History
Cricket was introduced to the Solomon Islands by missionaries in the 1870s. Initially the game was played enthusiastically throughout the islands, [1] but by the 1960s, interest outside the capital Honiara waned. [2]
The national side first played in 1977, when they played Fiji in the capital city. The match was drawn. [1] By the 1980s, the game outside the capital city was non-existent, [2] though an attempt at a revival was made in the early 1990s. This revival led to the national side being sent to the cricket tournament at the 1991 South Pacific Games in Papua New Guinea. [1]
Interest again declined after this though [1] and equipment was in short supply. A match by the national team was played against an Australian club side in 1999, and they won by six wickets. [2] They have not played since. [1] A cricket association was formed in 2000 with the aim of setting up a national league and seeking membership of the International Cricket Council. [3] However the civil war caused many of the expatriate community to leave the country, and the game again went into decline. [1]
The Fiji national football team is Fiji's national men's team and is controlled by the governing body of football in Fiji, the Fiji Football Association. The team plays most of their home games at the ANZ National Stadium in Suva.
The Papua New Guinea national football team is the national team of Papua New Guinea and is controlled by the Papua New Guinea Football Association. Its nickname is the Kapuls, which is Tok Pisin for Cuscus.
The New Caledonia national football team is the national team of New Caledonia and is controlled by the Fédération Calédonienne de Football. Although they were only admitted to FIFA in 2004, they have been participating in the OFC Nations Cup since its inception. They have been one of this relatively small region's strongest teams, finishing second in 2008 and 2012, and third in 1973 and 1980. They were the top ranked OFC nation at number 95 in September 2008, making them only the fourth country from the confederation to have reached the global top 100.
The Papua New Guinea national cricket team, nicknamed the Barramundis, is the team that represents the country of Papua New Guinea in international cricket. The team is organised by Cricket PNG, which has been an Associate Member of the International Cricket Council (ICC) since 1973. Papua New Guinea previously had One-Day International (ODI) status, which it gained by finishing fourth in 2014 World Cup Qualifier. Papua New Guinea lost both their ODI and T20I status in March 2018 after losing a playoff match against Nepal during the 2018 Cricket World Cup Qualifier, a result that earned ODI and T20I status for their opponents. On 26 April 2019, at the final World Cricket League 2 fixture; PNG defeated Oman to finish at the fourth position and reclaim their ODI status.
The Papua New Guinea national rugby union team, nicknamed the Pukpuks,, played its first international in 1966, defeating Vanuatu 47–3. Papua New Guinea have not so far qualified for a Rugby World Cup. They participated in the Oceania World Cup qualifying tournaments for the 2007, 2011 and 2015 World Cups, but did not qualify.
The Papua New Guinea women's national football team is controlled by the Papua New Guinea Football Association (PNGFA). Its nickname is the Lakatois, which is a Motuan sailing vessel. Their home ground is the Sir Hubert Murray Stadium, located in Port Moresby and their current manager is Peter Gunemba. Deslyn Siniu is the team's most capped player and top scorer.
The Vanuatu women's national football team represents Vanuatu in international women's association football. The team is controlled by the Vanuatu Football Federation (VFF). Vanuatu's home field is the Port Vila Municipal Stadium, located in the country's capital, Port Vila. The team is managed by Job Alwin.
The Pacifica Cup was an international cricket tournament contested in 2001 and 2002 by teams from the Pacific Islands.
The New Caledonia cricket team is the team that represents the French overseas territory of New Caledonia in international cricket matches. They are not currently a member of the International Cricket Council, though they have taken part in various regional tournaments such as the Pacifica Cup and the cricket tournaments of the South Pacific Games.
The New Zealand national under-23 football team, informally known as the "OlyWhites", represents New Zealand Football and New Zealand in international Under-23 football events, such as the Summer Olympics.
A cricket tournament at the Pacific Games, previously the South Pacific Games, was introduced in 1979 and was played intermittently at games in the 1980s and 1990s, depending on the facilities of the host nation. Since 2003, cricket has featured at every Pacific Games. Detailed records of the tournaments prior to 2003 have not been kept and beyond knowing what teams won the gold and silver medals at each Games, little is known with certainty of the first three tournaments.
The Vanuatu national under-23 football team, also known as Vanuatu Cyclone, represents Vanuatu at U23 tournaments. The team is considered to be the feeder team for the Vanuatu national football team. They are controlled by the Vanuatu Football Federation. The team has gained notoriety for thrashing Micronesia's side 46–0 in the 2015 Pacific Games.
Cricket at the 2015 Pacific Games in Port Moresby, Papua New Guinea, was held from 6–18 July 2015. A women's tournament was held for the first time, and Samoa won the event to become the first country other than Papua New Guinea to win a gold medal in Pacific Games cricket. In the men's tournament, Vanuatu won the gold medal. The shorter Twenty20 form of the game was used for both the men's and women's competitions.
The 1987 South Pacific Games, held from 8–20 December 1987 at Nouméa in New Caledonia, was the eight edition of the South Pacific Games. Political events of the time affected the Games in 1987 and the number of competitors were down. Fiji had two military coups in 1987, and within New Caledonia itself, the Games became a focus of protest in the Kanak independence struggle. The French territories of New Caledonia and French Polynesia had the largest teams and dominated the medal count, with Papua New Guinea finishing third ahead of a depleted Fijian team.
A women's 20-over cricket tournament at the 2015 Pacific Games in Port Moresby, Papua New Guinea, was held from 6 to 11 July 2015. Played at Amini Park and the Colts Cricket Ground, it will be followed by the men's tournament at the same venues the following week.
A men's 20-over cricket tournament at the 2015 Pacific Games in Port Moresby, Papua New Guinea, was held from 14 to 18 July 2015. Played at Amini Park and the Colts Cricket Ground, it was preceded by the women's tournament at the same venues the previous week.
The Vanuatu women's national cricket team represents the Republic of Vanuatu in international women's cricket. It is organised by the game's governing body in the country, the Vanuatu Cricket Association (VCA), which is an associate member of the International Cricket Council (ICC).
Bong Kalo is a Ni-Vanuatu footballer who plays as a midfielder.
The popularity of cricket in Oceania varies from place to place – in some countries, it is the national sport, while in others it is not played at all. A number of Oceanian countries are members of the International Cricket Council (ICC), and participate in tournaments organised by the ICC East Asia-Pacific (EAP) development program. The other major regional competition is the cricket tournament at the Pacific Games, which is open to ICC non-members.
A men's Twenty20 cricket tournament at the 2019 Pacific Games in Apia, Samoa, was held from 8 to 13 July 2019 at the Faleata Oval Grounds. Following the International Cricket Council's decision to grant T20I status to all matches played between Associate Members after 1 January 2019, matches were eligible for Twenty20 International (T20I) status subject to both teams being members of the ICC and players passing eligibility criteria.
Fiji 