Treasure Island

As Vanuatu women make their mark in the ongoing T20 WC qualifiers, Kalyani Mangale takes a look at the journey of the players and how far they have come...

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MELISSA Fare did not have it in her to stay up and watch the entire match as her Vanuatu teammates defeated Zimbabwe at the ICC T20 World Cup Qualifier in Abu Dhabi on Thursday. Having represented Vanuatu in 13 T20Is, Fare, who is currently studying in Adelaide, was on cloud nine when she woke up to the news of her side beating the full-member nation on their global qualifiers debut. "I woke up this morning, sat on my bed, and cried a little bit. I would have been a mess if I was watching it live," she told this daily. "I couldn't stop smiling. I was telling everyone about it today. I can imagine the emotions that were going on there with the team," she adds.

Women's cricket started in the island in 2012 and the team, which is mostly made up of players who are seasonal workers in Australia, has made it to the global WC qualifiers in itself is the biggest achievement for them. "What people fail to realise is that the Vanuatu women's team is very young. 2012 is not too long ago. It's just only 12 years of the team being together."