Fiji captain Josefa Rika hammers scintillating 257 in ICC EAP U/19 Cricket World Cup Qualifier

Fiji opener Josefa Rika played what must rank as one of the most breathtaking knocks in the history of age-group cricket to inspire his side to a 387-run victory over Japan in the ICC East Asia-Pacific (EAP) U/19 Cricket World Cup Qualifier in Port Vila, Vanuatu on Friday.

Rika hit an electrifying 257 off just 145 balls to help Fiji post 440-8 from 50 overs after it won the toss and elected to bat first. Sekope Biauniceva then showed his ability with the new ball by capturing 6-13 from 10 overs as Japan was all out for 53 in 19.3 overs.

Biauniceva's control - and his safe pair of hands - can be illustrated by four of his wickets coming from return catches while his other two successes were bowled. Bianuniceva's opening bowling partner Tukana Tavo took 3-29.

However, Rika's whirlwind knock overshadowed everything else - and rightly so. The Fiji captain, in a scintillating display of batsmanship, clobbered 37 fours and six sixes before he was the eighth and last batsman out at the score of 423.

Rika dominated three big partnerships. For the second wicket he put on 114 runs with Patrick Tuidraki (24) while he added 140 runs for the fifth wicket with Makutu Seru (37). Together with Gaurang Patel (23), Rika then featured in an 83-run seventh wicket stand.

For Japan, Ryo Ikeba took 3-82 while Shohei Okuma and Naoki Kamatani picked up two wickets each, conceding 48 and 62 runs respectively.

The frustration for Fiji will be that this performance will not be enough to take it to the final after defeat in its previous matches against hosts Vanuatu and Papua New Guinea (PNG).

Fiji and Japan will meet again in the third and fourth place play-off match on the final day of the tournament on Sunday and Japan will hope to improve its performance - or at least get rid of Rika quickly.

Elsewhere, PNG earned a psychological advantage over Vanuatu for its all-important final clash, also on Sunday, when it won a low scoring match by eight wickets.

Willie Toua Gavera took 3-7 and Heni Siaka bagged 2-7 as the home team was restricted to 115-9 in 50 overs after it had decided to bat first. Andrew Mansale, who scored a superb 157 on Wednesday, could score only nine before he was smartly caught at point by Colin Amini off Gavera.

PNG achieved the victory target in 14 overs with Tony Ura hitting a rapid 38-ball unbeaten 67 that included 11 fours and two sixes. For Vanuatu, fast bowler Johnathan Dunn took 2-40.

The winner of Sunday's final will join the four other regional tournament winners, 10 Full Members and hosts Malaysia for the ICC U/19 Cricket World Cup to be played from 17 February to 2 March, 2008 in Kuala Lumpur.

The ICC U/19 Cricket World Cup is a vital part of the ICC Development Program and provides a vehicle for the best young cricketers in the world to parade their skills.

Many of the future stars of the game experience their first true international exposure at this tournament and players such as Brian Lara, Michael Atherton, Yuvraj Singh, Inzamam-ul-Haq, Chris Cairns, Michael Clarke, Graeme Smith and Sanath Jayasuriya have used the event as a stepping stone to full international honours.

First staged in Australia in 1988, the tournament was initially organised on an occasional basis, but since the commencement of the ICC Development Program in 1997 it has become a biennial fixture.

The 2010 ICC U/19 Cricket World Cup will be held in Kenya while the 2012 tournament will be staged in Canada and UAE will host the 2014 edition.