Samoa had a successful outing at the Men’s T20 Cricket East-Asia/Pacific Sub-Regional Qualifiers in August, demonstrating the great potential and homegrown talent found in the islands.
Amongst the highlights was Darius Visser’s 39 runs in one over, a new T20 record.
Samoa International Cricket Association CEO, Sala Stella Siale Vaea Tagitau, was very pleased with Samoa’s achievement, which saw them finish on top of the table.
She added that the team’s performance “has inspired the younger generation and shows that Samoa is capable of competing at the highest level”.
Tagitau gave credit to the players and coaching staff for all their efforts.
“The major contributor towards the team’s success is their strong work ethic, commitment, and the solid development programs that we have here in Samoa, that were put in place over the years. The players’ focus on fitness, tactical awareness, mental toughness combined with excellent coaching and guidance has been key for them.”
Samoa beat Cook Islands, Fiji, and Vanuatu to secure a place in next year’s combined EAP/Asia Qualifiers tournament, heading into the T20 World Cup in 2026.
Women’s cricket is thriving
This year, Samoa’s Under-19 women’s team qualified for the 2025 World Cup, a notable achievement. “We are focusing on increasing women participation at all levels. The development and pathways for women are being strengthened and we
are seeing more girls taking up the sport. So we are very optimistic that womens’ cricket in Samoa will continue to achieve new heights on the international scale,” said Tagitau.
Challenges remain, she concedes: “We need more competitions at the highest levels. The lack [of] and very minimal resources that we work with is always a challenge. We always tend to look overseas for players as well. We are also small in terms of population and there are also other sports, a lot of choices now for the youth to choose from.”
Yet she remains optimistic, outlining Cricket Samoa’s plans for the future.
“We’re working on expanding our youth development programs, particularly with our Under 19s, and gearing them [up] for more international competitions. There’s a focus on strengthening our high-performance program to ensure that our national teams are competitive in all formats of the game. We’re also looking to enhance our infrastructure and facilities for training and hosting international matches. These initiatives will help us continue to grow the sport and bring more success to Samoa,” she said.
