Samoa’s U19 women return to cricket’s world stage

Samoa's Under-19 women's cricket team is heading back to the ICC U19 Women's T20 World Cup after an unbeaten run through the East Asia-Pacific Qualifier in Papua New Guinea, 12-18 May 2026.

The team won all four of its matches against Fiji, Indonesia, Papua New Guinea and Vanuatu to secure the region's sole qualification spot for the 2027 tournament, which will be hosted by Bangladesh and Nepal.

For Samoa Cricket Chief Executive Stella Siale, the achievement is about much more than a place at the World Cup.

“It's a great achievement not only for the girls, but for Samoa and for the Pacific,” she told ABC Pacific Beat. “We've been very, very happy with the way they played right throughout the tournament and they were fantastic. It’s great for women and girls in the Pacific and we're looking forward to going to the World Cup.”

The qualifying campaign capped a remarkable tournament for Samoa. In addition to finishing undefeated, the team claimed the awards for best player, best batter, and best bowler, and placed four players in the Team of the Tournament.

Most importantly, it secured a second consecutive appearance on the world's biggest stage for young women's cricket.

Learning from experience

The achievement comes two years after Samoa made history by qualifying for its first-ever ICC U19 Women's T20 World Cup in Malaysia.

Drawn against South Africa, New Zealand and Nigeria, Samoa faced a steep learning curve in 2025, but gained invaluable experience competing against some of the world's best young players.

Four members of that squad were part of the team that secured qualification in Papua New Guinea earlier this year, and their experience will be crucial as the team prepares for 2027.

“We've learned from the first World Cup … and we're looking at making sure that we don't repeat those mistakes,” said Stella.

Growing the game

Samoa's success has not happened by accident. According to Stella, it reflects years of work, building participation through schools, villages and grassroots cricket programs, supported by partners including PacificAus Sports and Cricket Australia.

The PacificAus Sports-Cricket Australia partnership aims to identify and develop talented players from the Pacific region and create opportunities for Pacific teams to access high-level competitions, both in-country and in Australia.

The partnership has also established the Cricket Invitational – an annual tournament with Pacific teams competing against Australia’s women’s and men’s First Nations teams. The first tournament was held in Papua New Guinea in June 2025, as part of the country’s 50 years of independence celebrations.

While rugby remains Samoa's dominant sport, more young people are discovering cricket and embracing new opportunities.

“We're not one of the major sports,” she concedes. “In Samoa, rugby is always the [number one] sport, but there has been a change in mindset and parents have really pushed for the young ones to explore other sports.”

That growing interest is helping create a steady pipeline of talented young players and strengthening the future of women's cricket in Samoa.

Looking ahead

With qualification secured, attention is now fixed on preparations for next year’s World Cup in Bangladesh and Nepal.

The team hopes to gain further international experience before the tournament, including opportunities to compete against Australia, New Zealand and other leading cricket nations.

Many of the players are still balancing cricket with their education, but their ambitions are clear.

Having already shown they can dominate regional competition, the young Samoans now want to test themselves against the world's best.

Armed with greater experience, growing confidence and the support of a strong development pathway, Samoa's young cricketers will head to their second consecutive World Cup determined to make the most of their next opportunity on the global stage.