The Fiji National Cricket Team

Even though the game was introduced in Fiji in 1874...21 years later Fiji was playing first class cricket...now that is quite an achievement..!!!...i guess the saying hardwork and dedication pays can be said in this case...it's like almost everyone involved in the rising of the sport in the 18th century pitched in to make the sport so successful 21 years later...well ain't that grand...anyways moving on...as far as playing first grade cricket was concerned...Fiji got its first overseas tour in 1895...they toured New Zealand in 1895 and the team was captained by John Udal whose great grandson by the name of Shaun would later play test cricket for England...

Nows here a bit of information about the New Zealand tour in 1895...

Fiji began its New Zealand tour with a two day match against Auckland which unfortunately Fiji lost both of the matches by two innings...
Fiji's second match was against Otago...and it was a low scoring second match reason being because rain intervened and unfortunately cricket cannot be played when the ground is wet or when rain is falling and the game was drawn..no winner no looser....but anyways..Fiji's third match was against Canterbury which Fiji lost not by a huge margin but by only 1 inning..and than the game against Wellington was a draw...Fiji getting ever closer to victory...
Fiji's last two matches was a success as the Fiji Cricket team defeated Hawkes Bay by an inning after a wonderful effort by one of Fiji's top player in the tour, John Collins scoring a century...and than Fiji went on to defeat Taranaki by two wickets..a wonderful ending to a wonderful New Zealand tour after the game being only 21 years old in Fiji...

Not only did the Fiji team toured only New Zealand but also Australia...the tour to Australia came in 1908...but unfortunately from the Australian tour..only one result is know from that tour....and that was a two day match against Queensland and the highlight of the game was a seven wicket haul for Pope Cakobau...of which no winner or looser was also known..on tour in Australia...Fiji played 26 matches against state, university and district sides between 11 December 1907 and 30 March 1908.

It can be seen that from its early and humble beginnings..the game of cricket in Fiji is starting to come off age...