The introduction of conference qualifiers have added extra excitement and interest to Cricket Fiji’s annual Easter Tournament, as shown by the crowds lining Albert Park in Suva this week to watch the teams from the Lau group battle in out for a place in the main event in two weeks time.
However across the Pacific Ocean there is another team fiercely preparing to do battle in Suva come Easter time, in the form of Brisbane’s Western Suburbs District Cricket Club (WSDCC).
After competing at the Cricket Fiji’s 2013 Easter Tournament, the team from Queensland’s capital were keen to relive their Fijian cricket experience during the tournament’s 70th anniversary. The Matt Dyson-led side say it’s a great end-of-season competition for them, but for the Fijian players vying for national selection at the end of the year, it’s a great opportunity for them to test their skills against those brought up in a cricketing-mad nation such as Australia.
Matt along with Joel Mitchell, Mat Lownds and Andrew Trevaskis, who will all be representing the Western Suburbs in the 2014 Crompton Cup, are currently in the middle of contesting the four-day grand find of the Queensland Premier Grade Competition’s 5th grade, which will conclude this weekend.
In an ironic test, the WSDCC entered two teams in the 5th grade 12-team competition, and in the grand final they are facing off against none other than clubmates at the other end of the pitch.
It seems the Fijian players and spectators alike will be in for a treat when local players Sekove Ravoka and Viliame Yabaki, who have been based in Western Australia and Melbourne respectively for the Australian cricket season, join the ranks of the talented boys from WSDCC to contest the Crompton Cup in 2014.
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