New Caledonia was treated to a spectacular opening ceremony to the Pacific Games last night with the highlight for East-Asia Pacific Cricket being Vanuatu captain Andrew Mansale carrying his nation’s flag into the main stadium.It was a huge moment for Mansale as he led a 277 strong Vanuatu contingent into the arena in front of a vocal capacity crowd.Cricketers from Fiji, PNG and New Caledonia were also on hand to enjoy the festivities ahead of the cricket tournament that begins on Monday local time. PNG who have sent a relatively inexperienced squad will be aiming for a sixth straight Pacific Games Cricket Gold Medal.Vanuatu will enter the event with a near full-strength side aiming to win their first ever Pacific Games Cricket gold medal.With the tournament right in the middle of a busy international schedule for Fiji, they have named five debutants which will provide a great insight into the future of Fijian Cricket. Fiji performed superbly in their warm-up match against PNG on Friday and if they can replicate that enthusiasm in the field during the tournament proper they will be a big chance to play-off for gold later this week.The hosts New Caledonia who are not yet an ICC member will be aiming to provide their players with some much needed experience against quality opposition, and if their warm-up matches are anything to go by, the other three sides will need to come ready to play.New Caledonia will play Fiji in the first match on Monday morning, followed by a rematch of the Pepsi ICC Division 1 Final in the afternoon when PNG take on Vanuatu.
