Barras fall to Scotland in T20 World Cup warm-up clash

By ROBINSON LEKA
THE Papua New Guinea Barramundis lost their opening Twenty-20 (T20) warm-up match against Scotland who won by eight wickets on Friday.
The match at the International Cricket Council academy in Dubai, United Arab Emirate, saw PNG win the toss and opt to bat first.
PNG skipper Assad Vala provided a strong opening for the Barras after hitting 55 runs from 43 balls before he was taken out by Scotland’s Hamza Tahir in the 15th over.
The fall of Vala saw PNG slow to recover through Sese Bau (38 not-out) and Charles Amini (17 off 14 balls) for a total score of five for 154 runs at the end of the innings.
Scotland’s chase saw man-of-the-match George Munsey score a half-century (off 33 balls) before a delivery from Amini saw him caught out by Nosaina Pokana in the 10th over.
The Scots only conceded two wickets in their response as Richie Berrington (41 not-out) and Calum MacLeod (27 not-out) steered them to their target in the 18th over with Scotland finishing at two for 156.
This was PNG’s first T20 international match since November 2019 after qualifying for the World Cup.
The Barras will begin their inaugural campaign in the group-stage matches on Sunday when they face hosts Oman at the Al Amerat Cricket Stadium and face Scotland and Bangladesh after that in their three round-one matches.
Meanwhile, the match saw Kabua Morea make his T20 international debut for the Barras.