Vanuatu young gun lights up round 1

Seventeen year old ni-Vanuatu Andrew Mansale led his team to victory with a masterful 87 as the tournament hosts defeated Indonesia at Independence Park on Day 1 of the EAP Cricket Cup tournament in Port Vila, Vanuatu today.

Indonesia won the toss and batted on a beautiful sunny day and at 1/85 after 20 overs was threatening to ruin the day for the large crowd who had assembled to cheer on the home side. A couple of wickets in quick succession changed the pace of the game and Indonesia were reduced to 5/104 (26 overs). A 61 run partnership late in the innings by Amar Kapadia (46no) and Dan Metcalf (28) wasn't enough to see out the innings as Indonesia were bowled out for 191 mid way through the 45th over. Patrick Haines was the chief destroyer with 4/53 off 9.1 overs.

Vanuatu's run chase started comfortably with the first wicket falling at 18, which brought 17 year old Andrew Mansale to the crease. After a cautious start Mansale's innings blossomed into a run fest and his match winning 87 came off 112 balls and included two 4's and four 6's. His 68 run partnership with Michael Avock (28) was surpassed by a 90 run partnership with veteran Rod Day (46no) to ensure a comfortable 7 wicket victory.

At KaZaa Field, Tonga won the toss against a pumped up Cook Islands team and elected to bat. However, they were in immediate danger slumping to 5/24 in the 10th over. Paea Noa (24) and Mafi Langi (19) worked hard for Tonga but the rest of the batters failed to come to terms with the situation and the team was dismissed for 103 in just over 27 overs. Pacemen Dunu Eliaba (5/21 off 8 overs) and Chris Brown (3/10 off 8.3 overs) did the damage with the ball. At the luncheon break Cook Islands were 2/45 and cruising to victory.

The Tongans regrouped at lunch and perhaps the Cooks started to think the game was won but the flow of the game changed dramatically in the second session. When Brown (47 off 83 balls) was the 4th wicket to fall with the score on 87, the Cooks batting dramatically collapsed and they lost 5/14 in 7 frantic overs. At 8/103 the game was slipping from grasp. Tailender Benjamin Cumming ended the heart stopper with a big hit over midwicket to the fence for the Cooks to get home by 2 wickets. Medium pacer Viliami Tuppouniua was the main destroyer and finished with 4/21 off his 10 completed overs.

The third game of the day was played at Club Hippique with a below strength Japan defeating Samoa by 95 runs. Japan batted first and started cautiously against a depleted Samoan team. At 5/54 after 14 overs Samoa were flying high and Japan had the staggers. Middle order batter Masaomi Kobayashi (38 off 77 balls) steadied the ship and shared a crucial 49 run 6th wicket partnership with Yoshiyuki Hirose (31 off 60 balls) to help his country post a competitive 159.

Samoa were never able to take control of the batting innings and under the constant pressure applied by the Japanese bowlers were dismissed for 64 runs. Their innings was completed in 21 overs. Yoshiyuki Hirose (3/15 off 4 overs) completed a fine double and paceman Patrick Giles-Jones was dangerous early (1/10 off 7 overs).

In tomorrow's games, Indonesia confront a full strength Japan at Club Hippique, Tonga play Samoa in a clash of traditional rivals at Independence Park and today's impressive victors Vanuatu run into the Cook Islands at KaZaa Field.

The EAP Cricket Cup will continue with Round 2 tomorrow and concludes with finals on Thursday 29 September. Daily results can be found at www.icc-eap-cricket.com by following the EAP Cricket Cup link.

Round 1 Results: Indonesia 191 (Amar Kapadia 46no, Rob Hindmarsh Dan Metcalf 28, Patrick Haines 4/53) lost to Vanuatu 3/192 (Andrew Mansale 87, Rod Day 46no, Michael Avock 28)

Japan 159 (Masaomi Kobayashi 38, Yoshiyuki Hirose 31, Naoki Miyagi 31, Faiilagi Konelio 4/15) defeated Samoa 64 (Yoshiyuki Hirose 3/15)

Tonga 103 (Paea Noa 24, Dunu Eliaba 5/21, Chris Brown 3/10) lost to Cook Islands 8/105 (Chris Brown 47, Viliami Tuppouniua 4/21)