Cricket at the Pacific Games
| Administrator | ICC |
|---|---|
| Format | T20, T20I, WT20I |
| First edition | 1979 (men) 2015 (women) |
| Latest edition | 2019 (men) 2019 (women) |
| Tournament format | Round-robin and playoffs |
| Current champion |  Papua New Guinea (men) (7th title) Samoa (women) (2nd title) |
| Most successful | Papua New Guinea (men) (7 titles) Samoa (women) (2 titles) |
A cricket tournament at the Pacific Games, previously the South Pacific Games, was introduced in 1979 and was played intermittently at games in the 1980s and 1990s, depending on the facilities of the host nation. It was played continuously from 2003 to 2019, but was not included for the 2023 Pacific Games in Solomon Islands. Detailed records of the tournaments prior to 2003 have not been kept and little is known with certainty of the first three tournaments, beyond knowing what teams won the gold and silver medals at each Games.[1]
Performance by team
[edit]- Legend
- 1st – Gold
- 2nd – Silver
- 3rd – Bronze
- GS – Group stage
- Q – Qualified
- — Hosts
Men's tournament
[edit]| Team* | Games | Total | |||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
 1979 |  1987 | 1991 | 2003 | 2007 |  2011 | 2015 | 2019 | ||
 Cook Islands | — | — | — | 3rd | — | — | — | — | 1 |
 Fiji | 3rd | 2nd | 2nd | 2nd | 2nd | 2nd | — | — | 6 |
 New Caledonia | 6th | 4th | 4–6th | 6th | 5th | 4th | 4th | 4th | 8 |
| Papua New Guinea | 1st | 1st | 1st | 1st | 1st | 1st | 2nd | 1st | 8 |
 Samoa † | 5th | — | — | 4th | 3rd | — | — | 3rd | 4 |
 Solomon Islands | — | — | 4–6th | — | — | — | — | — | 1 |
 Tonga | 4th | — | 3rd | — | 4th | — | 3rd | — | 3 |
 Tuvalu | 7th | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | 1 |
 Vanuatu † | 2nd | 3rd | 4–6th | 5th | — | 3rd | 1st | 2nd | 7 |
Women's tournament
[edit]| Team* | Games | Total | |
|---|---|---|---|
2015 | 2019 | ||
| Cook Islands | 5th | — | 1 |
| Fiji | 3rd | 4th | 2 |
| New Caledonia | 6th | — | 1 |
| Papua New Guinea | 2nd | 2nd | 2 |
| Samoa | 1st | 1st | 2 |
| Vanuatu | 4th | 3rd | 2 |
Results
[edit]1979
[edit]Seven teams contested the first cricket tournament at the South Pacific Games.[2]
PNG beat Tuvalu by 195 runs in their opening game, scoring 220/9 from 60 overs before bowling Tuvalu out for just 25 runs. Vavine Pala took 5/10. The game between Fiji and New Hebrides was unable to proceed due to a wet outfield.[3] PNG later suffered a shock loss to Tonga before defeating Fiji in the semi-final by 20 runs.[4] In the other semi-final New Hebrides defeated Tonga. PNG ultimately won the final by nine wickets after bowling the New Hebrides out for 53 runs, with 20-year-old fast bowler Mike Steven taking 8/27.[5]
| Rank | Team | Refs |
|---|---|---|
 | Papua New Guinea | a |
 |  New Hebrides | |
 | Fiji | |
| 4 |  Tonga | |
| 5 | Western Samoa | b |
| 6 | New Caledonia | |
| 7 |  Tuvalu |
1987
[edit]Venue: Nouméa, New Caledonia
| Rank | Team | Refs |
|---|---|---|
| | Papua New Guinea | c |
| | Fiji | |
| |  Vanuatu | |
| 4 | New Caledonia |
1991
[edit]Venue: Port Moresby/Lae, Papua New Guinea
| Rank | Team | Refs |
|---|---|---|
| | Papua New Guinea | [6] d |
| | Fiji | |
| | Tonga | |
| 4/5/6 | New Caledonia | |
 Solomon Islands | ||
| Vanuatu |
2003
[edit]Venue: Suva, Fiji
| Rank | Team | Refs |
|---|---|---|
| | Papua New Guinea | [7][8] |
| | Fiji | |
| |  Cook Islands | |
| 4 | Samoa | |
| 5 | Vanuatu | |
| 6 | New Caledonia |
2007
[edit]Round robin tournament of limited overs cricket (maximum 50 overs per side).
| Rank | Team | Refs |
|---|---|---|
| | Papua New Guinea | [9] |
| | Fiji | |
| | Samoa | |
| 4 | Tonga | |
| 5 | New Caledonia |
2011
[edit]Venue: Noumea, New Caledonia
In 2011 the format was switched to the shorter Twenty20 game instead of the previous 50 over cricket. A round-robin stage was played before the two top teams met in the final.
| Rank | Team | Refs |
|---|---|---|
| | Papua New Guinea | [10] |
| | Fiji | |
| | Vanuatu | |
| 4 | New Caledonia |
2015
[edit]Venue: Port Moresby, Papua New Guinea
In 2015, a women's tournament was held for the first time alongside the men's tournament. The 20-over format was retained.
Men
[edit]| Rank | Team |
|---|---|
| | Vanuatu |
| | Papua New Guinea |
| | Tonga |
| 4 | New Caledonia |
Women
[edit]| Rank | Team |
|---|---|
| | Samoa |
| | Papua New Guinea |
| | Fiji |
| 4 | Vanuatu |
| 5 | Cook Islands |
| 6 | New Caledonia |
2019
[edit]Tonga included both men's and women's cricket in its successful bid for the 2019 Pacific Games, to be held in Nukuʻalofa.[11] However, Tonga withdrew from hosting in May 2017 and was replaced by Samoa.
Men
[edit]| Rank | Team |
|---|---|
| | Papua New Guinea |
| | Vanuatu |
| | Samoa |
| 4 | New Caledonia |
Women
[edit]| Rank | Team |
|---|---|
| | Samoa |
| | Papua New Guinea |
| | Vanuatu |
| 4 | Fiji |
Pacific Mini Games
[edit]For the first time, Vanuatu included a men's cricket tournament in its successful bid for the 2017 Pacific Mini Games, to be held in Port Vila.[12] The cricket facilities near Korman Stadium are planned to be renovated before the tournament.[13] However, the effects of Cyclone Pam in 2015 have, according to some sources, cast doubt upon the country's ability to host the games.[14]
Records
[edit]As detailed results have not been kept for the first three tournaments,[1] it is not possible to present detailed records. What is known is that Papua New Guinea's total of 572/7 against New Caledonia is the highest team total in any international one-day match, along with the winning margin of 510 runs, and therefore also in the South Pacific Games.[15]
See also
[edit]Notes
[edit]^* The number of teams at the tournaments has varied – there were seven teams in 1979,[16] then four in 1987 and five in 1991.[1] When the sport resumed at the 2003 games, six teams contested,[17] but this number dropped to five in 2007 and four in 2011 and 2015 (for the men's tournament – the women's tournament had six teams).[9]
^† Samoa and Vanuatu competed as Western Samoa and the New Hebrides, respectively, at the 1979 games.[16]
^a 1979: Pacific Islands Monthly reported Papua New Guinea defeating New Hebrides in the final to win gold, passing the required total of 53 with the loss of only one wicket.[2] Fiji defeated Tonga in a much closer third place play-off to win bronze by two wickets, passing the formidable total set by Tonga of 183 for the loss of six wickets.[2]
^b 1979: Roy Morgan's Encyclopedia of World Cricket indicates that Western Samoa finished fifth at the 1979 South Pacific Games.[1] They played New Caledonia in the fifth place play-off so New Caledonia are assumed to have finished sixth. Tuvalu finished seventh.[1]
^c 1987: Roy Morgan's Encyclopedia of World Cricket indicates that Papua New Guinea defeated Fiji in the final to decide the gold and silver medals. The other three teams taking part were New Caledonia, the Solomon Islands and Vanuatu. The same book indicates that New Caledonia have never won an international match, so they are assumed to have finished fifth with either the Solomon Islands or Vanuatu winning the bronze or finishing fourth.[1]
^d 1991: Results presented here are based on sparse records. The official results from the SPG website list PNG, Fiji and Tonga as the gold, silver and bronze medalists, respectively.[6] Roy Morgan's Encyclopedia of World Cricket indicates that Papua New Guinea defeated Fiji in the final to decide the gold and silver medals. However it did not mention Tonga, and noted only two other teams in the tournament, New Caledonia and Vanuatu. The same book indicates that New Caledonia have never won an international match, which might lend weight to the assumption that Vanuatu won the bronze medal. For this article, however, the official results are preferred.
References
[edit]- ^ a b c d e f Encyclopedia of World Cricket by Roy Morgan, Sportsbooks Publishing, 2007
- ^ a b c "Last of the Super Games/The Medal Winners" (PDF). Pacific Islands Monthly. 50 (10): 16. 1979. Archived from the original (PDF 0.8 MB) on 4 July 2016. Retrieved 5 November 2015.
- ^ Thomas, Brian (30 August 1979). "Agonia, Ao set up victory". Papua New Guinea Post-Courier.
- ^ Thomas, Brian (6 September 1979). "Cricketers to meet New Hebrides for gold". Papua New Guinea Post-Courier.
- ^ Thomas, Brian (7 September 1979). "Stevens key to win". Papua New Guinea Post-Courier.
- ^ a b 1991 South Pacific Games Results. Oceania Sport Information Centre (Report). Archived from the original on 31 October 2015. Retrieved 31 October 2015.
- ^ Scorecard Archived 30 November 2007 at the Wayback Machine of Fiji v Papua New Guinea, 9 August 2003 at tournament's official website
- ^ Scorecard of Cook Islands v Samoa, 9 August 2003 at tournament's official website
- ^ a b 2007 South Pacific Games Archived 2008-05-31 at the Wayback Machine at CricketEurope
- ^ Sporting Pulse, 2011.
- ^ Tongan bid for the 2019 Games, Pacific Games Council
- ^ Republic of Vanuatu bid to host the Pacific Mini Games 2017. Retrieved from Sporting Pulse, 8 July 2015.
- ^ (22 September 2014). "Vanuatu sports facilities set for an overhaul for 2017 Pacific Mini Games" – Radio Australia. Retrieved 8 July 2015.
- ^ (23 March 2015). "Cyclone Pam puts 2017 Vanuatu Mini Games in doubt" – Radio New Zealand International. Retrieved 8 July 2015.
- ^ Papua New Guinea run riot Archived 2008-11-20 at the Wayback Machine by Andrew Nixon, 1 September 2007 at CricketEurope
- ^ a b 1979 South Pacific Games at CricketArchive
- ^ 2003 South Pacific Games cricket tournament official website