The Samoa International Cricket Association (SICA) is gearing up and preparing their best teams to participate in the upcoming Pacific Island’s Cup in March this year. 

The SICA Development Coordinator Perelini Mulitalo told the Samoa Observer in an interview on Thursday that they have their eyes set on the ultimate prize and will be working with their players to do well in the upcoming regional tournament in Fiji.

“We are working with three teams and the training program is to help our athletes prepare for the upcoming competition. The three teams are the senior men, senior women and Under 19,” Ms. Mulitalo said.

“These trainings will also be the deciding trial for all of them to qualify in order to represent Samoa in any of the three teams.”

There has also been some changes with the team selection with the upcoming tournament marking the first time they will have teams made up of local players, according to Ms. Mulitalo. As part of the association's efforts to identify and grow local talent, they opted to recruit from in-country while also giving the players exposure and experience. 

Ms. Mulitalo added there is also a community development program for the children and youth to build their talent and skills in cricket. The U19 will also have to prepare for the World Cup Qualifier in Darwin, Australia in June this year before they leave.

“The men’s, women’s and U19 teams will be made up of local players so that they will have the opportunity to compete and improve with valuable experience.”

The SICA will have a full on year, not only for their community development programs, but also because of the many scheduled tournaments around the region that they will be participating in.

There will be a lot of traveling for the Samoan cricket team and the earlier they start with their training the more time they have for their preparations, according to Ms. Mulitalo.

Also in August this year the men’s team will have their T20 World Cup Qualifier match in Papua New Guinea, followed by the Women’s T20 World Cup Qualifier match the following month in Vanuatu, before the Pacific Cup in New Zealand early next year .

The SICA will be hosting their first local competition for this year on Monday 30 January for Sunday schools before the students' academic year starts, said Ms. Mulitalo. 

“This is also a great way to introduce the sport program to young children before they go back to school," she said.