300 Youth Participate in Samoan Cricket Championship
Grey skies and lingering drizzle could not dampen the lively spirits at the opening day of the EFKS Youth Cricket Championships in Apia Samoa this week.
On Monday Three hundred youth from fourteen men's and six women's teams enthusiastically attended the opening ceremony and took the field to open the annual Cricket Championships.
The tournament will run all week at the Garden Ovals in Tuanaimato.
The huge support for the Church Championships is a tribute to the strong fellowship held within the EFKS Church Youth. Faito'aga Tolua, Director of EFKS Education said;
"Cricket is more than just a game to the youth, the spirit of the game governs how the youth act on the field and through cricket our youth learn the importance of patients, sportsmanship and how to enjoy sport for its social, physical and mental health benefits."
The lively spirit at the garden ovals is free and we welcome all spectators.
The weeklong event has been organised in partnership by the EFKS church committee.
The Samoa International Cricket Association, President Seb Kohlhase opened the tournament welcoming the youth and encouraging the players to enjoy week and to play in the spirit of the game.
Attending the tournament and keen to pass on their experiences were Samoa's National players, past and present. The up and coming players did not miss the opportunity to learn from their hero's who generously organised coaching clinics and shared their experiences from playing in NZ, Australia and throughout the Pacific.
High Performance Coach Ian West enjoyed the day saying;
"There is plenty of raw talent here and I am looking forward to our first National Team Trials this Saturday 09/06 at 9am at the Garden Ovals."
He was confident that the EFKS would be well represented at the Mens National trial day.
Day One Morning Results
Ground 1 saw some inspiring performances out on the field with Sataoa all out for 86 runs defeating Saleapaga all out for 32 runs.
Saleapaga's Tomasi had a good day with the ball taking 5 wickets for 13 runs and Sataoa's Manu high scored with 12 runs and also took three wickets for 10 runs.
Ground 2 saw Sili 10 wickets for 52 defeat Faleseela 10 wickets for 44, in a fiery match with both teams boasting past and present national players. Sili opened the bating with Prichard 11 and Fa'avai 13 struggling to score runs of the tight bowling of Peko 4 wickets for 12 runs and Lesitara 4 wickets for 14 runs. In reply Faleseela battled hard but fell short to the bowling of Tumua 5 wickets for 10 runs. Aleki managed a quick 11 but the game was over with 9.1 overs bowled.
Ground 3 saw Manunu 4-54 convincingly defeat a Sinamoga 10?50. Manunu's Fareti bowled incredibly well taking 4 wickets for 2 runs. Sinamoga captain Alo Pha 15 provided some resistance pairing up with Sam P 14 but they total of 50 was not enough to defend.
Ground 4 Womens 1?29 convincingly defeated Leauvaa 10-28 with Iva's Aniva 3-2 and Tulipe 3-12 did the damage and the Savai'i girls had no trouble chasing down the total with captain Vaoiva 10 high scoring before being caught out of the bowling of Filoi.