Former Fiji women’s cricket captain Ruci Kaiwai is in Suva for the ICC 100% Cricket Future Leaders Level 2 Workshop at Albert Park, running from September 4 to 7. She joins a cohort of coaches from ten countries, including Fiji, Papua New Guinea, Canada, Cook Islands, Indonesia, Japan, Samoa, New Zealand, Australia and the Philippines.
The four-day program blends practical, face-to-face coaching with indoor theory, featuring peer micro-coaching and on-field sessions. It covers the coach’s role, Game Sense, and how to create effective coaching environments, before moving into specialist modules in pace bowling, advanced batting, wicketkeeping, fielding and spin, supported by technology such as pace tracking and video analysis.
Assessment tasks emphasize communication and coaching practice, planning and delivering sessions, giving feedback to fellow coaches, and building a season plan. Participants complete online Level 2 materials beforehand and deliver a five-minute presentation outlining their coaching role and philosophy.
Kaiwai brings substantial credentials to the workshop. Her recent roles include captain of the Fiji women’s national team (2022–2023), 14 years as a Cricket Fiji Development Officer (2010–2024), ICC Level 1 Umpire (2024), ICC Level 1 Coach (2025), and a stint coaching the Fiji U19 Girls team in 2024. Her nomination for the Suva workshop was supported by Cricket Fiji’s Chief Executive Officer, Sitiveni Rokoro, who noted that she completed Level 1 in Bali and endorsed this next step as a meaningful advancement that will benefit cricket in Fiji.
The workshop’s timing is underscored by Cricket Fiji’s broader development agenda and the ICC’s ongoing push toward high-performance pathways. The inclusion of cricket in the program for the Los Angeles 2028 Olympic Games adds context to the timing, with Fiji’s growing women’s pathway positioned to benefit from stronger high-performance structures, junior-to-senior transitions, and ahead-of-cycle qualification planning.
Across the four days, participants will rotate through classroom blocks—Tournament Coaching 101, Creating Coaching Environments, Game Sense, Pace Tech—and outdoor practicals in pace bowling, advanced batting, wicketkeeping, advanced fielding and spin. The final day will be reserved for practical assessments and workshop wrap-up at Albert Park. The East Asia Pacific cohort aspect offers a home-ground upskilling opportunity for Fiji and a clear pathway toward ICC accreditation ahead of a pivotal period for the sport.
What this means for Fiji is a deeper, more cohesive coaching pipeline that aligns domestic competition with regional qualification demands, while strengthening the country’s capacity to develop high-performance coaches in parallel with ongoing grassroots initiatives. The broader development push—ranging from teacher training programs and umpire courses to youth and women’s cricket initiatives—signals a positive trajectory for cricket in Fiji, with Kaiwai well-placed to influence age-group and senior programs on this ascent.
Comments and context:
– Kaiwai’s leadership background and mix of playing, coaching, and officiating experience position her to contribute across Fiji’s coaching ecosystem, especially for women’s pathways.
– The workshop complements Fiji’s broader efforts to connect school, community, and elite cricket, helping to translate grassroots interest into sustained performance and participation.
– With ongoing development efforts in U19 programs and grassroots engagement, this aligns with a regional trend of using major qualifiers and events to catalyze long-term growth and opportunities for aspiring players, coaches, and officials.
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