Barras face gritty Irish

webmaster Normal, Sports
Source:

The National, Wednesday July 15th, 2015

 THE Barramundis second match at the ICC World T20 Qualifier against Hong Kong was abandoned without a ball being balled on Monday after rain affected the tournament for the second day in a row.

Match points were shared, leaving the Barramundis second in Pool A and heading for a top of the table clash with Ireland on Wednesday night (PNG time).

Barramundis coach Dipak Patel said it was unfortunate the match was called off as the team would have liked to grab maximum points. 

“We will remain positive and shift our focus to the next game in two days time which is against the tournament favourites, Ireland, who are sitting comfortably at the top of Pool A,” Patel said.

“We are taking it game by game and Ireland is our next mission and the boys will not take a backward step to topple the tournament favourites.” 

Ireland captain William Porterfield has noted Papua New Guinea’s performance against Jersey on Sunday and warned his team against complacency.

The Barramundis (145/9) opened their account at the World T20 Qualifier with a comfortable 24-run victory over Jersey (121). “PNG are a dangerous side as we know from playing them in a warm-up game before the last competition,” Porterfield said. “We know how dangerous they can be so we’re not going to take them lightly. 

“Every side in this competition has match-winners so you’ve got to nullify them, first and foremost. 

“If we can bowl like that again we will put them under pressure.” 

The Barramundis are in Belfast to play Ireland before moving to Dublin to play their three remaining pool matches against Nepal, Namibia and USA. 

Standings:

  • Pool A: Ireland 4, PNG 3, Namibia 3, Nepal 3, Jersey 2, Hong Kong 1, USA 0; 
  • Pool B: Afghanistan 6, Kenya 4, Netherlands 4, Scotland 2, Oman 2, Canada 0, UAE 0.

 

PNG’s tournament matches:

  • Sun, July 12: PNG v Jersey, Bready, Co. Tyrone;
  • Mon, July 13: Hong Kong v PNG, Bready, Co. Tyrone; 
  • Wed, July 15: Ireland v PNG, Stormont, Belfast; 
  • Fri, July 17: Nepal v PNG, Malahide, Dublin; 
  • Sat, July 18: PNG v Namibia, Malahide, Dublin; 
  • Sun, July 19: PNG v USA, Malahide, Dublin.