Simran Chand 
Cricket Fiji’s Under-19 team [Source: Supplied]
Cricket Fiji’s Under-19 team is heavily influenced by island talent, with 60% of the squad hailing from Lau.
This is according to Cricket Fiji’s High-Performance Manager, Tomasi Nawaciono, who believes the squads strength lies outside the mainland.
“Currently, the strength of cricket Fiji lies in the islands. We have players coming in from Moce secondary school, Ratu Finau and Cicia high school.”
This follows last year’s national tournament, which featured champion schools from the West, four schools from Suva, and three from the islands.
The tournament showed the depth of island talent, with the majority of selected players coming from these regions.
However, Nawaciono spoke about the logistical challenges of bringing players from the islands to the mainland for training because of their geographical location.
Despite this, Cricket Fiji is working to prepare the team effectively for the EAP World Cup qualifiers, scheduled to take place in Japan this April.
