Records tumble for East Asia-Pacific in Australian Country Champs

The East Asia-Pacific team broke seven records on its way to defeating Victoria Country in Round 5 of the Australian Country Cricket Champs (ACCC) yesterday. With three wins from five games, EAP now sits second on the table in a campaign which is shaping to be the most successful in the team's ten-year involvement in this tournament.

On day one, Fa'asao Mulivai was the chief destroyer. The Samoan pace bowler dismissed five of Victoria Country's top six batsmen, leaving the tournament hosts reeling at 5/71. A spirited century stand for the sixth wicket brought the Victorians back into the game, but once that partnership was broken Mulivai and Joel Tom quickly mopped up the tail.

Mulivai finished with impressive figures of 6-30 from his 18.3 overs, his seven maidens highlighting the accuracy and discipline with which he bowled. His bowling effort surpassed the previous EAP best performance set by Papua New Guinea's Willie Gavera only a few days earlier and proved to be only the first of a string of records that were to be shattered on day two.

Requiring 211 for vital first innings points, EAP finished overnight on 1/39. In the team talk on the second morning, coach Tom Evans asked for his batsmen to stand up in the first session and the top order heeded his call. Ben Mailata and Chris Amini proceeded to put on 98, the highest EAP second wicket partnership. When Mailata was dismissed for 58, Assad Vala continued the momentum. With fellow countryman Amini, the pair compiled a record stand of 129, cruising past the first innings target. Vala was dismissed for 80 when the score was 259 but Amini continued his marathon innings, finally losing his wicket after almost five hours at the crease and a superb century to his name. Contributions from Vani Morea (49) and Mahuru Dai (27) took EAP through to 399 and a dominant first innings victory over a team they had never beaten before.

The EAP performance was overseen by Federal Member for Corio and Parliamentary Secretary for Pacific Island Affairs, Richard Marles MP who earlier on day two welcomed the team to Geelong.

"The Geelong community has great pride when it comes to sport, so too do the countries represented by the East Asia-Pacific team," Mr Marles said. "It is wonderful to see that the sportsmanship between us can bring us closer together as neighbours. This is the true essence of sports diplomacy.

Cricket Australia should be applauded for supporting the East Asia-Pacific team to participate in such an important tournament for both our country and our local area."

Two rounds of one-day matches now remain and EAP will face up against tournament heavyweights New South Wales and Queensland in the coming days.

Short Scoreboard:Round 5: Victoria Country 210 (F Mulivai 6-30) lost to East Asia-Pacific 399 (C Amini 122, A Vala 80, B Mailata 58, V Morea 49) on first innings.Points Table: NSW 27; EAP 17; ACT 16; QLD 13; SA 12; WA 11; NT 6; Vic 0EAP Records Broken:- Best bowling performance: 6-30 ? Fa'sao Mulivai (Samoa)- Highest second wicket partnership: 98 ? Chris Amini (PNG), Ben Mailata (Samoa)- Highest third wicket partnership and highest partnership for any wicket: 129 ? Chris Amini, Assad Vala (PNG)- Highest innings total: 399- Most wins (3) in an ACCC tournament- First ever win over Victoria Country in ACCC