U-15 Tourney

U-15 Tourney

After being lauded for its efforts to spur cricket development, now is the time for Indonesia to start reaping the rewards for its hard work. Indonesia, winner of the past two International Cricket Council awards for best youth cricket initiative, has a chance to show its progress when it hosts the third East Asia-Pacific U-15 Cricket 8s Trophy. The 20-over format tournament begins today and runs through Saturday.

Cricket grounds in East Jakarta’s Cibubur, Purwakarta in West Java and Karawaci and Karawang, both in Banten, will host eight teams from seven countries. In addition to the Indonesian A and B teams, Fiji, Japan, Samoa, Tonga, Vanuatu and two-time defending champion Papua New Guinea will round out the field.

The Indonesian B team was formed as a last-minute replacement when the Cook Islands withdrew. Indonesia will host the tournament for the first time, having finished fifth at the inaugural tournament in Melbourne in 2005 before missing the 2007 event in Samoa.

To prepare for the tournament, Cricket Indonesia general manager Prakash Vijaykumar said the association recruited the top players from its under-15 national championship last month.

“It is a big challenge for us to gather all the children from all over the country as Indonesia is a big country. Though the team has only one month of preparation, the players have been training at their clubs for the last five months,” Vijaykumar said during a news conference on Monday.

Indonesia A captain Gema Fajar is confident his team has what it takes to defend its home soil.

“Our team is already solid. We want to give our best in the tournament,” Gema said. “We hope we can enter the top four places this year. If it’s possible, we want to be the champion.” Indonesia A opens play today against Japan at 9 a.m. in Cibubur, followed by a 1 p.m. match against Fiji in Karawaci. Indonesia B faces Vanuatu and Papua New Guinea in Purwakarta.

“We’re confident we can win against Japan as the sport is relatively new there, as it is here. We also beat the Japanese team in the U-19 tournament in Papua New Guinea last May,” Gema said. “Fiji will be a harder opponent, but we’re optimistic about winning the match.”

Matthew Weisheit, the ICC’s East Asia-Pacific regional development manager, said the tournament would help the young players discover how it feels to represent their country in international competition.

The tournament is one part of Cricket Indonesia’s continuing efforts to establish the sport at a grassroots level. Its recent laurels include its two ICC Global Development Awards, the Best Junior Development Initiative for its Ultra Milk U-15 Development Program and a Lifetime Service Award for former Cricket Indonesia president Alan Wilson.