Lewas hope for solid start

PAPUA New Guinea hope to get on the front foot from the get-go when they face Pool-A heavyweights Bangladesh in the Women’s T20 World Cup qualifier in Scotland tomorrow (7pm start).
The Lewas remain aware of the task ahead against their opponents, who are ranked ninth in the world. PNG are also pooled with the United States and the hosts, who are ranked 37th and 13th respectively.
Head coach Rarua Dikana said PNG, who are ranked 15th in the world, were in the ‘pool of death’ with Scotland and Bangladesh aiming to derail their World Cup ambitions.
“These are teams who are ranked above of us,” he said ahead of their opener at Forfarshire Cricket Club in Dundee. There’s going to be three strong teams in Pool A vying for the two semifinal spots.
“We’ve already discussed our pool and the girls understand what’s required of them.”
Ireland, Thailand, Namibia and the Netherlands will be vying for the other two semifinal spots on offer in Pool B.
Only two spots are on offer for next year’s World Cup which will be held in the Australian cities of Canberra, Melbourne, Perth and Sydney from Feb 21 to March 8.
The Lewas arrived in Scotland on Tuesday with the country’s hopes resting on the shoulders of 28-year-old captain Kaia Arua and Ravini Oa.
“We have been hard at training. We’ve devised a plan and if we stick to it, I believe we’ll be able to get some positive results,” Dikana said.