Teams make final preparations for tournament
Defending champions Papua New Guinea enter the Pepsi ICC EAP U19 tournament 2011 as strong favourites with a good mix of experience and youth in its squad. The recent addition of turf wickets at Port Moresby will also give the PNG players an additional edge as opportunities to play on turf is quite limited for the other competing teams.
Sese Bau, Lega Siaka and Chris Kent will hold the key for PNG and opposition bowlers will need to bowl extremely well if they are to avoid severe punishment from the trio. PNG captain Patrick Matautaava, an all-rounder, will play a huge role if his country is to come away with some silverware.
Vanuatu are considered by many as having the biggest chance to cause an upset over the seemingly unbeatable PNG after rapid improvement over the last two years.
Vanuatu coach Mark Coles is not giving much away about his team's expectations at the tournament but remains quietly confident that the preparation in on track. "We are focusing on trying to do the little one per centers right and focus on our game plans," he said.
Vanuatu will also rely on strong performances from the likes of off-spinner Jelany Chilia and keeper-batsman Jamal Ngwango.
Fiji enters the tournament with strong expectations of a top two finish and qualification to the ICC U19 Cricket World Cup Qualifier in Ireland despite selecting a young team predominantly centered around their Under 17 squad.
"We expect to do well in the tournament," said an optimistic Fiji coach Steve Jenkin. "We realise that PNG are ahead of all the teams in the EAP and Vanuatu are a competitive team as well."
The relative inexperience of the Fiji squad is countered by the more established trio of Tukana Tavo, Noa Acawei and Tauyasa Vakarau who will all need to step up when the pressure is applied.
Captain and opening bowler Tukana Tavo returns for his second EAP Under 19 tournament and will be the spearhead of not only the bowling attack but the whole team.
Japan will enter the tournament as a bit of an unknown quantity but will hope its strong university based side can cause a few issues for the likes of Fiji and Vanuatu.
Japan captain Raheel Kano will need to acclimatise to playing on turf wickets quickly as his leg-spin will be integral to the success of the team on the Sunshine Coast. The experience he gained from a week at the Australian Centre of Excellence in 2010 may prove vital in determining Japan's final position on the table.
The only Affiliate member of the ICC competing in Maroochydore will be Indonesia and it will be out to make good impression against the four Associate sides.
Indonesia's key player for the tournament is Rizky Tri Rubbi. Rizky is a top order batsman and a handy off-spin bowler who will also have the added responsibility of captaining the side. Rizky comes from the Rebels Cricket Club in Jakarta where he has played a vital role in keeping his side at the top end of the ladder for most of this season.
The experience of playing against the likes of PNG will be invaluable to the young squad from Indonesia as they continue to develop as a cricketing nation.
The tournament will kick-off with a few warm-up T20 matches scheduled for the 4 February at the Yandina Cricket Club.