Cricket Fiji announces the formation of new women's T20 team from Nausori

Cricket Fiji has confirmed the formation of a new women's team from Nausori that would be participating in the ongoing Women's T20 competition at Suva, the capital of the country. The new team will be known as 'Japanese Machides'. Machides is a Japanese word which literally means ‘so’.

The team comprises of secondary school and tertiary students from Nausori and has a certain Japanese influence in it. While other countries are trying to get back on their feet, Cricket Fiji has not let the pandemic affect the effort to develop the sport on the island.

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Sitiveni Rokoro, the Cricket Fiji Development Officer, has a vital role to play in the formation of the new team from Nausori. "It was not hard to form the team," Rokoro told the Fiji Broadcasting Corporation. "Most of them they play netball, in Nausori there’s also an athletics team, so these girls are part of the athletics and netball teams as well so it’s not difficult to form the team."

Rokoro said that he was delighted to see women from Viti Levu take up sport despite the lack of opportunities on the island. "It’s encouraging to see young girls taking up cricket with only 14 women’s teams in Viti Levu."