# Vanuatu national cricket team

The Vanuatu national cricket team is the men's team that represents Vanuatu in international cricket. The team is organised by the Vanuatu Cricket Association, which became an affiliate member of the International Cricket Council (ICC) in 1995 and an associate member in 2009. Vanuatu made its international debut at the 1979 Pacific Games, at which time the country was still known as the New Hebrides. The majority of the team's matches have come against other members of the ICC East Asia-Pacific region, including both at ICC regional tournaments and at the cricket events at the Pacific Games.
Vanuatu entered the World Cricket League at the 2008 Division Five tournament. The team participated in the WCL system at the 2015 Division Six event, where it placed third. Following the withdrawal of Suriname from the 2016 Division Five tournament, Vanuatu were named as their replacement. After the abolition of the WCL, Vanuatu currently is part of the 2019–22 ICC Cricket World Cup Challenge League.

## History

Vanuatu competed in the Pacifica Championships on the two occasions it was held, finishing seventh in 2001 and sixth in 2002. In 2005, they hosted the East Asia/Pacific Cricket Cup, finishing third in the six team competition, therefore missing out on qualification for the 2007 World Cup. At the East Asia – Pacific Trophy in Auckland, New Zealand, in December 2007, Vanuatu finished second, therefore qualifying through to the World Cricket League Division Five in 2008. In the highly successful 2009 calendar year, Vanuatu defeated Fiji in two One-Day Series in Port Vila as well as claiming the prestigious 2009 ICC EAP Men's Cricket Trophy (Non-World Cricket League) held in Samoa, defeating the hosts in the final. At a junior level, Vanuatu has finished second to Papua New Guinea in the following competitions: East Asia – Pacific Under 15 Super 8s, Melbourne, Australia, 2005; East Asia – Pacific Under 15 Super 8s, Apia, Samoa, 2007; East Asia – Pacific Under 19 World Cup Qualifying Tournament, Port Vila, Vanuatu, 2007.
Vanuatu finished third in the 2010 ICC World Cricket League Division Eight in Kuwait. This means they stayed in that league for the 2012 competition.

### 2018–present

At the 2018 ICC World Cricket League Division Four tournament, Vanuatu recorded victories against Bermuda, a former ODI team, and Denmark, which has previously played as high as Division Two. However, they were still relegated to Division Five based on net run rate.
In April 2018, the ICC decided to grant full Twenty20 International (T20I) status to all its members. Therefore, all Twenty20 matches played between Vanuatu and other ICC members since 1 January 2019 have the full T20I status.
Vanuatu made its Twenty20 International debut on 22 March 2019, losing to Papua New Guinea by 8 wickets in the 2018–19 ICC T20 World Cup East Asia-Pacific Qualifier at Amini Park, Port Moresby, Papua New Guinea
* 22 March 2019 13:45 Scorecard
| Vanuatu 124/6 (20 overs) | v | Papua New Guinea 125/2 (15.2 overs) |
| Nalin Nipiko 53 (55) Lega Siaka 2/7 (2 overs) | | Tony Ura 65 (37) Williamsing Nalisa 1/29 (4 overs) |
* Papua New Guinea won by 8 wickets Amini Park, Port Moresby Umpires: Tabarak Dar (HK) and Simon Fry (Aus) Player of the match: Tony Ura (PNG)
* Vanuatu won the toss and elected to bat.
* First ever T20I match for Vanuatu.
After April 2019, Vanuatu played in the 2019–21 ICC Cricket World Cup Challenge League.
In August 2019, Australian Clint McKay was appointed as the interim coach of the team, ahead of the 2019 Malaysia Cricket World Cup Challenge League A tournament.

## Tournament history
### World Cricket League

* 2008 Division Five: 12th place – relegated to regional qualifier
* 2010 Division Eight: 3rd place
* 2012 Division Eight: Champions – promoted
* 2013 Division Seven: 2nd place – promoted
* 2013 Division Six: 3rd place
* 2015 Division Six: 2nd place – promoted (in place of Suriname, who were disqualified for playing unqualified players)
* 2016 Division Five: 4th place – relegated to regional qualifier
* 2017 Division Five: 2nd place – promoted
* 2018 Division Four: 5th place – relegated

### ICC T20 World Cup Qualifier

* 2023 (EAP Regional Final): 3rd

### EAP 50-over tournaments

* 2005: 4th place
* 2007: 2nd place
* 2009 (Division Two): 1st place

### EAP 20-over tournaments

* 2009: 5th place

### Pacific Games

* 1979: Silver medal
* 1991: 4th place
* 2003: 5th place
* 2011: Bronze medal
* 2015: Champions
* 2019: Silver medal

### Pacific Island Cricket Challenge

* 2023: Silver medal

## Current Squad

This lists all the players who have played for Vanuatu in the past 12 months or has been part of the latest T20I squad. Updated as of 11 March 2024
| Name | Age | Batting style | Bowling style | Notes |
| Batters |||||
| Junior Kaltapau | 25 | Right-handed | Right-arm off break | |
| Andrew Mansale | 36 | Right-handed | Right-arm off break | |
| Jamal Vira | 30 | Right-handed | | |
| Womejo Wotu | 20 | Right-handed | | |
| All-rounders |||||
| Nalin Nipiko | 29 | Right-handed | Right-arm medium | |
| Ronald Tari | 31 | Right-handed | Right-arm medium | Vice-captain |
| Patrick Matautaava | 33 | Right-handed | Right-arm medium | |
| Darren Wotu | 26 | Right-handed | Right-arm medium | |
| Simpson Obed | 35 | Right-handed | Right-arm leg break | |
| Wicket-keepers |||||
| Jarryd Allen | 34 | Right-handed | | |
| Clement Tommy | 27 | Right-handed | | |
| Spin Bowlers |||||
| Williamsing Nalisa | 25 | Right-handed | Right-arm leg break | |
| Tim Cutler | 42 | Right-handed | Slow left-arm orthodox | |
| Pace Bowlers |||||
| Joshua Rasu | 30 | Right-handed | Right-arm fast-medium | Captain |
| Apolinaire Stephen | 29 | Right-handed | Right-arm medium-fast | |

## Records and statistics

International Match Summary — Vanuatu
Last updated 24 August 2024
Playing Record :
| Format | M | W | L | T | NR | Inaugural Match |
| Twenty20 Internationals | 40 | 17 | 23 | 0 | 0 | 22 March 2019 |

### Twenty20 International

* Highest team total: 223/5 v Fiji, on 16 March 2023 at Albert Park Ground 1, Suva.
* Highest individual score: 103, Patrick Matautaava v Malaysia, 2 October 2019 at Kinrara Academy Oval, Kuala Lumpur.
* Best bowling figures in an innings: 6/16, Williamsing Nalisa v Fiji, on 19 August 2024 at Faleata Oval 2, Apia.
| Player | Runs | Average | Career span |
| Nalin Nipiko | 1,031 | 31.24 | 2019–2024 |
| Andrew Mansale | 699 | 24.10 | 2019–2024 |
| Joshua Rasu | 675 | 19.85 | 2019–2024 |
| Patrick Matautaava | 462 | 17.76 | 2019–2024 |
| Junior Kaltapau | 412 | 20.60 | 2022–2024 |
| Player | Wickets | Average | Career span |
| Nalin Nipiko | 49 | 15.73 | 2019–2024 |
| Joshua Rasu | 35 | 18.34 | 2019–2024 |
| Patrick Matautaava | 30 | 16.43 | 2019–2024 |
| Williamsing Nalisa | 27 | 23.29 | 2019–2024 |
| Simpson Obed | 19 | 15.10 | 2019–2023 |
T20I record versus other nations
| Opponent | M | W | L | T | NR | First match | First win |
| vs Associate Members ||||||||
| Bahrain | 1 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 10 March 2024 | |
| Cook Islands | 4 | 1 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 11 September 2022 | 15 September 2022 |
| Fiji | 6 | 5 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 9 September 2022 | 9 September 2022 |
| Japan | 2 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 23 July 2023 | 28 July 2023 |
| Kuwait | 2 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 7 March 2024 | |
| Malaysia | 6 | 3 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 29 September 2019 | 29 September 2019 |
| Papua New Guinea | 7 | 0 | 7 | 0 | 0 | 22 March 2019 | |
| Philippines | 4 | 2 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 23 March 2019 | 23 March 2019 |
| Samoa | 7 | 4 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 9 July 2019 | 12 July 2019 |
| Tanzania | 1 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 5 March 2024 | 5 March 2024 |
Records complete to T20I #2799. Last updated 24 August 2024.

## Coaching history

* 2014–2019: Shane Deitz (playing coach from 2018)
* 2019–2020: Clint McKay (acting)
* 2020: Simon Keen
* 2021–2022: Jeremy Bray
* 2022: Eddie Mansale (acting)
* 2022–2023: Ben Cameron
* 2023–present: Chris Laffan