Lewas return from tour of Scotland after Ireland defeat

THE City Pharmacy Papua New Guinea Lewas return today from Scotland after narrowly missing a berth in next year’s Women’s T20 World Cup in Australia.
After the round-robin games the Lewas sat second to tournament favourites Bangladesh in Pool A while in Pool B Thailand finished on top with Ireland also qualifying for a semifinal berth.
The equation then for the Lewas to reach the World Cup was to win the semifinal against the undefeated Thailand.
Unfortunately, PNG were kept to 67/7 off their allotted 20 overs with captain Kaia Arua top scoring with 16 not out and opener Sibona Jimmy chipping in with 13 against tight bowling.
Defending a low target was always going to be an uphill battle for the Lewas and Thailand (68/2) reached the target for the loss of just two wickets.
The Lewas (85/8) took on Ireland (86/2) in the third-place playoff and lost down by eight wickets.
Coach Rarua Dikana said: “It was a disappointing result in the end after promising wins against Scotland and the United States in the pool games and only falling short by six runs against Bangladesh.”