Philippines Primed for International Debut

The Philippines plan on making an immediate impact when they take on Indonesia on the 4th of April in their first match of the Pepsi ICC East Asia-Pacific Division 2 Trophy in Samoa, despite the tournament being the first time the nation has competed in an ICC sanctioned event.

The opportunity to compete at this level has been a long time in the making for the Philippines and their coach Iain Sinclair is determined for his side to leave a positive mark on the region in what will be an historic week for Philippines Cricket.

"We aim to be as well prepared as we can, and hope that if all the players are able to perform to their full potential that we will be able to give a good account of ourselves," he said.

Sinclair has been mixing it up at training with a combination of fitness, nets, fielding and skills sessions designed to have his side physically and mentally prepared for what lies ahead in Samoa.

One of the biggest challenges his side must contend with is the logistics of getting the squad from Manila to Apia. In a tough initiation to International competition the Philippines face an expected travel time of 35 hours to reach the pacific nation before having only 2 days before their tournament opener against Indonesia.

Despite the challenges associated with travel, Sinclair remains positive and has put steps in place to turn this tough schedule into an opportunity for his players.

"We have a 15 hour layover in Fiji and with the assistance of Cricket Fiji's General Manager Jon Symonds we are hoping to play a couple of T20 games during our stopover," he said.

Having never before competed against any of the other five teams, Sinclair is keeping his expectations close to his chest and says the Philippines will be taking no opponent lightly.

"With home advantage Samoa will be tough (to beat) as they will know the conditions and be familiar with the pitches," he said. "However all teams are going to be well prepared and there will be no easy games."