Countries enlist Australia & NZ support

The Cricket Associations of three Australian States and three New Zealand Provinces will play an active role in the onfield action at the EAP Cricket Cup tournament in Port Vila, Vanuatu commencing next Thursday 23 September.

The preparation of all six competing teams has been greatly assisted by development staff from Australian States and NZ Provinces under the ICC EAP's State/Province Partnership Program.

Northern Districts CA's Grant Bradburn and WACA's Charlie Burke will be very hands on during the tournament as the coaches for Cook Islands and Indonesia respectively.

"Part of my role is to show the players how to prepare for an international tournament and to lift the standards of national squad training and playing" noted Mr Bradburn "As a foreign-based coach it is also important to lift the standards of indigenous coaches so that they can take over the role for the future."

The hosts, Vanuatu, will have Cricket NSW's Metropolitan East Cricket Officer Russel Grimson as a Technical Manager to assist the team's coaches during the tournament with Cricket Victoria's Regional Cricket Manager (South East Country) Jason Mathers acting in a similar capacity with EAP's new Associate member Japan.

"It will be a very exciting event" commented Mr Grimson "I am looking forward to assisting the leadership group with their planning before and during games and their review processes after. The Vanuatu team is very committed and have prepared very well for the tournament."

Samoa (Auckland CA) and Tonga (Canterbury Cricket) have also received support from their Province Partners with ex-Black Cap and Samoan National Murphy Su'a being recruited by Auckland CA to coach the Samoan team and Craig Kerr from Canterbury Cricket conducted a national camp in Tonga last month to assist the team in their preparations for the tournament. Both teams will also arrive a few days early into Auckland for a pre tournament camp on their way to Vanuatu.

"The State/Province Partnership Program provides an ideal vehicle for developing countries to utilise the skills and expertise of qualified coaches and experienced staff from New Zealand and Australia" remarked NZ Cricket Development Manager Alec Astle. "It also provides a professional development opportunity for full time cricket staff with partnerships developing from coaching visits to include selection advice, strategic planning, governance advice, the provision of resources and general development guidance."

The EAP Cricket Cup starts in Port Vila on Thursday 23 September. Tournament results and statistics can be found each day during the tournament on www.icc-eap-cricket.com.