Bowling performances outstanding at tournament

The Cook Islands women’s national cricket team has returned from their historic first appearance at an ICC EAP regional cricket tournament wiser for the experience.

Cook Islands Cricket chief executive officer Alister Stevic said he was encouraged by some of the performances at the tournament despite wins against Vanuatu and Fiji not being realised.

”It was disappointing to miss out on wins against Fiji and Vanuatu, however I am encouraged by the bowling performances at the tournament,“ says Stevic.

”Bowlers Amelia Moetaua, Tekura Kaukura, Marii Kaukura and Marion Larsen performed well and troubled some quality batters.“

Stevic also commented that Makiroa Mato’s wicket keeping had dramatically improved and commended June George for her captaincy in leading such an inexperienced side.

Looking for room for improvement, Stevic agreed that batting was an ideal place to start.

”We struggled with the bat, we really did, the top five batters really need to be able to perform and despite a couple of solid individual performances, Marion Larsen’s superb near match winning 49 against Vanuatu in particular, the scorecards read very little.

”The batters brilliant performance in their match against Vanuatu really highlighted that the Cooks girls are technically capable of performing at international level, it’s now about the coaching staff working with players on performing more consistently.“

For cricket president Oliver Syme, consistency is something he believes comes from playing more regular games at a higher level.

”Opportunities for male and female teams to compete in the region don’t come round nearly enough, the association is working hard toward providing more regular opportunities for our women’s team to enjoy international success, starting with an approach to ICC for hosting rights to the next women’s EAP event in 2014,“ says Syme.

If the Cooks are successful in gaining host rights for the next tournament, it will guarantee the Cook Islands spot in the tournament.