The International Cricket Council (ICC) East Asia – Pacific (EAP) Region has today announced the winners of the Pepsi ICC EAP Development Programme Annual Awards 2009.

Cricket PNG has won the coveted award for “Best Overall Cricket Development Program due to their efforts in developing the game across a range of key areas. These included exceptionally strong performances by all national teams in regional events and promising results in some global events. In addition to this Cricket PNG launched a national cricket development program employing four regional cricket managers (RCM’s) in rural areas of PNG.

Cricket Indonesia has completed a hat-trick of wins in the category for “Best Junior Cricket Initiative” with the successful establishment of a new association, the Kupang Cricket Association. With cricket only introduced to Kupang in the past 12 months as part of the Ultra Milk junior development program, a well-coordinated committee and the presence of a strong coach has helped the game thrive. This resulted in an impressive 3rd place from 15 regional teams at the 2009 Ultra Milk Under 15’s Championships.

Cricket PNG has been rewarded for their exceptional efforts in organising the Pacific MMI Don’t Drink and Drive Legends Event, winning the “Best Cricket Promotion & Marketing Program” for 2009. In what was quite
possibly the biggest regional event ever held in the EAP region, Cricket PNG were able to attract former
Australian stars Andrew Symonds, Damien Martyn, Greg Blewett, Michael Kasprowicz, Jimmy Maher, Greg
Matthews and PNG National Coach Andy Bichel to Port Moresby for a Twenty 20 carnival involving six sponsored teams, each with one legend listed above. The teams were then filled with some of the most promising talent from around PNG.

For the third year in a row, the Japan Cricket Association has won the “Best Women’s Cricket Initiative” as they again demonstrated a strong commitment to developing women’s cricket in Japan. In addition to an international tour to Shanghai, Japan also provided many opportunities for females in a range of areas, including national captain Ema Kuribayashi completing a season in Christchurch, New Zealand, and securing another ground in Sano that will play host to the 2010 Pepsi ICC EAP Women’s Cricket Trophy.

The “Best Spirit of Cricket Initiative” was taken out by the Vanuatu Cricket Association for their participation in a nationwide program aimed at educating people to say no to marijuana, while Cricket Indonesia won “Photo of the Year” for a picture outlining the passion of young cricketers in the junior programs.

Cricket Indonesia Treasurer S.Gopalkrishnan has been awarded the “Volunteer of the Year” Award for his continued commitment to the sustainable development of cricket within Indonesia. “Gopal” as he is more commonly known, has been instrumental in securing much sponsorship for Cricket Indonesia, and has traveled the country delivering umpire education courses frequently.

The prestigious “Lifetime Service Award” has been won by Peter Poulos, or “Skippy” as everyone refers to him. ICC EAP RDM, Matt Weisheit stated that “Skippy has been a wonderful servant of cricket in Samoa, serving the game selflessly for over 20 years. Skippy has been a passionate and tireless volunteer for cricket in Samoa for so very long and this award will go some way to recognising what an amazing contribution he has made. ”

The EAP award winners will now join winners from the four other Pepsi International Cricket Council (ICC)
Development Program Regions at the ICC Global Awards.

The ICC Development Program Awards were established to recognise exceptional performance and service to the game of cricket in all Associate and Affiliate member countries and aims to recognise these contributions among all levels of cricket development.

2009 Pepsi ICC East Asia – Pacific Development Program Awards

Best Overall Cricket Development Program - Papua New Guinea
Best Junior Cricket Initiative - Indonesia
Best Cricket Promotion and Marketing Program - Papua New Guinea
Photo of the Year - Indonesia
Best Women’s Cricket Initiative - Japan
Best Spirit of Cricket Initiative - (UNAIDS, UNICEF) Vanuatu
Volunteer of the Year S.Gopalkrishnan - Indonesia
Lifetime Service Award Peter Poulos (Skippy) - Samoa