OFFICIAL GUIDE
Division 8, Samoa 2012
15-22 September
SAMOA PLAYS HOST TO PEPSI ICC
WORLD CRICKET LEAGUE Division 8
Samoa will host Pepsi
ICC World Cricket League
(WCL) Division 8 from
15 to 22 September 2012
This is the second staging of Pepsi ICC World
Cricket League Division 8, and the first time
that the East Asia-Pacific will host a global Pepsi
ICC World Cricket League event. The host, along
with Belgium, Bhutan, Ghana, Japan, Norway,
Suriname and Vanuatu, will be competing for the
opportunity to take a step further up the WCL
structure by finishing in the top two to secure
promotion to the Pepsi ICC WCL Division 7.
The captains of Suriname and Bhutan shake hands during WCL 8 in 2010
Five of the eight competing teams qualified for
Division 8 through regional tournaments across
the ICC’s five global regions – Africa, Americas,
Asia, East Asia-Pacific and Europe. Vanuatu
qualified for the event after finishing third in
Division 8 in 2010, while Japan and Norway are
in the event by virtue of being relegated from
Division 7, held in 2011.
This divisional event is part of the Pepsi ICC
Development Programme, which provides
regular playing opportunities for similar
standard Associate and Affiliate Members in an
international, 50-over competition structure.
It provides valuable nation versus nation
experience to the competing teams, while also
helping the teams improve the standard of
competitive cricket on the field of play.
Japan celebrates a wicket
Norway’s Waheed Amir appeals
More information on the Pepsi ICC Development
Programme and the WCL structure can be found
at: www.icc-cricket.com.
OFFICIAL GUIDE
Division 8 Samoa 2012
www.pepsiiccworldcricketleague.com
Division 8, Samoa 2012
TEAM PROFILES
belgium
Bhutan
ghana
japan
norway
samoa
Bhutan’s national team participated
in an international tournament
for the first time in 2003, when
it took part in the Asian Cricket
Council (ACC) Emerging Nations
tournament.
Ghana will be making its World
Cricket League debut in Samoa
after qualifying through regional
tournaments. The side finished
top of the table in ICC Africa World
Cricket League 3 in 2008, beating
Swaziland by five wickets in the
final to win the tournament.
The side showed off its all-round
capabilities in Division 2, held in
South Africa in 2011, winning five
of its matches to finish second
and progress to the Division 1
event. Four players won player
of the match awards during the
tournament, with Obed Harvey
winning three.
Japan will need to demonstrate
significant improvement in Samoa
from its form last year if it is to
secure promotion back to Pepsi ICC
World Cricket League Division 7.
Norway is another team looking
to win immediate qualification
back to Division 7. The side
played in Division 6 as recently as
September 2009, where it won
one of its matches to finish fifth.
Norway was relegated to Division
7, which was held in Botswana
in 2011. The team could again
only manage one win from its
five games, and was relegated to
Division 8.
Samoa will be making its
World Cricket League debut on
home soil at this event after
qualifying courtesy of a dominant
performance at the 2011 Pepsi
ICC East Asia-Pacific Division 2
event that saw it go through the
week undefeated.
The side made its Pepsi ICC World
Cricket League debut when it
competed in the inaugural Division
8 event in Kuwait in 2010, where it
won two of its matches, including
a nail-biting win on the last ball
to defeat the Bahamas in the
seventh-place play-off.
It is thought that cricket was
brought to Belgium by Flemish
emigrants from as early as the 14th
century. The first recorded cricket
match in what is now Belgium
actually pre-dates Belgium itself
by 16 years, when British Guards
officers played a match shortly
before the Battle of Waterloo
in 1815.
Currently ranked 11th in Europe,
Belgium will be playing in its first
Pepsi ICC World Cricket League
in Apia. The side qualified with
victory in the ICC European World
Cricket League Division 8 Qualifier
in June 2012. Belgium’s dominant
performance saw it go undefeated
throughout the tournament.
Six players in the youthful squad
have come through the Belgian
youth system, three of whom - Jamie
Farmiloe, Nirvam Shah and Shaival
Mehta - were members of the
squad that won the 2009 European
Under-19 Division 2 title in Belgium.
Left arm medium fast bowler
Shaival Mehta is known for his
accurate line and length. One of
the youngsters in the team, he is
also a good lower order batsman,
scoring 83 for the Belgium U-19
team against Gibraltar U-19 in
August 2011, and will be a player
to watch at this tournament.
Bhutan finished ninth in the ACC
Twenty20 Cup in December 2011,
again winning the match on the
last ball to beat Saudi Arabia in
the ninth-place play-off. A player
of the match performance from
Sonam Tobgay in this final game
was a highlight for the team after a
disappointing tournament.
The Africa Division 1 event was
a disappointing tournament
for Ghana, who won only one
of its matches. However, good
performances from Francis
Bakiweyem, Peter Ananya, Obed
Harvey and Vincent Ateak helped
the team seal qualification from
Africa Division 1 to this event
in Samoa.
However, all is not lost for Japan,
which has unearthed a number of
talented indigenous players in the
last 12 months, who it is confident
will prove more than a handful to
opposition teams in Samoa.
Add to this a growing junior
development programme and
significant experience playing
cricket in the Pacific, as well as a
number of training camps, and
Japan will not be a nation to be
taken lightly.
The side has prepared for this
year’s Division 8 with a 12-week
training programme, and, under the
guidance of new coach Fernando
Lantra, its goal is to win the
tournament.
One of Bhutan’s key players at this
tournament will be captain and
all-rounder Jigme Singye, who is
known for his ability to perform
under pressure. He scored 25 runs
and took five wickets for 23 runs in
a man of the match performance
in the seventh-place play-off of
Division 8 in 2010, and will be
looking to continue his strong form.
2011 was a year to forget for the
East Asia-Pacific side as it lost
all six matches at Division 7 in
Botswana, relegating the team to
this event. It also lost all four of its
matches at the East Asia-Pacific
regional event, including matches
against fellow Division 8 teams
Samoa and Vanuatu.
Nineteen-year-old Julius Horlali
Mensah was a key contributor in
the ICC Africa Division 1 event,
and was the team’s second
highest run-scorer. He has
continued to improve and was
a key all-rounder in the RAV
Solution Cricket Club during the
recent Accra T20 League, where
he was Deputy Captain of RAV
Solution Cricket Club. He will be
a player to watch in Samoa.
As part of its preparation for
Division 8, the squad joined with
Sierra Leone and Mozambique for
a training camp in South Africa,
working with coaches Daryl
Cullinan, Andre Nel, Peter Kirsten,
Ken Jennings and Jonty Rhodes.
A lot will be expected of Takuro
Hagihara, a hard-working rightarm medium-fast bowler who will
be competing in his fourth WCL
event. Takuro will look to take
the next step with his bowling
after a strong performance last
year in Division 7, where he took 6
wickets at an average of 23.
The local side boasts a number
of players who ply their trade in
New Zealand and who have no
intention of ‘just making up the
numbers’ at their first global event.
Samoa will relish the opportunity
to reignite the rivalry with fellow
Pacific nation Vanuatu in Apia as
it aims to turn around the nailbiting five run defeat it suffered
last year, which denied it a place
in the final of the East Asia-Pacific
Division 1 event.
Since then, the team has shown
strong signs of improvement,
claiming fifth spot in the ICC
European Division 1 Championship
in June 2011. After winning three
of its group matches, the side
beat France to claim fifth position.
In June this year, the team won
the ICC European World Cricket
League Division 8 Qualifier,
beating France again to secure
its progress through to the
global event.
The squad is a combination of
young talent and experienced
players, many of whom have
valuable recent match practice,
and Norway will be out to prove
that it is not an easy team to beat.
Muhammad Shahbaz Butt will be
captaining the team for the first
time at a major tournament. He
was the fourth highest run scorer
of Division 7, as well as one of the
leading wicket takers.
suriname
Vanuatu retained its place in
World Cricket League Division 8
after a third place finish at the
event in Kuwait in 2010.
Suriname made its international
debut at the Americas Affiliates
Championship in 2006, and has
gradually risen through the ranks
ever since. The side qualified
for the Pepsi ICC World Cricket
League Division 7 in 2009
through the Americas regional
qualification process.
Unfortunately, Suriname could
only manage one win out of its
five games at the global event –
against the fancied Nigeria – and
finished fifth in the six-team
tournament. As a result, Suriname
was relegated to Division 8 in
Kuwait in 2010. In a tournament
to forget, Suriname finished last
in its group without winning
a match.
Suriname has enjoyed greater
success in the past two years,
winning the ICC Americas Region
Division 2 Twenty20 on home
soil. As a result, the side gained
promotion to the Division 1 event
a few months later, where it
finished fifth.
Captain and right-handed
batsman Benjamin Mailata has
led the way for his nation over
the last 18 months with dominant
performances at Division 1 and 2
of the Pepsi ICC East Asia-Pacific
Championship. He became
Samoa’s first ever centurion in
international cricket at the East
Asia-Pacific Division 2 tournament,
and was selected in the East
Asia-Pacific representative team
for the Australian Country Cricket
Championships.
Featuring a mature team with
significant 50-over cricket
experience, nothing short of a
place in the final will satisfy the
expectations of the Samoa players
or passionate local supporters.
Vanuatu
The small Pacific nation has
shown great improvement since
that tournament, winning bronze
at the 2011 Pacific Games in New
Caledonia and finishing runner-up
to PNG at the Pepsi ICC East AsiaPacific Division 1 Championship.
A number of the team’s players,
including star all-rounder Simpson
Obed, spent the summer in
Australia playing with district club
North Melbourne. This provided
the group with expert coaching
and invaluable experience against
quality opposition. Two members
of the team were also named in the
Emerging East Asia Pacific Squad.
The side has held extensive
training in the lead-up to this
event, and will be looking to win
its way back to Division 7.
Veteran all-rounder Shazam
Ramjohn is captaining the side,
and will bring considerable
international experience to the
team. He was instrumental in
cementing the team’s first-place
spot in the ICC Americas WCL
Division Two Championship in
2008, and captained the team in
Pepsi ICC WCL Division 8 in 2010.
The 24-year-old right-handed
batsman and dangerous offspinner, Andrew Mansale, is captain
of the Vanuatu side. He was the
leading run scorer at the WCL
Division 8 event in 2010, scoring 288
runs at an average of 72, including a
match winning 124 not out against
Zambia to keep Vanuatu in the
World Cricket League.
Vanuatu recently appointed Peter
Wooden to take the reins of the
youthful side as the new head
coach, and he will be every bit as
motivated as the players to make
an immediate impact and thrust
his side back up to Division 7.
OFFICIAL GUIDE
Division 8 Samoa 2012
Division 8, Samoa 2012
www.pepsiiccworldcricketleague.com
WELCOME MESSAGES
ALAN ISAAC
Seb Kohlhase
Welcome to the Pepsi ICC World Cricket League (WCL)
Division 8, taking place for the first time on the beautiful
island of Samoa. Since the Pepsi ICC Development
Programme began in 1997, much work has been done to
spread the game of cricket across the globe and that effort
and financial investment is bearing fruit.
Talofa!
As our great sport continues to grow even stronger around
the world, the ICC now has 106 Members, 96 of whom are
Associates and Affiliates, spread across five regions. As the overall standard of
cricket continues to improve outside of the 10 Full Members, there is now a clear
pathway for every team to continue to develop its cricketing skills and talents.
The WCL is an important competition that provides all of our Members with the
opportunity to compete with the very top teams in the Associate and Affiliate world.
This plays an important role in improving the standard of competitive cricket on the
field of play among Associate and Affiliate Members. The event also complements
the ICC’s ongoing work to improve all facets of the development of the game,
including facilities, coaching, governance, education and domestic competitions.
I would like to thank the Samoan International Cricket Association for its
hard work in helping to stage this ICC event, the media who help to promote
Associate and Affiliate cricket, and also to our excellent sponsor, Pepsi, for the
ongoing support in the development of cricket world-wide.
It is with great pleasure that I welcome you to our beautiful
country Samoa. The Pepsi ICC World Cricket League Division
8 promises to be an exciting event and we thank the
International Cricket Council for providing our country the
opportunity to host such a vast array of countries from all
over the world. Bringing people together from different
backgrounds is one of the great joys that cricket delivers.
We at the Samoa International Cricket Association take pride in the quality of our
facilities and are truly grateful to host this prestigious tournament. The Pepsi ICC
WCL Division 8 is the largest cricket tournament to grace our shores and everyone
involved in Samoan Cricket has worked closely with the ICC to contribute to a
successful and enjoyable tournament for all those involved.
The Pepsi ICC WCL Division 8 will be a fantastic opportunity to continue the
development of cricket in Samoa. With the great standard of cricket that will be on
display, there is no doubt that the promotion of cricket will reach unprecedented
levels as a result of this tournament.
I wish good luck to all the participants and officials with your preparations
for The Pepsi ICC WCL Division 8. We look forward to welcoming you to Samoa.
Finally, I urge the match officials and all the players of Bhutan, Belgium, Ghana,
Japan, Norway, Suriname, Vanuatu, and our host Samoa to enjoy the experience
of representing their country, to play the game in the best spirit, and may the
best team win.
Fa’afetai Lava
Alan Isaac
ICC President
Seb Kohlhase
President Samoa International Cricket Association
PEPSI ICC WCL DIVISION 8 MATCH SCHEDULE
DAY
DATE
garden oval 1
garden oval 2 garden oval 3
garden oval 4
Sat 15 Sep
Bhutan v Belgium Suriname v Japan Ghana v Samoa Norway v Vanuatu
Samoa v Norway
Japan v Bhutan
Suriname v Belgium
Japan v Belgium
Samoa v Vanuatu
Ghana v Norway
5th v 6th play-off 7th v 8th play-off
Fri 14 Sep
1
3
Mon 17 Sep
Ghana v Vanuatu
5
Wed 19 Sep
Suriname v Bhutan
2
4
6
7
8
Sun 16 Sep
Tue 18 Sep
Thu 20 Sep
A1 v B2 Fri 21 Sep
Sat 22 Sep
Final Winner A1vB2 v Winner B1vA2
Practice
No Play
Rest/Reserve Day
B1 v A2 Rest/Reserve Day
3rd v 4th play-off Loser A1vB2 v Loser B1vA2
A3 v B4 Winner A3vB4 v Winner A4vB3
B3 v A4
Loser A3vB4 v Loser A4vB3
Please note all matches begin at 9:30am Samoa local time
WORLD CRICKET LEAGUE OFFICIAL GUIDE
ICC CONTACTS
ICC EAP Media Manager: Adam Cassidy
Tel: (+61) 424 081 523
Email: adam.cassidy@cricket.com.au
CREDITS
Event Operations: Eddie Fitzgibbon
Tel: +(971) 50 640 1220
Email: edward.fitzgibbon@icc-cricket.com
Photos courtesy of ICC photographer Ian Jacobs, ICC East Asia-Pacific and ICC Europe
Designed and produced by Tobasgo Creative Communications (Tel: +44 8450 80 80 40)