The Cook Islands Cricket Association (CICA) has enjoyed a strong start to the year, with the men’s team securing an early victory against Auckland University Cricket Club (AUCC) in their trial matches in New Zealand.

The association is on a historic New Zealand tour with both the men’s and women’s teams travelling and training in Auckland.

The teams are also playing some warm up matches in preparation for the Women’s Pacific Cup in Auckland from January 15- 21 and the 2024 ICC World Cup Men’s qualifier in Samoa later in the year.

The men’s team played two matches against the Auckland University Cricket Club, winning the opener and going down in the second clash.

Cook Islands cricket team at the AUCC High Performance centre. SUPPLIED / 24011104 / 24011105

The first game saw the Cook Islands triumph by five wickets. Auckland University Cricket Club batted first and scored 113 for 7 and in reply, Cook Islands managed 118 runs with loss of five wickets.

In the second match, Auckland University Cricket Club batted first and scored 177 for four. In reply, Cook Islands managed only 118 runs, losing by 59 runs.

Despite losing the second match, Cook Islands Cricket Association president Grant Walker emphasised the importance of gaining game experience for new players.

“We are still forming the team as this is a trial tour but we won our first and lost the second. Results are secondary to our goal of getting game action with some of the new players but it was good to see us take an early win,” Walker said.

“It’s been an amazing tour for Cook Islands Cricket and it’s just started! We’ve been given the use of the AUCC High Performance centre as well.”
Two more games are scheduled, with the men playing another match at AUCC today (Thursday) and the women’s team having already played their first game yesterday.

Both teams will play at Kemeu Cricket Club tomorrow, and Walker will lead a group of over 60 players, family, and staff to the Black Caps T20 against Pakistan on Friday night.

Cook Islands Cricket Club has arranged 13 friendly matches (seven men’s/six women’s) against AUCC and Kumeu Cricket Club. These matches will serve as crucial preparation for the men’s team ahead of the 2024 ICC World Cup qualifier in Samoa later this year, while also providing valuable warm-up matches for the women’s team leading into the Pacific Cup later this month.

The women’s Pacific Cup kicks off in Auckland from January 15-21, featuring five ICC East Asia Pacific (EAP) nations: the Cook Islands, Fiji, Papua New Guinea, Samoa, and Vanuatu, alongside a newly formed Aotearoa Māori Select team. Hosted by NZ Cricket, the tournament will be broadcast live on NZTV and SKY Pacific.

While the T20 games against the EAP nations hold ranking point significance, the Aotearoa Māori matches will be considered friendly encounters, said Walker.