and Aby Joel John
Japan Jummei Hanada & Nigel Dixon
Fiji Seci Sekinini
Indonesia Melvin Ndoen
Tonga Sione Hamala

The ICC EAP have been able to gain access to world-class facilities through Cricket Australia, Cricket Victoria and the Melbourne Cricket Club.

The ICC EAP Strategic Plan has a strong focus on developing quality cricket coaches in the EAP region, and the Advanced Coaching & Development Seminar is a major part of building sustainable coach development practises.

Next week's ICC annual get-together promises to have more than its fair share of politicking, posturing and controversy. But, unless there is a major about-turn, it should also be a watershed for the Associates and Affiliates.

In 2009, income from the ICC's six-year media deal with ESPN-Star, worth over US$1 billion, kicks in, and while the game's big boys will still keep the lion's share, the rest will see substantial increases in their incomes.

Although the ICC draws considerable flak on many fronts, it is quietly committed to promoting the game in as many countries as possible, and it does that by means of a myriad of competitions and initiatives. Most do not warrant much media attention, but they are there and they work.

Until now, the gripe of the smaller countries, and especially those bubbling just underneath the top flight, has been about the inequality of the way in which the game is financed. That was never more apparent than when it came to earnings from last year's World Cup.

Ireland got a flat fee of US$125,000 a year for four years for taking part, and on top of that they received another $50,000 for reaching the Super Eights. However, because of the extra costs involved in their progression, not least because their players are not professional cricketers and their absences from their full-time jobs had to be underwritten, Ireland's success actually left the board out of pocket.

Zimbabwe, on the other hand, turned up, tied with Ireland and never threatened to progress after being thumped by Pakistan and West Indies. For those three matches, Zimbabwe Cricket received US$11 million, their share of the pot as a Full Member.

The top six Associates receive no more than US$500,000 a year - some substantially less - to fund their entire operations. Out of that they have to pay all their cricketing and administration costs. Only those with a low cost of living, such as Kenya, can hope to maintain a professional squad on that kind of money.

The gulf between the haves and have-nots is further widened by the limited sums Associates can earn from sponsorship and media contracts. Zimbabwe can exploit home series against, say, India to carve out lucrative TV deals worth millions, and on the back of that, attract shirt- and other corporate sponsorship. As highlighted by Scotland's failure to secure any TV deal for their forthcoming ODI against England, the Associates struggle to get such income streams.

The new deals will provide a substantial increase for Associates, especially for the countries who are pressing for space at the top table. Until now the share has been roughly equal, rewarding Netherlands and Kenya on par with Thailand and Fiji. The new system will see more demarcation between the top Associates and the rest.

The leading ten could earn as much as US$1.5 million a year from 2009. There will then be an onus on them to professionalise their administrations, but several of them are already well down that route. They will also be more accountable - the ICC does not want a repeat of the mess that came following a spike in Kenya's funding earlier in the decade.

The second-string Associates will also get more - around US$160,000 as a base figure - but then again the demands on them are less. Even Affiliates will receive US$15,000, with the opportunity for more should they make a good enough case. There will also be more cash in the pot for participating and hosting competitions.

There have never been more opportunities for development outside the Full Member countries, but there remain some nagging worries.

The main one is how to bridge the gap between semi and full-blown professionalism. Almost all the Associates rely on dedicated amateurs, both on and off the field. As the number of ICC competitions has increased - and they have to be welcomed - the pressure has begun to tell. Scotland and Ireland particularly have already found players cannot meet all their commitments, and even the increased income will not allow them to employ a full-time squad.

"So much of putting players on full-time retainers depends on how many fixtures we can command," Warren Deutrom, Cricket Ireland's chief executive, said. "At the moment, all we can promise the squad in 2009 is a World Cup qualifying campaign, eight FP Trophy matches, an England game, and probably some Intercontinental Cup matches. Of course, we hope to have more, but can't be sure at the moment.

"Our top players are already plying their trade in county cricket, while others have full-time jobs which they may not wish to give up. The actual number of players that the coach will want to put on a full-time contract, or else the number that even want to have one, may not be that many."

The other quandary is how to get them fixtures. Kenya, widely regarded as the leading Associate, have found it almost impossible to get Full Member countries to visit or host them. As a result they invariably play other Associates. Good for the win-loss ratio, not so clever in providing the kind of experience that no amount of money can buy.

These issues will need to be addressed, but for now the future has never looked so promising beyond the Test world.

Associate Member Bermuda picked up two prizes in the ICC Development Program Annual awards, making them the winners in this year’s competition. They were awarded the Best Overall Cricket Development Program and the Photo of the year titled “It’s a Catch”.

A happy Reginald Pearman, president of the Bermuda Cricket Board, said: “I am excited and proud that Bermuda cricket has won these distinguished awards, which confirm that we are making progress in the right direction when it comes to our strategic goals. I am particularly pleased with the growth in our junior membership and the fact that our women’s team participated in the Women’s World Cup Qualifier in Stellenbosch and our youngsters appeared in the Under-19 World Cup in Malaysia makes me even more proud.”

Jos Heggleman won the Volunteer of the Year Award for his outstanding contribution to the game in the Netherlands, while the Hong Kong Cricket Association won the Best Cricket Promotion and Marketing Award for the Hong Kong Cricket Sixes.

Cricket Indonesia’s Tetrapak U-19 Development Program was declared the Best Junior Cricket Initiative program. Deutscher Cricket Bund did well in the Global Awards, picking up the Best Women’s Cricket Initiative prize for their U-19 Women’s Tournament in Oldenburg, Germany. The best Spirit of Cricket Initiative in Partnership with UNAIDS was won by the Mozambique Cricket Federation’s National Commission for School Cricket.

John Wright of Ireland and Laurie Pieters of Namibia won Lifetime Service Awards for their long and dedicated service to cricket development not only in their home countries, but also internationally, given both have served on several ICC committees.

Wright, the honorary secretary of the Irish Cricket Union for 10 years until stepping down this year, said: “I am extremely delighted to receive this award. I have thoroughly enjoyed my time in cricket and I must admit that it is very pleasing to be acknowledged and honoured for your services. It’s been a privilege to be part of the ICC Development Program and I wish it best of luck in the future”

Ray Mali, the ICC president, who served as one of the four global judges alongside former ICC presidents Ehsan Mani and Malcolm Gray and MCC chief executive Keith Bradshaw, said: “This whole process has shown once again the outstanding work being done in the development of cricket around the world. It was immensely difficult to select the winners but those lucky enough to be chosen reflect the contributions they have made to our wonderful worldwide sport. Everyone involved, winners and those not chosen, deserve immense credit for their efforts.”
Best Overall Cricket Development Program Bermuda Cricket Board

Best Women's Cricket Initiative Oldenburg U-19 Women’s Tournament (Germany)

Best Junior Cricket Initiative Tetrapak U-19 Development program (Indonesia)

Best Cricket Promotional and Marketing Award – Hong Kong Cricket Sixes (Hong Kong)

Best Spirit of Cricket Award in Partnership with UNAIDS – National Commission for School Cricket (Mozambique)

Photo of the Year Award “It’s a Catch” (Bermuda)

Volunteer of the Year Jos Heggleman (The Netherlands)

Lifetime Service Award John Wright (Ireland) and Laurie Pieters (Namibia)

Each Global award category is allocated US$2000 of equipment to be received by the winning national cricket body.

The number of people actively participating in cricket outside the Test-playing countries increased 17% in 2007, according to the ICC.

The research, carried out by the ICC's development program, was collated from 33 Associate and 58 Affiliate members. It showed that there were 338,051 male and female players in those countries in 2007, an increase of 49,158 on the previous year. Since 2002, when there were 144,047 participants, there has been a 135% rise.

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Japan, Cook Islands and Samoa recorded strong wins in the opening round of the ICC EAP Cricket Trophy in Auckland.

Japan dismissed Vanuatu for 142 inside 35 overs. Vanuatu lost both openers early leaving Andrew Mansale (79 off 97) to rescue the innings, but he found little support. Mansale's 3 for 9 then gave them a glimmer, but Tetsuo Fuji (27 not out) and Munir Ahmed (26 not out) took Japan home in the 40th over to complete a five-wicket win.

Cook Islands bowled strongly and took regular wickets against Indonesia, dismissing them for 148 in the 44th over. Chris Brown (3 for 25 off 8 overs) and Mou Maururai (3 for 29 off 8.5 overs) were the stand-out bowlers. Joseph Joe took them home, with an unbeaten 44, although he was dropped early on.

Samoa won the battle of the Pacific rivals, beating Tonga by 89 runs. Opening bowler Mafi Langi (3 for 38 off 10 overs) claimed early wickets for Tonga, however Uala Kaisala (54 off 88) led the recovery where Samoa reached 191. Tonga started their run chase cautiously and were unable to build momentum, losing regular wickets. Winston Marriner took the honours with 3 for 33 off 5 overs to wrap up the innings with Tonga all out for 102 in the 32nd over.

The Indonesian cricket board has announced an ambitious US$200,000 three-year development programme aimed at spreading the game outside its traditional base of expats.

A report in The Jakarta Post quoted Cricket Indonesia chairman Sachin Gopalan, who said that the campaign would target "individuals and middle-sized companies who are interested in the development of cricket in Indonesia. The idea is to prove to those involved in cricket development that this program is a serious and long-term one.”

Board secretary Prakash Vijaykumar said that the association was planning to publicise the game across the country. “We are starting to introduce the sport in new areas in cooperation with National Sports Council provincial chapters in places such as Banten, Riau, East Kalimantan, Yogyakarta and Surabaya. We want to transform cricket into a popular sport for Indonesian people.”