Kamlesh Barjati
Banned
- Joined
- 26 May 2011
- Messages
- 1,087
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Fiji Blues captain Josefa Rika heads into battle on Monday with every faith he has the squadron behind him to cause a tremor across the East Asia Pacific region.
Rika and the remainder of the 14-man squad departed Nadi this morning on route to Port Morseby for the EAP Division 1 tournament.
The Twenty20 competition brings together five sides from around the region where the winning team will get the chance to play for a spot in the 2012 World Cup early next year.
"We have a very strong squad with us at the moment and we have a great chance of creating a major upset if we stick to our strengths," Rika said.
With an average age of 29, one of the squad's main strengths is experience.
All but two of the team have worn the Blues cap for Fiji before and know exactly what awaits them in PNG where the local team are riding a cresting wave of success which has pushed them up to 19 in the world rankings.
The PNG Barramundi's mean business, but so do Fiji who have been touted as the side which could potentially be the main threat to unseating a local victory.
Fiji's preparations for representative duty began in February this year when the initial 38-man squad was selected.
Training began in earnest soon after and a strong feeling has built up within the squad as they began to ready themselves for a hectic international season.
Following this tournament they will be part of Team Fiji at the Pacific Games in August, and then it is direct to Malaysia for World Cricket League Division 6, the main focus of the team this year as they look to move back up through the divisions and regain their footing as a cricketing nation on the rise.
"There's a great energy around the team at the moment and we just hope we can represent our country proudly," Rika said.
Fiji begins its campaign on Monday with games against Samoa and Japan.
The tournament will run for four days with the final to be held on Thursday and televised live across PNG.
http://icc-cricket.yahoo.net/newsdetails.php?newsId=16134_1309588500
Rika and the remainder of the 14-man squad departed Nadi this morning on route to Port Morseby for the EAP Division 1 tournament.
The Twenty20 competition brings together five sides from around the region where the winning team will get the chance to play for a spot in the 2012 World Cup early next year.
"We have a very strong squad with us at the moment and we have a great chance of creating a major upset if we stick to our strengths," Rika said.
With an average age of 29, one of the squad's main strengths is experience.
All but two of the team have worn the Blues cap for Fiji before and know exactly what awaits them in PNG where the local team are riding a cresting wave of success which has pushed them up to 19 in the world rankings.
The PNG Barramundi's mean business, but so do Fiji who have been touted as the side which could potentially be the main threat to unseating a local victory.
Fiji's preparations for representative duty began in February this year when the initial 38-man squad was selected.
Training began in earnest soon after and a strong feeling has built up within the squad as they began to ready themselves for a hectic international season.
Following this tournament they will be part of Team Fiji at the Pacific Games in August, and then it is direct to Malaysia for World Cricket League Division 6, the main focus of the team this year as they look to move back up through the divisions and regain their footing as a cricketing nation on the rise.
"There's a great energy around the team at the moment and we just hope we can represent our country proudly," Rika said.
Fiji begins its campaign on Monday with games against Samoa and Japan.
The tournament will run for four days with the final to be held on Thursday and televised live across PNG.
http://icc-cricket.yahoo.net/newsdetails.php?newsId=16134_1309588500
