KaZaa cricket field opens its innings

The finishing touches have been made to the new KaZaa Cricket Field adjacent to Korman Stadium in Port Vila, Vanuatu just in time for the EAP Cricket Cup tournament due to commence in the country's capital on Thursday 23 September.

Mark Stafford, President of the Vanuatu Cricket Association (VCA) along with the Honourable Mr Arnold Prasad, Minister for Youth, Development and Training, officially launched the field with the Vanuatu XI taking on the Testskill Berroca Barbarians in the ground's first official fixture on Saturday 10 September.

"This field is the culmination of the initial stage of a joint project between the Vanuatu cricket and rugby communities. Once fully completed the project will provide first class facilities for cricket and rugby, with separate playing fields for both sports and a shared grandstand and club facility" commented Mr Stafford. "It is exciting to see this progress after we first developed the idea some five years ago. The future is ours now and both cricket and rugby will work together to make sure that everyone benefits from this initiative, particularly those young boys and girls who are developing strong interests in both sports."

The field has been on the drawing board for some time but after Vanuatu won the right to host the EAP Cricket Cup, the construction of the ground was pushed forward to be ready in time to be used as a tournament venue.

Importantly, the field will be used after the tournament to accommodate the fast growing participation rate of cricket in Vanuatu.