Cricket Fiji has announced a number of changes to its national tournaments as it works towards providing a modern tournament structure for cricketers in the country.

The new structure will see some exciting changes for the traditional flagship tournament, The Easter Tournament, as well as the introduction of an Elite Player League, the establishment of two conferences for under age national tournaments and the introduction of a national women's tournament.

With Twenty/20 cricket taking the world by storm CF has decided to use the format for the Easter Tournament from 2010 onwards.

“Twenty/20 cricket is a fast and exciting format of the game,” said CF General Manager Martin Shaw, “featuring big hitting, great fielding and close results. We are sure that this will suit Fijian players and make for an exciting tournament.”

Shaw also added that the new format would also make the tournament more attractive to media coverage and potential sponsors which can only help to boost the game, as well as being more attractive format for overseas club teams to come and play in Fiji.

CF has also decided to introduce an Elite Player League which will be used as the final testing ground for players to check their suitability for selection in The Blues, Fiji’s national team. Playing against the best players in the country the EPL will be the top grade of competition in the country played using a 50 over format.

The EPL will be launched after The Blues complete their participation in this year’s East Asia Pacific Cricket Trophy. The league will initially feature three teams comprising members of the national training squad and selected members of the Under 19 national squad.

CF’s plans are to increase the league to four teams in 2010 as more young players come through the development programs and show they are capable of competing at the elite level.

National under age tournaments are also an important part of the future plans of CF with an Under 19 National Championship taking place each year and an Under 15 or Under 17 Championship taking place in alternate years.

These tournaments will be played in two conferences – one including all the teams in Viti Levu, while a second conference will cover the teams from the Lau Islands. The winner of each conference will meet in a National Championship final.

Each of the tournaments will use the same format as is used at the international level so that players become used to playing that format before they travel for an international tournament.

“The Under 19 tournament is a vital tournament for us as we will be selecting an Under 19 team every year,” said CF High Performance Manager Steve Jenkin. “This Emerging Blues team will play against touring teams in years when they don’t have an EAP tournament to attend.”

The growing enthusiasm for women’s cricket is reflected in the plans to hold the first Women’s National Championship in January. CF currently expects representative teams from Suva, Nausori and Moce to attend and would be pleased to cater for more teams if women’s cricket in the West and other areas develops to a level where they can send a team.

“In addition to our tournaments there is a full array of club cricket fun by the district associations, so there is plenty of cricket being played,” said Shaw. “We are confident that this new structure will allow for the development of players capable of playing at an international level while also offering opportunities for inter-district cricket to be played on a regular basis.”