Barras advance to qualifiers

Sports

THE Hebou Papua New Guinea Barramundis advanced to the ICC Cricket World Cup Global Qualifiers in Zimbabwe after their five-wicket win over Scotland in the second one-day international on Sunday.
The win saw the Barras leapfrog Scotland into second place in the World Cricket League Championship.
The Netherlands are first place with three matches left to play lead the table on 18 points — two ahead of PNG.
The victory helped PNG exact revenge for their 101-run defeat to Scotland in the first 50-over matchlast Friday.
Scotland too are assured of a spot in the top four thanks to the 15 points they accumulated, leaving Hong Kong, Kenya and Nepal jostling for the last available position.
PNG captain Asad Vala highlighted the crucial appointment of former Australia international Jason Gillespie as PNG coach.
“Jason has brought new ideas to the team and the boys are really enjoying his company. He’s got a lot of experience at all levels of cricket, we want to make use of his knowledge and learn as much as possible from him.
“The World Cricket League Championship matches are vital for us to finish in the top four and qualify for the Cricket World Cup Qualifier. We know it’s going to be a great challenge against good opposition and we can’t wait.”
The ICC World Cricket League Championship is the top division of the World Cricket League (WCL) system, and forms part of the qualification process for the Cricket World Cup.
The WCL Championship was originally known as World Cricket League Division One, and was played twice under that name (in 2007 and 2010).
All matches in the WCL Championship hold List A status, while matches among higher-ranking teams may hold One Day International (ODI) status.