It's cricket with a twist: Kilikiti set to knock over Wellington again

Get ready for a high-energy, action-packed celebration because kilikiti is back at the Cello Basin Reserve in Wellington.

This isn’t just any sports event - it’s a fusion of Pacific culture, music, food, and some seriously competitive bat-and-ball action.

After making history last year with the first kilikiti event at an international cricket ground, Pacific Health Plus Kilikiti at the Basin 2025 is on Saturday, 1 March.

According to event organiser Shana Muaiava, it is set to be even bigger this year.

“We’re starting off at 8.30am with teams arriving, eight teams, including secondary schools, women’s, and men’s teams,” she says.

“We will walk onto the Basin together before the opening ceremony, and then the first game kicks off at 9.30am.”

Last year only men’s teams played but Saturday will see women’s and college teams all stepping up to the pitch, so fans can expect non-stop entertainment from morning to afternoon.

For those unfamiliar with kilikiti, it’s the Pacific’s answer to cricket - only faster, louder and more colourful.

The sport traces its origins back to Sāmoa, where it was introduced by missionaries in the 19th century.

Locals took to cricket and gave it a unique twist, creating a game that blends athletic skill with culture, music, and dance.

“What's interesting about it is that obviously our equipment is different," Muaiava says.

“The bats are different, the balls are bouncier and obviously in terms of that, our fielding as well is a bit more live, it's a lot more vibrant in that sense.”

The sennit-wrapped, three–sided kilikiti bats are carved from wood and can be over one metre long.

The matches are accompanied by chants, singing, drumming, and a whole lot of sideline energy.

Since last year’s event, organisers have kept up the momentum with teams playing in the local Kilikiti Premier League (KPL), involving eight men’s and six women’s teams.

Players were selected from those teams for the Cello Basin Reserve event. A secondary school competition started in November 2024.

“We’re trying to provide opportunities for our community who really do want to get their young people on the malae (field),” says Muaiava. “So it’s just grown there. There’s definitely a need and want for it in our community.”

Muaiava says there is scope to expand kilikiti beyond the Pacific community.

A Youth Sixes event on Friday night involves Pasifika youth, but other ethnicities are encouraged to participate.

“The skills in cricket and kilikiti are interchangeable, so it’s a space where you can get the best of both worlds,” says Muaiava,

“Our people love sports, but we also love our gagana (language), and we love our aganu'u, our culture, so kilikiti offers all three.”

The first kilikiti event at an international cricket ground was held in 2024. Photo/Wellington Cricket.

Muaiava says holding this annual event at the home cricket is special.

“To get an opportunity for our people to step on the malae (field) at the basin, who wouldn't want to take up that opportunity?

“Obviously, there's only limited spaces, and I know people out there in the community, everybody would love to have a chance.”

While there is a live stream of the event for the older folk, Muaiava’s message is that everyone should try to get to the Cello Basin Reserve to fully experience what makes kilikiti unique.

“The message is don’t sit back,” she says. “You have to actually be part of the crowd, you need to come down, you need to support, cheer and just be in amongst it.”

Pacific Health Plus Kilikiti at the Basin 2025, Saturday 1 March 2025 at the Cello Basin Reserve, from 8.30am.

Listen to Shana Muaiava's full interview below.