The final day of pool play in the Pacifica Cricket Championships confirmed the semi finalists for the championship stage of the tournament, and gave a strong indication of who would be battling out final honours on Thursday.

POOL A

Vanuatu vs Fiji

Fiji confirmed both their place as top qualifier in Pool A and their favoritism to contest the final of the tournament with another emphatic performance, against Vanuatu. The Fijians compiled an imposing total of 334, with Sorovakatini scoring his second retired century of the tournament.

In reply, Vanuatu were quickly in trouble, with both opening batsmen back in the pavilion with only four runs on the board. This became six for three wickets when the Vanuatu No 3 had the misfortune to be run out by the wicket keeper when practicing his shot while standing outside of his crease. Vanuatu never recovered from this poor start, and were dismissed for 77.

Tonga vs New Caledonia

Tonga bounced back from a poor performance against Fiji on day two, booking their place in the semi finals with a superb all round performance against tournament minnow's New Caledonia.

Batting first, Tonga based their innings around opening batsman Maunaloa Faivakimoano, who amassed 116 from 123 balls. He had good support from Pou'ili Taulani (40) and Lei'ataua Losalu (36), and at 246-2 from 38 overs the Tongans looked likely to threaten 400. New Caledonia tightened both their bowling and fielding from this point, and claimed eight wickets for 88 runs in the remaining overs.

The New Caledonians again contributed heavily to their own problems, conceding 70 extras and bowling almost 10 additional overs through no balls and wides.

In reply, New Caledonia crumpled to be all out for 25, and will need to show more application in order to make an impression in the Plate playoffs. Mafi Langi secured four wickets for 14 runs, while Faivakimoano added three wickets for 10 runs to his century.

POOL B

New Zealand Maori vs Samoa

This match again showed the gap between the established cricket nations and those just beginning to embrace the game, with the Maori side winning within 30 overs. Samoa could only muster 43, with Jonathon Paine taking three for 11, and the Maori side knocked the runs off in 8 overs.

The Maori team will expect tougher opposition when the championship playoffs begin on Wednesday, but they must still be favoured to square off with Fiji for the trophy final.

Vanuatu vs Cook Islands

The key question coming from this game was why Cook Islands captain Dunu Eliaba is not batting in his team's top order. Eliaba scored 20 not out from 20 balls from No 11 to win the match against Samoa on day two, and made 35 from 38 balls batting at No 9 in this match. Eliaba shared an eighth wicket partnership of 44 with Nga Jonathon Kairua (37) which allowed the Cook Islands to post a total of 134.

Papua New Guinea have shown plenty of promise and cricketing skill over the past three days, and this was again in evidence in their run chase. Needing victory to progress through to the Championship playoffs, the Papua New Guinea chase was based around Navu Maha, whose 57 laid the foundations for a six wicket victory.

Short Scoreboards

Pool A

Fiji 334 (T Sorovakatini 130 retired, J Kida 46, J Seru 46) vs Vanuatu 77 (R Tatwin 36, T Batina 3-12). Fiji win by 257 runs.

Tonga 334 (M Faivakimoano 116, P Taulini 40, L Losalau 36, N Passil 3-39) Vs New Caledonia 25 (M Langi 4-14, Faivakimoano 3-10). Tonga win by 309 runs.

Pool B

Samoa 43 (J Paine 3-11) vs New Zealand Maori 44-0 (J Ryder 34*). New Zealand Maori win by 10 wickets.

Cook Islands 137-9 (N Kairua 37, D Eliaba 35, R Vagi 2-18, N Maha 2-22, J Ovia 2-41) vs Papua New Guinea 136-6 (N Maha 57, A Uda 32). Papua New Guinea win by 4 wickets.

Points

Pool A

                        Played      Won         Lost        Tie   Points
Fiji                    3           3           0           0     6
Tonga                   3           2           1           0     4
Vanuatu                 3           1           2           0     2
New Caledonia           3           0           3           0     0

                        Played      Won         Lost        Tie   Points
NZ Maori                3           3           0           0     6
Papua New Guinea        3           2           1           0     4
Cook Islands            3           1           2           0     2
Samoa                   3           0           3           0     0