Papua New Guinea and Vanuatu remain unbeaten after round six of matches in the 2014 ICC EAP Trophy, and will battle it out for a place in next year’s World Twenty20 Qualifiers when they face off in the final round of matches tomorrow.
PNG and Fiji both experienced big win’s this afternoon, over Samoa and the Cook Islands respectively, whilst Japan took it all the way up to Vanuatu, and the Philippines had their second win for the day over Indonesia.
The main match of the afternoon was staged at Oakes Oval between PNG and Samoa. Continuing their luck with the toss PNG elected to bat, and their openers made life difficult for Samoa. Lega Siaka, who has not been unfamiliar with runs so far this tournament, hit a solid 46 off 26, whilst his counterpart Tony Ura, hit the first century of the tournament, an unbeaten 127 off just 59 balls, including 6 fours and 12 sixes.
When Siaka fell victim to the bowling of Samoan captain, Ben Mailata, the flow of runs was steadied somewhat, but Ura had already done the damage, and PNG finished 4-222 after their 20 overs.
It was always going to be a tough assignment for Samoa, and their innings didn’t get off to the ideal start when their top four batsmen were skittled for just nine runs in the four overs. The PNG bowlers shared the honours around, and with their trademark speed in the field and economy with the ball, only one Samoan batsman made it to double figures. In the end Samoa were dismissed for a mere 43 runs in 14.4 overs, handing PNG another big 169-run win.
Obvious choice for Man of the Match, Tony Ura, said he was happy with the win for his team, but remained humble about his own performance.
“It’s good for me because I was really struggling this tournament in a lot of games, and came back trying to get my performance back up against Japan with 85 runs, and against Samoa I just went for the big ones. It wasn’t me though,” he added, “it was the bat.”
At Heaps Oval, Japan continued their tough draw for the day, taking on another previously unbeaten team in Vanuatu. Batting first, things didn’t necessarily go all Vanuatu’s way, with opener Jonathon Dunn falling cheaply, this time the victim of Tsuyoshi Takada. Simpson Obed and Nalin Nipiko also got starts, but it was once again Vanuatu captain, Andrew Mansale, who steadied the innings for his team, scoring 43 off 27 runs. At the conclusion of their 20 overs, Vanuatu posted a competitive total of 150, losing their final wicket via a run out on the last ball of the innings.
Japan stood their ground at the crease at the beginning of the second innings, but it all quickly came undone thanks to Vanuatu’s sharp fielding and precision with the ball. The Japanese were eventually dismissed 74 runs in 18.4 overs handing Vanuatu another victory, this one by 76 runs.
All-rounder Simpson Obed said that his team was relatively confident that they could knock off PNG in their final match of the tournament tomorrow.
“Well we got six out of six now, but I think there’s still room for improvement, there’s still some little bits and pieces to sort out. Tomorrow if we just stick to our game plan, it’s a Twenty20 match so it’s a 50/50 chance of victory, and you never know.”
Over at Mortimer Oval this afternoon, the Philippines interestingly chose to field first against Indonesia. The Indonesians posted a run-a-ball total at the end of their 20 overs for the loss of five wickets, thanks to a solid innings of 62 from Viraj Bhammar.
However the chase seemed all too easy for the Philippines, who reached the winning target with eight wickets in hand thanks to an outstanding knock of 62 not out from Manoj Gohal.
The final match of the afternoon was over at Blair Oval between Fiji and the Cook Islands. The Fijian opening pair of Joe Rika and Jikoi Kida Vanualevu got off to an incredible start, with a 141-run partnership, before Joe’s scalp was claimed in the 11th over. This positive start ensured Fiji posted a competitive total at the end of the 20 overs, racking up a score of 5-228.
Papua New Guinea and Vanuatu remain unbeaten after round six of matches in the 2014 ICC EAP Trophy, and will battle it out for a place in next year’s World Twenty20 Qualifiers when they face off in the final round of matches tomorrow.
PNG and Fiji both experienced big win’s this afternoon, over Samoa and the Cook Islands respectively, whilst Japan took it all the way up to Vanuatu, and the Philippines had their second win for the day over Indonesia.
The main match of the afternoon was staged at Oakes Oval between PNG and Samoa. Continuing their luck with the toss PNG elected to bat, and their openers made life difficult for Samoa. Lega Siaka, who has not been unfamiliar with runs so far this tournament, hit a solid 46 off 26, whilst his counterpart Tony Ura, hit the first century of the tournament, an unbeaten 127 off just 59 balls, including 6 fours and 12 sixes.
When Siaka fell victim to the bowling of Samoan captain, Ben Mailata, the flow of runs was steadied somewhat, but Ura had already done the damage, and PNG finished 4-222 after their 20 overs.
It was always going to be a tough assignment for Samoa, and their innings didn’t get off to the ideal start when their top four batsmen were skittled for just nine runs in the four overs. The PNG bowlers shared the honours around, and with their trademark speed in the field and economy with the ball, only one Samoan batsman made it to double figures. In the end Samoa were dismissed for a mere 43 runs in 14.4 overs, handing PNG another big 169-run win.
Obvious choice for Man of the Match, Tony Ura, said he was happy with the win for his team, but remained humble about his own performance.
“It’s good for me because I was really struggling this tournament in a lot of games, and came back trying to get my performance back up against Japan with 85 runs, and against Samoa I just went for the big ones. It wasn’t me though,” he added, “it was the bat.”
At Heaps Oval, Japan continued their tough draw for the day, taking on another previously unbeaten team in Vanuatu. Batting first, things didn’t necessarily go all Vanuatu’s way, with opener Jonathon Dunn falling cheaply, this time the victim of Tsuyoshi Takada. Simpson Obed and Nalin Nipiko also got starts, but it was once again Vanuatu captain, Andrew Mansale, who steadied the innings for his team, scoring 43 off 27 runs. At the conclusion of their 20 overs, Vanuatu posted a competitive total of 150, losing their final wicket via a run out on the last ball of the innings.
Japan stood their ground at the crease at the beginning of the second innings, but it all quickly came undone thanks to Vanuatu’s sharp fielding and precision with the ball. The Japanese were eventually dismissed 74 runs in 18.4 overs handing Vanuatu another victory, this one by 76 runs.
All-rounder Simpson Obed said that his team was relatively confident that they could knock off PNG in their final match of the tournament tomorrow.
“Well we got six out of six now, but I think there’s still room for improvement, there’s still some little bits and pieces to sort out. Tomorrow if we just stick to our game plan, it’s a Twenty20 match so it’s a 50/50 chance of victory, and you never know.”
Over at Mortimer Oval this afternoon, the Philippines interestingly chose to field first against Indonesia. The Indonesians posted a run-a-ball total at the end of their 20 overs for the loss of five wickets, thanks to a solid innings of 62 from Viraj Bhammar.
However the chase seemed all too easy for the Philippines, who reached the winning target with eight wickets in hand thanks to an outstanding knock of 62 not out from Manoj Gohal.
The final match of the afternoon was over at Blair Oval between Fiji and the Cook Islands. The Fijian opening pair of Joe Rika and Jikoi Kida Vanualevu got off to an incredible start, with a 141-run partnership, before Joe’s scalp was claimed in the 11th over. This positive start ensured Fiji posted a competitive total at the end of the 20 overs, racking up a score of 5-228.
For more information, please contact:
Adam Cassidy
Regional Project Officer – East Asia Pacific
International Cricket council
Mobile: +61 424 081 523
Email: adam.cassidy@cricket.com.au
ICC East Asia-Pacific
60 Jolimont Street
Melbourne, Victoria
Australia
Tel: +61 3 9653 9925
Fax: +61 3 9653 8889
http://icceap.com
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