Cricket at the Pacific Games

A cricket tournament at the Pacific Games, previously the South Pacific Games, was introduced in 1979 and was played intermittently at games in the 1980s and 1990s, depending on the facilities of the host nation. Since 2003, cricket has featured at every Pacific Games. Detailed records of the tournaments prior to 2003 have not been kept and beyond knowing what teams won the gold and silver medals at each Games, little is known with certainty of the first three tournaments.

Performance by team

Legend

• 1st – Gold
• 2nd – Silver
• 3rd – Bronze
• GS – Group stage
• Q – Qualified
•     — Hosts

Men's tournament

Team	Games								Total
	1979	1987	1991	2003	2007	2011	2015	2019
Cook Islands	—	—	—	3rd	—	—	—	—	1
Fiji	3rd	2nd	2nd	2nd	2nd	2nd	—	—	6
New Caledonia	6th	4th	5th	6th	5th	4th	4th	—	7
Papua New Guinea	1st	1st	1st	1st	1st	1st	2nd	—	7
Samoa	5th	—	—	4th	3rd	—	—	—	3
Solomon Islands	—	—	GS	—	—	—	—	—	1
Tonga	4th	—	—	—	4th	—	3rd	—	3
Tuvalu	7th	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	1
Vanuatu	2nd	3rd	GS	5th	—	3rd	1st	—	6

Women's tournament

Team	Games		Total
	2015	2019
Cook Islands	5th	—	1
Fiji	3rd	—	1
New Caledonia	6th	—	1
Papua New Guinea	2nd	—	1
Samoa	1st	—	1
Solomon Islands	—	—	0
Tonga	—	—	0
Tuvalu	—	—	0
Vanuatu	4th	—	1

Results

1979

Venue: Suva, Fiji

Seven teams contested the first cricket tournament at the South Pacific Games:

Rank	Team	Refs
	Papua New Guinea
	New Hebrides
	Fiji
4	Tonga
5	Western Samoa
6	New Caledonia
7	Tuvalu

1987

Venue: Nouméa, New Caledonia

Rank	Team	Refs
	Papua New Guinea
	Fiji
	Vanuatu
4	New Caledonia

1991

Venue: Port Moresby/Lae, Papua New Guinea

Rank	Team	Refs
	Papua New Guinea
	Fiji
4	Solomon Islands OR Vanuatu
	Vanuatu OR Solomon Islands
5	New Caledonia

2003

Main article: Cricket at the 2003 South Pacific Games

Venue: Suva, Fiji

• Gold medal: Papua New Guinea
• Silver medal: Fiji
• Bronze medal: Cook Islands
• 4th: Samoa
• 5th: Vanuatu
• 6th: New Caledonia

2007

Main article: Cricket at the 2007 South Pacific Games

Venue: Apia, Samoa

Round robin tournament of limited overs cricket (maximum 50 overs per side).

• Gold medal: Papua New Guinea
• Silver medal: Fiji
• Bronze medal: Samoa
• 4th: Tonga
• 5th: New Caledonia

2011

Main article: Cricket at the 2011 Pacific Games

Venue: Noumea, New Caledonia

In 2011 the format was switched to the shorter Twenty20 game instead of the previous 50 over cricket. A round-robin stage was played before the two top teams met in the final.

• Gold medal: Papua New Guinea
• Silver medal: Fiji
• Bronze medal: Vanuatu
• 4th: New Caledonia

2015

Main article: Cricket at the 2015 Pacific Games

Venue: Port Moresby, Papua New Guinea

In 2015, a women's tournament was held for the first time alongside the men's tournament. The 20-over format was retained.

2019

Tonga included both men's and women's cricket in its successful bid for the 2019 Pacific Games, to be held in Nukuʻalofa.

Pacific Mini Games

For the first time, Vanuatu included a men's cricket tournament in its successful bid for the 2017 Pacific Mini Games, to be held in Port Vila. The cricket facilities near Korman Stadium are planned to be renovated before the tournament. However, the effects of Cyclone Pam in 2015 have, according to some sources, cast doubt upon the country's ability to host the games.

Records

As detailed results have not been kept for the first three tournaments, it is not possible to present detailed records. What is known is that Papua New Guinea's total of 572/7 against New Caledonia is the highest team total in any international one-day match, along with the winning margin of 510 runs, and therefore also in the South Pacific Games.

Notes

^* The number of teams at the tournaments has varied – there were seven teams in 1979, then four in 1987 and five in 1991. When the sport resumed at the 2003 games, six teams contested, but this number dropped to five in 2007 and four in 2011 and 2015 (for the men's tournament – the women's tournament had six teams).

^† Samoa and Vanuatu competed as Western Samoa and the New Hebrides, respectively, at the 1979 games.

^‡ The qualification process for the 2019 Pacific Games in Nukuʻalofa, Tonga, is yet to be decided, but men's and women's cricket tournaments have both been confirmed.

^a 1979: Pacific Islands Monthly reported Papua New Guinea defeating New Hebrides in the final to win gold, passing the required total of 53 with the loss of only one wicket. Fiji defeated Tonga in a much closer third place play-off to win bronze by two wickets, passing the formidable total set by Tonga of 183 for the loss of six wickets.

^b 1979: Roy Morgan's Encyclopedia of World Cricket indicates that Western Samoa finished fifth at the 1979 South Pacific Games. They played New Caledonia in the fifth place play-off so New Caledonia are assumed to have finished sixth. Tuvalu finished seventh.

^c 1987: Roy Morgan's Encyclopedia of World Cricket indicates that Papua New Guinea defeated Fiji in the final to decide the gold and silver medals. The other three teams taking part were New Caledonia, the Solomon Islands and Vanuatu. The same book indicates that New Caledonia have never won an international match, so they are assumed to have finished fifth with either the Solomon Islands or Vanuatu winning the bronze or finishing fourth.

^d 1991: Roy Morgan's Encyclopedia of World Cricket indicates that Papua New Guinea defeated Fiji in the final to decide the gold and silver medals, and that the only other two teams in the tournament were New Caledonia and Vanuatu. The same book indicates that New Caledonia have never won an international match, so Vanuatu are assumed to have won the bronze medal.