The first-ever cricket team from Savai'i from the village of Sili have vowed to make their return to the Teuila Cricket Competition this September after placing third in their division overall. 

Their manager, who didn't want to be identified, told Samoa Observer that his team was the champion of a Samoan cricket competition hosted in Savai'i and their participation in the recent independence tournament marked their foray into English cricket. 

However, he is very happy to see his athletes enjoying the game despite playing in their first-ever match.

"It is our first time to try the English cricket but it definitely won't be our last. We played the game and it was fun. It has a few similarities with Samoan cricket but is just that this cricket has a lot of rules," he said.

"Sometimes my team tried to apply Samoan cricket rules during the match. But after we've played a few games we have come to realize that this sport is also fun and it can create a career path for some of our unemployed youth and our sports enthusiasts."

He also mentioned that their village is rooting for them, and despite not being the number one team, he is still proud of his team's effort and performance and they had fun which mattered to him.

"They had fun on the field that's what it's all about. It was never about winning a tournament but the fun of it," he said smiling.

"However, today I tell you, we will be back for the Teuila competition if it happens and we sure hope that we will be able to win that."

Two of his players have played English cricket before but some have not. But he says that he will surely have the training underway in order to get his players to understand and learn the rules of the code.

"We just need to familiarize ourselves with the rules and learn all the principles and values of cricket so we can play accordingly. We are here to represent our village and also our island so we must make it count," he said.