The Fiji national cricket team is the men's team that represents

Fiji Fiji, officially the Republic of Fiji, is an island country in Melanesia, part of Oceania in the South Pacific Ocean. It lies about north-northeast of New Zealand. Fiji consists of an archipelago of more than 330 islands—of which about ...

international cricket International cricket matches are played between the teams representing their nations, administrated by the International Cricket Council. The main forms are Test matches, ODI matches and T20I matches. Most games are played as part of "tou ...

. Fiji has been an associate member of the

International Cricket Council The International Cricket Council (ICC) is the global Sports governing body, governing body of cricket. It was founded as the Imperial Cricket Conference in 1909 by representatives from Australia, England, and South Africa. In 1965, the body wa ...

(ICC) since 1965,Fiji
at CricketArchive although the team's history goes back to the late 19th century. In April 2018, the ICC decided to grant full

Twenty20 International Twenty20 International (T20I) is a form of Twenty20 cricket, in which each team plays a single innings with a maximum of twenty overs. The matches are played between international teams recognized by the International Cricket Council (ICC). ...

(T20I) status to all its members. Therefore, all

Twenty20 Twenty20 (abbreviated T20) is a shortened format of cricket. At the professional level, it was introduced by the England and Wales Cricket Board (ECB) in 2003 for the county cricket, inter-county competition. In a Twenty20 game, the two t ...

matches played between Fiji and other ICC members since 1 January 2019 have the T20I status.

History

Early days

Cricket was introduced to Fiji by European settlers in 1874, and the native population began taking up the game in 1878. The governor of Fiji at the time listed introducing cricket to the native Fijians as one of the achievements of his tenure in his memoirs.

Early tours

Fiji was playing

first-class cricket First-class cricket, along with List A cricket and Twenty20 cricket, is one of the highest-standard forms of cricket. A first-class match is of three or more days scheduled duration between two sides of eleven players each and is officially adju ...

just 21 years after cricket was introduced to the country, when they toured

New Zealand New Zealand () is an island country in the southwestern Pacific Ocean. It consists of two main landmasses—the North Island () and the South Island ()—and List of islands of New Zealand, over 600 smaller islands. It is the List of isla ...

in early 1895.Fiji in New Zealand, 1894/95
at Cricket Archive

1895 tour of New Zealand

Fiji's team on the tour in 1895 was captained by John Udal, whose great-grandson

Shaun Shaun is an Anglicized spelling of the Irish name Seán. Alternative spellings include Shawn, Sean, and Shawne. Along with spelling variants Shawn and Shaun, the name was among the top 1,000 names for American boys by 1950 and, with all spelli ...

would eventually play

Test cricket Test cricket is a Forms of cricket, format of the sport of cricket, considered the game’s most prestigious and traditional form. Often referred to as the "ultimate test" of a cricketer's skill, endurance, and temperament, it is a format of i ...

for

England England is a Countries of the United Kingdom, country that is part of the United Kingdom. It is located on the island of Great Britain, of which it covers about 62%, and List of islands of England, more than 100 smaller adjacent islands. It ...

. The first match of the tour was a two-day match against

Auckland Auckland ( ; ) is a large metropolitan city in the North Island of New Zealand. It has an urban population of about It is located in the greater Auckland Region, the area governed by Auckland Council, which includes outlying rural areas and ...

, which Fiji lost by an

innings An innings is one of the divisions of a cricket match during which one team takes its turn to bat. Innings also means the period in which an individual player bats (acts as either striker or nonstriker). In cricket and rounders, "innings" is ...

. A low scoring second match against

Otago Otago (, ; ) is a regions of New Zealand, region of New Zealand located in the southern half of the South Island and administered by the Otago Regional Council. It has an area of approximately , making it the country's second largest local go ...

was drawn after rain washed out the first of the two days. The third match against

Canterbury Canterbury (, ) is a City status in the United Kingdom, city and UNESCO World Heritage Site, in the county of Kent, England; it was a county borough until 1974. It lies on the River Stour, Kent, River Stour. The city has a mild oceanic climat ...

was also lost by an innings, before a draw against

Wellington Wellington is the capital city of New Zealand. It is located at the south-western tip of the North Island, between Cook Strait and the Remutaka Range. Wellington is the third-largest city in New Zealand (second largest in the North Island ...

. The final two matches of the tour went much better for the Fijians, winning against

Hawke's Bay Hawke's Bay () is a region on the east coast of New Zealand's North Island. The region is named for Hawke Bay, which was named in honour of Edward Hawke. The region's main centres are the cities of Napier and Hastings, while the more rural ...

by an innings after a

century A century is a period of 100 years or 10 decades. Centuries are numbered ordinally in English and many other languages. The word ''century'' comes from the Latin ''centum'', meaning ''one hundred''. ''Century'' is sometimes abbreviated as c. ...

from John Collins, and beating

Taranaki Taranaki is a regions of New Zealand, region in the west of New Zealand's North Island. It is named after its main geographical feature, the stratovolcano Mount Taranaki, Taranaki Maunga, formerly known as Mount Egmont. The main centre is the ...

by two wickets.

1907–08 tour of Australia

In 1907–08, Fiji toured Australia, playing 26 matches against state, university and district sides between 11 December 1907 and 30 March 1908. In the drawn two-day match against

Queensland Queensland ( , commonly abbreviated as Qld) is a States and territories of Australia, state in northeastern Australia, and is the second-largest and third-most populous state in Australia. It is bordered by the Northern Territory, South Austr ...

, Pope Cakobau took 7 for 105 and 3 for 56. The Fijian team also played a two-day match against

New South Wales New South Wales (commonly abbreviated as NSW) is a States and territories of Australia, state on the Eastern states of Australia, east coast of :Australia. It borders Queensland to the north, Victoria (state), Victoria to the south, and South ...

and two against

Victoria Victoria most commonly refers to: * Queen Victoria (1819–1901), Queen of the United Kingdom and Empress of India * Victoria (state), a state of Australia * Victoria, British Columbia, Canada, a provincial capital * Victoria, Seychelles, the capi ...

. All four of these matches were drawn.

1923–24 New Zealand tour of Fiji

A New Zealand team captained by Walter Harvie, and consisting mostly of players from

, toured Fiji in March and April 1924, playing five matches, including two three-day matches against Fiji. None of the matches were first-class.

1935–36 New Zealand tour of Fiji

A young New Zealand team captained by Bruce Massey, known as the Maorilanders, toured Fiji in December 1935 and January 1936, playing nine matches, including two three-day matches against Fiji. None of the matches were first-class.

Post War period

Fiji toured New Zealand twice more, in 1948 and 1954.Fiji in New Zealand, 1953/54
at Cricket Archive Fiji's first match against a Test-playing nation came in 1956, when the

West Indies The West Indies is an island subregion of the Americas, surrounded by the Atlantic Ocean, North Atlantic Ocean and the Caribbean Sea, which comprises 13 independent island country, island countries and 19 dependent territory, dependencies in thr ...

visited. Fiji won the match against a team featuring the likes of

Garfield Sobers The Right Excellent Sir Garfield St Aubrun Sobers, NH, AO, OCC (born 28 July 1936), also known as Sir Gary or Sir Garry Sobers, is a Barbadian born former cricketer who played for the West Indies between 1954 and 1974. A highly skilled bowle ...

by 28 runs despite being bowled out for 91, largely thanks to a six wicket haul from

John Gosling John Gosling may refer to: *John Gosling (The Kinks musician) (1948–2023), British keyboardist in The Kinks *John Gosling (Psychic TV musician) (born 1963), British big beat and industrial musician *John Gosling (cricketer, born 1833) (1833–188 ...

1948 tour of New Zealand

Like the tour in 1895, the 1948 tour started with a defeat to Auckland, by 168 runs. Fiji won their next match against Wellington by one wicket, before losing to Canterbury by 36 runs. The tour continued with a 46 run defeat by Otago and concluded with a 115 run win against Auckland. One notable player for Fiji on this tour was IL Bula, who scored the most runs and the only century on the tour. Bula's full name is Ilikena Lasarusa Talebulamainavaleniveivakabulaimainakulalakebalau, and his name is thought to be the longest of any

first class cricket First-class cricket, along with List A cricket and Twenty20 cricket, is one of the highest-standard forms of cricket. A first-class match is of three or more days scheduled duration between two sides of eleven players each and is officially adju ...

er.

1954 tour of New Zealand

Just four matches were played on the 1954 tour, which started with a two wicket defeat to Otago. The tour continued with another two wicket defeat, this time to Canterbury, before a 117 run defeat to Wellington. The tour ended with a seven wicket win against Auckland. The team included Ratu Kamisese Mara who would go on to become the

Prime Minister A prime minister or chief of cabinet is the head of the cabinet and the leader of the ministers in the executive branch of government, often in a parliamentary or semi-presidential system. A prime minister is not the head of state, but r ...

and

President President most commonly refers to: *President (corporate title) * President (education), a leader of a college or university *President (government title) President may also refer to: Arts and entertainment Film and television *'' Præsident ...

of Fiji.

1983–84 England visit to Fiji

An England XI played two limited-over matches against the Fiji Cricket Association President's XI in 1984. Basically this was the full England squad of the day on its way to tour New Zealand. The England side won both matches although they were given a serious scare in the second, the Fijian side losing by only 18 runs.

ICC membership

Fiji gained associate membership of the ICC in 1965. They played in the first ICC Trophy tournament in

1979 Events January * January 1 ** United Nations Secretary-General Kurt Waldheim heralds the start of the ''International Year of the Child''. Many musicians donate to the ''Music for UNICEF Concert'' fund, among them ABBA, who write the song ...

, and played in every one until

2001 The year's most prominent event was the September 11 attacks against the United States by al-Qaeda, which Casualties of the September 11 attacks, killed 2,977 people and instigated the global war on terror. The United States led a Participan ...

.ICC Trophy matches played by Fiji
at Cricket Archive They also played in the first

ACC Trophy The ACC Trophy was a limited-overs cricket tournament organised by the Asian Cricket Council (ACC). Open only to List of International Cricket Council members, associate and affiliate members of the International Cricket Council (ICC), it was con ...

in 1996, losing in the semi-final to the

UAE The United Arab Emirates (UAE), or simply the Emirates, is a country in West Asia, in the Middle East, at the eastern end of the Arabian Peninsula. It is a federal elective monarchy made up of seven emirates, with Abu Dhabi serving as i ...

.1996 ACC Trophy results summary
at Cricinfo In 2001, Fiji played in the first Pacifica Cup in

, reaching the final where they lost to the New Zealand Māori by three wickets. They played in the 2002 tournament in

Samoa Samoa, officially the Independent State of Samoa and known until 1997 as Western Samoa, is an island country in Polynesia, part of Oceania, in the South Pacific Ocean. It consists of two main islands (Savai'i and Upolu), two smaller, inhabited ...

, finishing third after beating the

Cook Islands The Cook Islands is an island country in Polynesia, part of Oceania in the South Pacific Ocean. It consists of 15 islands whose total land area is approximately . The Cook Islands' Exclusive Economic Zone (EEZ) covers of ocean. Avarua is its ...

in a play-off. In 2003, Fiji hosted the

South Pacific Games The Pacific Games (French: Jeux du Pacifique), is a continental multi-sport event held every four years among athletes from Oceania. The inaugural Games took place in 1963 in Suva, Fiji, and most recently in 2023 in Honiara, Solomon Islands. ...

. The cricket tournament saw the hosts lose to

Papua New Guinea Papua New Guinea, officially the Independent State of Papua New Guinea, is an island country in Oceania that comprises the eastern half of the island of New Guinea and offshore islands in Melanesia, a region of the southwestern Pacific Ocean n ...

in the final. The following year, they took part in the EAP Challenge in Fuji City, Japan, winning after beating

Tonga Tonga, officially the Kingdom of Tonga, is an island country in Polynesia, part of Oceania. The country has 171 islands, of which 45 are inhabited. Its total surface area is about , scattered over in the southern Pacific Ocean. accordin ...

in the final. This qualified them for the repêchage tournament for the

2005 ICC Trophy The 2005 ICC Trophy was a cricket tournament held in Ireland between 1 July and 13 July 2005. It was an international one-day tournament played over 50 overs per side between 12 Associate Members of the International Cricket Council. It served a ...

. At that tournament in

Kuala Lumpur Kuala Lumpur (KL), officially the Federal Territory of Kuala Lumpur, is the capital city and a Federal Territories of Malaysia, federal territory of Malaysia. It is the largest city in the country, covering an area of with a census population ...

Malaysia Malaysia is a country in Southeast Asia. Featuring the Tanjung Piai, southernmost point of continental Eurasia, it is a federation, federal constitutional monarchy consisting of States and federal territories of Malaysia, 13 states and thre ...

, they reached the final, where they lost to Papua New Guinea by 30 runs, thus missing out on the 2005 ICC Trophy. In 2006, Fiji played in the 2006 ICC EAP Cricket Trophy in

Brisbane Brisbane ( ; ) is the List of Australian capital cities, capital and largest city of the States and territories of Australia, state of Queensland and the list of cities in Australia by population, third-most populous city in Australia, with a ...

, Australia. They won the tournament winning all of their matches against the Cook Islands and

Japan Japan is an island country in East Asia. Located in the Pacific Ocean off the northeast coast of the Asia, Asian mainland, it is bordered on the west by the Sea of Japan and extends from the Sea of Okhotsk in the north to the East China Sea ...

, qualifying them for

Division Three The Football League Third Division was the third tier of the English football league system in 1920–21 and again from 1958 until 1992. When the FA Premier League was formed, the Third Division become the fourth tier of English football. In 2 ...

of the

World Cricket League The ICC World Cricket League (WCL) was a series of international one-day cricket tournaments for national teams without Test status (i.e., teams of Associate status) administered by the International Cricket Council. All Associate Members of ...

in Darwin, Australia. They warmed up for the tournament with a three match series at home against

Vanuatu Vanuatu ( or ; ), officially the Republic of Vanuatu (; ), is an island country in Melanesia located in the South Pacific Ocean. The archipelago, which is of volcanic origin, is east of northern Australia, northeast of New Caledonia, east o ...

, winning all three matches, but were unsuccessful in the tournament itself, losing all five games they played, thus meaning they will have to take part in

Division Four The Football League Fourth Division was the fourth-highest division in the English football league system from the 1958–59 season until the creation of the Premier League prior to the 1992–93 season. Following the creation of the Premier L ...

in 2008. Later in 2007, they took part in the cricket tournament at the

2007 South Pacific Games The 13th South Pacific Games (), also known as Apia 2007, were held from 25 August to 8 September 2007 in Apia, Samoa. The Games were the thirteenth to be held since the inception of the South Pacific Games in 1963, and included traditional multi ...

, losing to Papua New Guinea in the final group game, meaning that they went home with the silver medal.Papua New Guinea take home the gold
by Andrew Nixon, 2 September 2007 at CricketEurope Fiji took part in the 2010 ICC World Cricket League Division Five in Nepal, where they finished sixth and last and in doing so failed to win a single match in the tournament. Fiji then played in the

2011 ICC World Cricket League Division Six The 2011 ICC World Cricket League Division Six was a cricket tournament that took place from 17 to 24 September 2011. It formed part of the ICC World Cricket League and qualifying for the 2015 Cricket World Cup. The host country for this tourna ...

and finished sixth and last and in doing so were relegated to 2013 ICC World Cricket League Division Seven.

Tournament history

World Cricket League

* 2007:

– 8th place * 2008:

– 5th place * 2010: Division Five – 6th place * 2011: Division Six – 6th place * 2013: Division Seven – 3rd place * 2015: Division Six – 5th place

ICC Trophy

: First round *

1982 Events January * January 1 – In Malaysia and Singapore, clocks are adjusted to the same time zone, UTC+8 (GMT+8.00). * January 13 – Air Florida Flight 90 crashes shortly after takeoff into the 14th Street Bridge in Washington, D.C. ...

: First round *

1986 The year 1986 was designated as the International Year of Peace by the United Nations. Events January * January 1 ** Aruba gains increased autonomy from the Netherlands by separating from the Netherlands Antilles. ** Spain and Portugal en ...

: First round *

1990 Important events of 1990 include the Reunification of Germany and the unification of Yemen, the formal beginning of the Human Genome Project (finished in 2003), the launch of the Hubble Space Telescope, the separation of Namibia from South ...

: Plate competition *

1994 The year 1994 was designated as the " International Year of the Family" and the "International Year of Sport and the Olympic Ideal" by the United Nations. In the Line Islands and Phoenix Islands of Kiribati, 1994 had only 364 days, omitti ...

: Plate competition *

1997 Events January * January 1 – The Emergency Alert System is introduced in the United States. * January 11 – Turkey threatens Cyprus on account of a deal to buy Russian S-300 missiles, prompting the Cypriot Missile Crisis. * January 1 ...

: 11th place *

: First round *

2005 2005 was designated as the International Year for Sport and Physical Education and the International Year of Microcredit. The beginning of 2005 also marked the end of the International Decade of the World's Indigenous Peoples, Internationa ...

: Did not qualify

ACC Trophy

1996 1996 was designated as: * International Year for the Eradication of Poverty Events January * January 8 – A Zairean cargo plane crashes into a crowded market in the center of the capital city of the Democratic Republic of the Congo ...

: Semi-finals

South Pacific Games

*1979: Bronze medal *1987: Silver medal *1991: Silver medal *

2003 2003 was designated by the United Nations as the International Year of Fresh water, Freshwater. In 2003, a Multi-National Force – Iraq, United States-led coalition 2003 invasion of Iraq, invaded Iraq, starting the Iraq War. Demographic ...

: Silver medal *

2007 2007 was designated as the International Heliophysical Year and the International Polar Year. Events January * January 1 **Bulgaria and Romania 2007 enlargement of the European Union, join the European Union, while Slovenia joins the Eur ...

: Silver medal *

2011 The year marked the start of a Arab Spring, series of protests and revolutions throughout the Arab world advocating for democracy, reform, and economic recovery, later leading to the depositions of world leaders in Tunisia, Egypt, and Yemen ...

: Silver medal

ICC T20 World Cup East Asia-Pacific Qualifier

* 2018-19: 4th place (Group A Subregional Qualifier) * 2022-23: 2nd place (Group A Subregional Qualifier)

Records

International Match Summary — Fiji ''Last updated 24 August 2024''

Twenty20 International

T20I record versus other nations ''Records complete to T20I #2798. Last updated 24 August 2024.''

Other records

For a list of selected international matches played by Fiji, se
Cricket Archive

Players

Fiji's most famous player is Neil Maxwell, who played first-class cricket for

and

in Australia, and for

in New Zealand in addition to representing Australia A. Nat Uluiviti is the other Fijian to have played first-class cricket for a team other than Fiji, playing for

in the 1950s.Nat Uluiviti
at Cricket Archive

Current squad

The Fiji squad at the

2015 ICC World Cricket League Division Six The 2015 ICC World Cricket League Division Six was a limited-overs international cricket tournament that took place in England from 7 to 13 September 2015. The majority of matches were played at grounds in Essex, although two matches took place ...

tournament was as follows: * Josefa Rika ( c) * Metuisela Beitaki * Sakiusa Dokosobau * Imran Khan * Riyad Khan * Jikoi Kida * Karan Kumar * Kunaal Kumar * Rabici Lesuma * Viliame Manakitoga * Sekove Ravoka * Giles Smith * Jone Wesele * Viliame Yabaki

References

External links

Cricket Fiji

at

ESPN Cricinfo ESPNcricinfo (formerly known as Cricinfo or CricInfo) is a sports news website exclusively for the game of cricket. The site features news, articles, live coverage of cricket matches (including liveblogs and scorecards), and ''StatsGuru'', a ...

{{National cricket teams 1895 establishments in Fiji Cricket in Fiji National cricket teams

Cricket Cricket is a Bat-and-ball games, bat-and-ball game played between two Sports team, teams of eleven players on a cricket field, field, at the centre of which is a cricket pitch, pitch with a wicket at each end, each comprising two Bail (cr ...

Fiji in international cricket Cricket clubs established in 1895

History

Early days

Early tours

1895 tour of New Zealand

1907–08 tour of Australia

1923–24 New Zealand tour of Fiji

1935–36 New Zealand tour of Fiji

Post War period

1948 tour of New Zealand

1954 tour of New Zealand

1983–84 England visit to Fiji

ICC membership

Tournament history

World Cricket League

ICC Trophy

ACC Trophy

South Pacific Games

ICC T20 World Cup East Asia-Pacific Qualifier

Records

Twenty20 International

Other records

Players

Current squad

See also

References

External links