Despite a valiant effort, the Vanuatu women’s cricket team fell to Samoa by nine wickets in the final of the Pacific-France Women’s Championship at N’Du Stadium, Nouméa, on Friday. Batting first, the Holiday Inn Resort Vanuatu National Cricket Team was dismissed for 78 runs in 16.5 overs, with Samoa successfully chasing the target in 15.2 overs.
Throughout the tournament, captain Selina Solman led from the front with consistently exceptional performances, earning both the Player of the Tournament and Best Batter awards. Her campaign included a historic milestone—becoming the first player in women’s T20 International history to register both a hat-trick and a half-century in the same match, achieved against France.
Solman’s tournament statistics underline her dominance:
111 runs at an average of 55.5 and a strike rate just under a run-a-ball
Eight wickets at an economy rate of 3.75 and an average of 5.63
Two catches, including the caught-and-bowled that sealed her record-breaking hat-trick
Her performances were all the more remarkable given the gruelling 48-hour travel ordeal she and teammates Nasimana Navaika and Valenta Langiatu endured. The trio had to reroute their journey from their base in Stanthorpe, Queensland, to Sydney to avoid the disruptions caused by Tropical Cyclone Alfred before finally reaching Nouméa.
While the final result was not in Vanuatu’s favour, it was not all doom and gloom for the country’s highest ranked sporting team, with them gaining critical world ranking points thanks to their previous round wins against France, Fiji, and Samoa. While they remain in 32nd place, the team is poised to improve on this as the year goes on with two more events planned.
The squad now looks ahead to a mid-year tournament coming up against the highest ranked teams in the region, Papua New Guinea (12), and Indonesia (20), providing further opportunities for technical improvement and increasing Vanuatu’s world ranking, before the crucial regional T20 World Cup Qualifier to be held in Fiji in September.
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