Naidu excited about success of Village Premier League

CRICKET Papua New Guinea general manager Tony Naidu says he is happy to see the Village Premier League tournament end successfully.
He said on Sunday that the two-day tournament was the first of its kind by the sport’s national governing body.
Naidu said the event provided an opportunity for players of all ages to come together for an entertaining tournament.
“It was just exciting,” he said.
“We had players like PNG Barramundis captain Assad Vala bowling against Under-19 players.
“We had former Barramundis out there fielding.
“The ten-10 tournament enabled us to get older players to go out and play.
“Wanderers batsman and former Barramundi Vani Vagi Morea was unstoppable throughout the tournament.
“He didn’t get out in the final against Pari Knight Riders.
“Morea scored the highest runs and he was just an unbelievable talent. He also took wickets.
“Some of the U19 players were outstanding.”
Naidu said CPNG had limited time to stage the event, but the tournament was a success.
“We came up with the idea just three weeks ago,” he said.
“We wanted to give this sports-mad country some cricket and we had eight teams taking part.
“My staff members were not used to run tournaments like this, but we did well.
“The officials treated the games like international cricket and the standard of the game was elevated.
“It was good to see knockout cricket. You win to continue and you go home if you lose. To finish the tournament, we had two great teams compete in the final.”