Samoa women's national cricket team
 |
|
| Nickname(s) | Nafanua |
|---|---|
| Association | Samoa International Cricket Association |
| Personnel | |
| Captain | Regina Lili'i |
| Coach | Ian West |
| International Cricket Council | |
| ICC status | Affiliate member (2000) |
| ICC region | East Asia-Pacific |
| Test Matches | |
| First international |
 Samoa vs. Fiji  (Apia; 2 February 2010) |
| As of 26 November 2015 | |
The Samoan women's national cricket team, nicknamed the Nafanua, represents the Independent State of Samoa in international women's cricket. It is organised by the game's governing body in the country, the Samoa International Cricket Association (SICA).
Although women's cricket has a long history in Samoa, the national team was only formally organised in 2010, with assistance from a New Zealand association, Auckland Cricket. The team has often included Samoan expatriate players based in Australia and New Zealand (including some who have played for state or provincial teams), which has presented difficulties in training. Samoa's first regional tournament came later in 2010, and it has since regularly participated in ICC East Asia-Pacific events, generally ranking behind only Japan and Papua New Guinea in the region. Its most notable achievement is winning the gold medal in the women's tournament at the 2015 Pacific Games. The team is currently coached by Ian West, an Englishman who gained Samoan citizenship through his wife, and subsequently played for the Samoan men's team. As of May 2015[update], one unofficial ranking system places Samoa 27th in the world, behind Kenya.
Cricket has been played in Samoa since the 19th century, when it was introduced by British traders and missionaries. It flourished despite a ban during the period of the German protectorate, from 1900 to 1914. Historically, the sport has been most popular when played under the modified rules known as kilikiti. However, since the early 2000s, when Samoa gained affiliate membership of the International Cricket Council (ICC) and its men's national team debuted interally (in 2000 and 2001, respectively), the standard form of cricket has begun to replace kilikiti in popularity.
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