Kariko bags five wickets to round out winless run

By PATRICIA KEAMO
THE national Under-19 men’s cricket team ended their World Cup campaign winless as the Rodney Maha-coached side finished in last place on net run rate (16th).
Papua New Guinea cricket legend Maha said although it was a tough tournament for the Garamuts, the experience was invaluable.
“I wish we had a better preparation,” Maha told The National yesterday.
“But the Coronavirus pandemic has dictated everything and the results are what they are.”
Maha’s men suffered a 35-run loss to Uganda on Friday night (PNG time).
Despite their opponents being all out after 123 runs from 28 overs, the Garamuts couldn’t chase the total as they were all out for 88 runs from 19.3 overs.
The Garamuts came close to claiming their first win against Uganda with spinner John Kariko taking five wickets for 19 runs.
Unfortunately, they couldn’t keep up the pace and contain the spin bowling by Uganda.
“Kariko made PNG proud by taking the man of the match award for his five-wicket haul,” Maha said.
“He looks good for the future.
“He has been building up to this through his training and matches.
“We’ve always reminded him that he’s very talented and I’m very proud of his achievement.
“Finally, he has got some reward for his hard work.
“Tight bowling saw us on top.
“But again, like other matches, we missed chances which could have affected the total.
“The players struggled a bit with the pace and bounce of one of Ugandan quicks.
“Some calls did not go our way and really made it tough in the end.
“But I’m happy that the players tried to finish well.
“However, we did not cash in on our opportunities.
“Thank you to everyone who has been supporting us all tournament.”