Australian coaches prepare Japan for Pacific tournament

Indonesia and Japan are among six teams who will compete in next week's East Asia-Pacific Cup in Vanuatu, the ICC's regional development body said today. Coaching staff from Western Australia and Victoria are backing the Indonesian and Japanese teams respectively in the EAP Cricket Cup, which is set down for Port Vila from September 23 to 29. The other competing teams are Cook Islands, Samoa, Tonga and Vanuatu.

The preparation of all six sides had been greatly assisted by development staff from Australian states and New Zealand provinces under the ICC EAPs State/Province Partnership Program. The teams will be competing for qualification into the EAP Cricket Trophy to be held in mid-2006, where the top two teams will challenge Fiji for a place in the global World Cricket League Division III. The event is part of the qualifying program for the 2011 ICC Cricket World Cup.