National cricket teams making waves

THE first quarter of the year has seen the Papua New Guinea’s cricket teams making waves in their international tour building on to what is set to be a busy year for cricket both domestic and international.
Last month the men’s team, the Barramundis, jetted off for their first tour of the year which was also a phase of preparation for the team’s campaign at the ICC Twenty-20 (T20) World Cup in United States and West Indies from July 1-24.
The Barras started off their tour in India playing against a couple of local clubs where they won two out of three 50-over matches before leaving for Oman. In Oman they tied in the one-day-international series with the hosts before losing the T20 series.
While they didn’t win either of the series in Oman, a standout performance for the Barramundis was winning their second ODI match against the hosts as they had not beaten them in six meetings since 2019.
From Oman, the Barramundis were in Hong Kong for the T20I tri-series against Nepal and the hosts. Their series opener against Nepal ended with PNG losing by 85 runs. The same afternoon after losing, the Barramundis came back to win by 10-wickets against the hosts. In the finals the next day, the Tatenda Taibu coached side made a statement win an 86-run win over Nepal to claim the series.
The last leg of the tour was a two-match T20I series with Malaysia where the Barramundis fared well against the host, winning the first game by 77 runs. That same performance could not be repeated the next day as they went down by 63 runs to tie the series.
Their tour was hailed a success by Taibu as they took out the positives gained from the month-long travelling and playing. A few highlights include winning their first ODI against Oman, claiming the Hong Kong Series in which opening batsman Tony Ura reached a milestone by becoming the first Papua New Guinea to score 1,500 runs in T20Is.
The team returned to Port Moresby on Tuesday and will have a deserved week-long break before they get back into competition next Wednesday this time for the Isuzu T20 Smash starting on Friday. The next few months will be a busy period for them with both domestic and international fixtures lined up heading to their World Cup campaign. For the women’s team, the PNG Lewas are off on their tour in Zimbabwe then later to the United Arab Emirates. Yesterday they left for Harere where they will play three ODI and three T20I against the hosts. From there, they have two ODI scheduled against USA and Scotland in the UAE before they return home mid next month.
Under the guidance of head coach David Drew, the Lewas have won the Pacific T20 Cup in January and the aim for this tour is to be better in all facets in both T20 and 50-over performances leading into the next ICC Women’s World Cup cycle.
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‘Pilai Bilong Yumi’ is our commentary column which provides a perspective on important issues and matters in PNG sports.