Vanuatu Cricket

A statement said “In his role as High Performance Manager and National Head Coach, Laffan, 32 from Australia, will be responsible for the development of Vanuatu’s cricket program, with a focus on individual player development and performance pathways. He will also work closely with VCA staff and stakeholders to ensure the growth and sustainability of domestic cricket in Vanuatu.”

Both of Vanuatu's national squads were part of the recently concluded Pacific Island Cricket Challenge tournament in Fiji.

They will be preparing for East Asia-Pacific qualifiers for the men's and women's T-20 World Cups.

The tour is being organised by the Australian Government's Pacific-Aus Sports partnership, along with Cricket Australia

In other team news, Andrew Mansale has been appointed Interim High Performance Manger Manager and Head Coach – alongside his playing duties – until Ben Cameron’s replacement commences in the role.

The revised contract list sees its three tier A players now receive 70,000 vatu per month, with three B (65,000 p/m) and eight C/D contracts (55,000 p/m) also seeing substantial increases over the 2022 figures. The inclusion of additional training and rookie contracts sees the full list extend to 23.

Qatar secured a four wickets win.

Vanuatu lost 10 wickets and managed 172 runs.

Vanuatu got in 56 runs in 14 overs and lost three wickets. At the end of the 40 overs Vanuatu managed 160 runs and lost seven wickets seeing Joshua Rasu fight back with 44 runs.

Vanuatu scored 172 runs in 43 overs.

The team scored 144 runs in 41 overs while Singapore only managed 138 runs and were all out in 38 overs.

Vanuatu went on to lose their second match against Malaysia

Malaysia won by 192 runs in just 38 overs while Vanuatu only managed 188 runs in 50 overs.

Vanuatu managed 165 runs in 45 overs whilst six players were all out.

The men in green and gold then managed 180 runs in 49 overs and eight were out.

Vanuatu won the toss and elected to field in a match shortened to 38 overs from the normal 50 after overnight rain.

The Canadians finished at 246 for four. Vanuatu managed just 42 runs for nine wickets in response with Canadian spin bowler Rommel Shazad taking four wickets.

The Canadians has a rough start, losing openers Rayyan Pathan for seven and Dhaliwal for 10. Matthew Spoors and Shreyas Movva followed, both exiting on four runs to leave Canada at 34 for four.

The news comes after a global recruitment process that saw interest from applicants in more than a dozen nations following the departure of Jeremy Bray from the role in January.

41-year-old Cameron represented his native South Australia nineteen times in First class and List A cricket over three seasons after debuting in 2004. A premature retirement from playing due to a chronic knee condition prompted an immediate transition to coaching in 2007.

Vanuatu Cricket CEO, Tim Cutler, expressed his joy at being able to appoint Cameron to the role:

Bray submitted his resignation eleven months into a three-year contract due to a combination of personal reasons and travel complications resulting from the Coronavirus pandemic.

Vanuatu Cricket CEO Tim Cutler said Bray made a huge impact in his short time in the role.

Holiday Inn Resort Vanuatu has been the naming rights sponsors for the Vanuatu National Men and Women’s cricket teams since 2019.

The renewal of the partnership this year means that the teams are still proudly called the ‘Holiday Inn Resort Vanuatu National Men and Women’s Cricket Teams’.

Vanuatu Cricket Association has appointed Junior Kaltapau as the Vice Captain.

The announcements were made at the VCA’s 2020 Annual General Meeting, last week. 

Matautaava was appointed as the captain after former captain, Nalin Nipiko stepped down earlier this year.

Head Coach, Jeremy Bray who was part of the selection process said Matautaava and Kaltapau deserve the leadership roles.