A Cricket Game In Vanuatu Was The Biggest Sporting Event On Earth This Weekend

More than 420,000 people watched a cricket match in Vanuatu on Saturday, the only competitive sporting final in the world with most competitions suspended due to COVID-19.

Overnight rain didn't stop the tiny islands in the South Pacific from producing a rarity in these coronavirus-restricted times -- a live sporting event.

Vanuatu Cricket Association chief executive Shane Deitz invited anyone missing real-time action to tune in to a live stream of their women's club championship finals.

Australian Deitz said there was 350,000 views of a men's 10-over exhibition match followed by the women's Twenty20 final won by the Mele Bulls, who went undefeated in the four-team competition.

A stream on Facebook attracted more than 420,000 views as of Sunday morning.

The rain meant a scheduled morning women's semi-final wasn't played.

"Fantastic (live stream) numbers for us, a great day's cricket here," Deitz said.

The matches were played at the Vanuatu Cricket Grounds in the capital Port Vila, on the island of Efate.

Deitz said national broadcaster VBTC set up four cameras for its first ever live cricket show, and he helped with the commentary for the online stream on Vanuatu Cricket's Facebook page.

The commentators had a bit of fun as well, with one of them suggesting the few fans were getting rowdy "now that the red wine has kicked in".

Play was delayed for a minute or two when a few children ran on the field, and the commentators apologised for not having many security people at the ground.

Vanuatu, population 300,000, went into lockdown last month as a precaution because of the pandemic, and was then hit by a destructive cyclone on April 6.

Spectators who came to the ground on Saturday were asked to bring food or clothing donations for those affected by the cyclone.

The lockdown and closed borders meant there were no reported cases of COVID-19 in Vanuatu.