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About Jonathan Hill

About the author: Jonathan Hill, known as “Jono Hill,” Philippine national team cricket captain. An article in Ang Kalatas has the author mentioning the following:

Hill, or ‘Jono’ as he is often called, plays batsman although he can also bowl when called upon.

“I have been involved with cricket in the Philippines since 2012,” he says.

“Prior to that, I played extensively in Sydney, Darwin, England and the South Coast of NSW.”

To qualify for the Philippines’ national squad, Jono needed to obtain a Filipino passport and play a number of games in the Philippine Cricket League in Manila. He did that in 2012.

“Since my inclusion in the squad I have been fortunate to tour Hong Kong in 2013 and 2015, and to compete in International Cricket Council World Cup qualifying tournaments in Lismore, Bendigo and Manila,” Jono says.

“The most recent tournament in Manila was my first as captain.

“This was a huge honour, as it was the first time the Philippines had hosted an international cricket tournament.”

Jono says that his involvement with cricket in the Philippines has strengthened his sense of identity and belonging.

“I have been able to immerse myself wholeheartedly in Filipino culture,” he says.

“I have also had the chance to connect with my family in Davao and my mum’s friends in Manila.

“During my visits to Manila I have had the opportunity to help facilitate cricket workshops in schools in order to help teach young Filipinos about cricket and get them excited about playing it.”

About the diary: Published as a nine-part series of daily diary entries in the website of the Philippine Cricket Association:

Philippine national team cricket captain Jonathan Hill – a dual Filipino-Australian citizen — takes you inside the team camp as they plan, practice, play and eventually win in thrilling style the ICC T20 Cricket World Cup East Asia Pacific qualifier. He also takes you on his own powerful, emotional journey as he reconnects with his Filipino heritage and the birthplace of his mom.

The Philippines national cricket team made history and thousands of new fans both here and around the world when they won the week-long, four-nation tournament against Indonesia, Japan and South Korea that finished on Friday, December 7[2018].

The event was staged at Friendship Oval at Emilio Aguinaldo College, Dasmariñas, Cavite, the first time that the Philippines has ever hosted such a major international cricket event.

The historic win means that the Philippines move a step closer to the T20 World Cup to be held in Australia in 2020. That event is expected to be watched by more than 1.5 billion people worldwide.

The Philippine team will now travel to Papua New Guinea in March 2019 where they will play Papua New Guinea and Vanuatu in the International Cricket Council (ICC) East Asia Pacific final.

While there is still a long road to travel to make the World Cup, the Philippine team’s performance in this tournament has sent a message that they have arrived on the world stage.

Let captain Jono Hill take you on a thrilling, emotional roller-coaster ride through the first stage of that journey.