FITNESS will be the major concern for national cricket coach Joeli Matayawa as he works on preparing a formidable national side for a tour of New Zealand next month.
The 14-member side that will travel to New Zealand for the 2013 Pepsi East Asia Pacific Championship was named on Friday and Matayawa said the fitness of the players would need more work.
He said he was happy with how the players did not lose much fitness during the festive season but he said it would need more work.
"The fitness of the players has not dropped that much during the festive season, which is good," the former national rep said.
"But I will use the next two weeks to work more on getting the players on par with the fitness and endurance that will be required for this tournament," he said.
The side will move into camp from next week and Matayawa said they will use it to work more on the skills of the players.
"In camp we will work on fielding, bowling and other skills involved in the sport.
"The recent Super Six competition was a big boost to the national side as it helped the national reps concentrate more on their individual skills
"In camp we will be working on combining those individual skills with the team skills," he said.
The 14-member squad: Jone Sevou, Kitione Tavo, Jikoi Kida, Sevu Baba, Viliame Yabaki, Sekove Ravoka, Samuela Draunivudi, Jone Wesele, Josefa Rika, Colin Rika, Craig Browne, Vueta Vuiyasawa, Joji Bulabalavu and Iniasi Cakacaka.