FORMER Bay and Basin player Jonathan Hill and his Philippines national team are one step closer to qualifying for the International Cricket Council Twenty20 World Cup, after topping their East-Asia-Pacific (EAP) pool.
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Hill and his team went into the qualifying tournament against South Korea, Japan and Indonesia, full of confidence – thanks to their squad depth but also their home ground advantage, with the games being held in the Philippines.
“The team was confident but also very cautious of being over confident,” said skipper Hill – who qualifies to play for the team through his mother, who was born in Davao.
“We only came together as a group a few days before the tournament and so a lot of effort went into building a strong sense of camaraderie among the team.
“A pivotal point in the week occurred the night before the first game – during our team meeting we sat in a circle and each person shared their pathway to cricket in the Philippines.
“To be fair, this experience was probably more important than the final outcome of the tournament.
“In that circle, we gained a deep understanding of what cricket means to us all and we also established a set of values that would hold us all to account throughout the week.
“The key values we spoke about were; being positive, being fully present and always giving your personal best.
"These values were talked about constantly throughout the week in relation to all aspects of our performance.
“They help bind and strengthen the team and also helped us navigate some very tricky and extremely tense match situations.”
Hill’s side opened their campaign with a tight 8/154 to 148 against South Korea, in which Hill scored 12 runs before dropping their second match to Japan 5/157 to 6/152 – with Hill only managing seven runs.
“The loss to Japan was definitely a low point of the week,” Hill said.
“It acted as a wake up call and forced us to revisit the aforementioned values.
“We were very disappointed with the nature of our run chase in the contest and vowed to bat with more intent from then on.”
Hill’s side used this loss as motivation in third third clash against in Manilla against Indonesia – which the skipper labelled ‘do or die’.
“The first match against Indonesia was probably the most significant in the week because in our minds it was do or die,” he said.
“If we lost that match, then most likely we didn't have a chance of winning the tournament.”
Thankfully the hosts won 103 to 99, to keep their tournament dreams alive – thanks largely to Hill top scoring with 62.
“I promoted myself in the order after the second game because I very much felt I needed to lead from the front with the batting,” he said.
“After my innings of 62, I felt comfortable at the crease and looked to score with intent by taking calculated risks.”
This victory started a four game winning streak – defeating South Korea (103 to 99), extracting revenge on Japan (9/118 to 9/115) before taking out the tournament by edging out (6/138 to 110) in the final match of the series – with Hill chalking up scores of 23, one and 42.
“The team was ecstatic [when we won] – we were actually a bit shocked,” Hill said.
“While you plan and prepare to win, we all know there are times when things don't go your way.
“This tournament however, things did go our way at critical points and for that, we are grateful.
“While we were celebrating on the ground one of the blokes mentioned 'so, I guess we are going to Papua New Guinea' – that is when it began to sink in and we realised the extent of our accomplishment.
“Personally, this victory is a reflection of all the hard work that has taken place behind the scenes, over the past decade by Iain Sinclair and Faisal Khan.
“Iain tragically passed away in August from cancer and every success throughout the week was dedicated to him and his legacy.
“The Philippine Cricket Association is doing amazing work to promote cricket in schools and colleges all throughout the Philippines and this victory is a massive boost for the popularity of the sport.”
Hill’s side will now turn their attention’s to the next stage of qualifying, which will be played in PNG in March – in a tri-series against Vanuatu and the hosts.
“As a passionate cricketer, who has wanted to play at international level my whole life, it doesn't get any better than this,” Hill said.
“There were times in the week where I had to pinch myself as the whole experience felt surreal – television interviews, a press conference, publication of a ‘captain's diary’, then the nuts and bolts of strategy and preparation, along with playing and wanting to contribute myself.
“Overall though, it meant a great deal for me to lead this team onto the next stage.
“When I was handed the captaincy a few months out from the tournament, I was truly humbled and excited at this opportunity.
“It has been an immense privilege to be the national captain of a sporting team and it is a responsibility that I truly cherish and will never take for granted.
“Our success has given me confidence in the process that myself and Mark Pekin (head coach) followed throughout the week – from the way in which we structured training sessions, to team talks before, during and after the games.
“On a personal level, it has been a huge honour to lead this team.
“Throughout the week, I was drawing upon all my cricketing experience over the years, in particularly from my time with Bay and Basin, Shoalhaven and Southern NSW.
“Playing in the Shoalhaven District Cricket Association taught me the true value of relationships and the necessity to strengthen the bonds amongst all team members in order to succeed.”
Upon reflecting on one of the best experiences of his life, Hill couldn’t get over the local support he and his team received during the tournament.
“The support was absolutely incredible and was coming from everywhere – the media, social media, Australia, India and even some places in the United States,” he said.
“The support from the Filipino community, in the Philippines and abroad, was a strong source of inspiration throughout the week.
“When our performances started to slide, which will inevitably happen over the course of a week, we would always remind one another about the privilege of representing your country and the millions of people who take tremendous pride in being Filipino.
“The support from the nation really did drive us to succeed and give our personal best.”
If Hill and his side are able to progress through March’s tri-series, they will move into the Global Qualifiers, which consists of 14 teams – with the top six moving into the World Cup.