Vanuatu hopes Australia stint will help in Kuwait
Vanuatu cricket coach Mark Coles is hoping that his side's build-up in Australia will stand it in good stead for the upcoming Pepsi ICC World Cricket League Division 8, to be held from 6-12 November in Kuwait.
"We have got six guys who are part of the East-Asia Pacific squad who have come over and are training at Brisbane's Centre of Excellence. So they have bit of a head start," said Coles, who is also from Australia.
The plan of the Australia trip is for the team to play four warm-up games, including a Twenty20 match, before they head to Kuwait for the tournament proper.
"The rest of the squad land in Brisbane on Friday and we then head up to Sunshine Coast. We will play various teams for four days there. We also plan to play a Twenty20 game before we head to Kuwait on Wednesday evening," added Coles.
The tour will also give an opportunity for the Vanuatu team to pit their skills against former Test stars, Eddo Brandes of Zimbabwe and New Zealand's Danny Morrison. Both are likely to feature in a charity one-day game as part of a Cindy McKenzie Breast Cancer XI.
"We are hoping for some good preparation by playing the likes of Eddo Brandes and Danny Morrison. I am looking to get Danny to have a chat with the bowlers about plans. He may also field with us. It will be a good preparation for us," added Coles.
For a team built around a number of amateurs, the Pepsi ICC World Cricket League Division 8 will give an opportunity for the players to showcase their skills.
The players double up a number of different tasks in their daily lives besides playing cricket, which makes the upcoming tournament an even bigger challenge.
"There is Edy Mansale who has played international football for Vanuatu. He is a double international. Lots of them do various work around the town. Edy's brother Andrew Mansale and Trevor Langa work as development officers for Vanuatu Cricket. The rest of them work as students or something along those lines," explained Coles.
So the role of Coles became that much more important as he planned for the tournament in Kuwait. But Coles explained that there are flexible timings in place during three days of a week for the Vanuatu players to train for important tournaments.
"We have been pretty lucky because we have what is called siesta practice on Thursdays from 11.30 am to 1.30 pm. That's the day we have the entire squad training. We do fitness training on Tuesdays after work and fielding practice on Wednesdays. The players then play club cricket on Saturdays," revealed Coles.
As the tournament inches closer, Coles believes the team is in top shape to take on the rest of the field in Kuwait.
"I think we will just try to be the best that we can do. It will be all about individuals taking responsibility. We are spending time working on fitness and increasing our game awareness. It is now important to deliver on the field," said Coles.
The Vanuatu coach however will not seek to have huge expectations from the side.
"If we can play to the best of our ability, then we have got an opportunity to win the tournament. We are strong in most facets of the game. We are a fairly well balanced team. We will work hard and do the best that we can," hoped Coles.