EAP sides set for tourney

THE big names of East Asia-Pacific (EAP) cricket will display their cricketing prowess next month in the International Cricket Council (ICC) Men’s T20 World Cup-East Asia-Pacific final in Papua New Guinea.
Port Moresby will open its doors to Papua New Guinea, the Philippines and Vanuatu, the three teams who qualified through the 2018 group stages, with the tournament set to start on March 20.
The tournament will be a double round-robin format with the top team at the end of the tournament progressing to the ICC Men’s T20 World Cup Global Qualifier, to be played later this year.
PNG will be looking to make the most of their home ground advantage.
PNG captain Assad Vala was pleased that the Barramundis have been training hard and all the boys are looking forward to the final being played on our home ground at Amini Park.
“We are expecting some tough games but we are happy with our preparation and that should help us achieve our goals,” Vala said.
Vanuatu finished second behind PNG in last year’s 2020 ICC T20 World Cup EAP Qualifier Group ‘A’ and will be looking to go one better in PNG.
“We have been looking forward to this tournament for some time now,” captain Andrew Mansale said.
“Our last game with PNG was close and that has given us a lot of confidence.”
Mansale, pictured, believes “PNG are the big favourites so there is less pressure on us”.
“The Philippines have some good players and can beat anyone on any day so this tournament will be a lot of fun,” he said.
Not to be underestimated, the Philippines will be aiming to make an impression and cause some upsets in the tournament and like all other teams, qualify for the global qualifier.
Captain Jonathan Hill “is excited about the opportunity to compete at this next level and we hope to make all Filipinos proud of our efforts”.
‘We know that we are competing against two very proud cricketing nations and we are preparing with diligence and determination to ensure we play to our potential,” Hill said.
Rob Gomm, the ICC’s tournament director, believes the final “will showcase the best of cricket in the region, with each team having worked hard to get to the final and give it their all”.
“Cricket in EAP is increasing in profile, and this tournament provides an exciting opportunity for our members to play quality cricket and further promote the game in PNG and across the region,” Gomm said.
The tournament ends on March 23. Fixtures: Wed, March 20 – PNG v Vanuatu (9.30am), PNG v Philippines (1.30pm); Thurs, March 21 – Philippines v Vanuatu (9.30am); Fri, March 22 – Philippines v PNG (1.30pm); Sat, March 23 – Vanuatu v Philippines (9.30am), Vanuatu v PNG (1.30pm).
– CricketWorld