PNG star caps off fine tourney

THE International Cricket Council (ICC) East Asia Pacific (EAP) representative team has capped off a competitive tournament at the 2010 Australian Country Cricket Championships (ACCC) with two individual awards for standout contributions.
Papua New Guinea middle-order batsman Assadollah Vala was awarded the Don Bradman Batting Award for an outstanding tournament in which he scored a competition high 355 runs at 50.7 average with an excellent strike-rate of almost 83, including a masterful century in EAPs narrow Round 6 loss against the Northern Territory.
Vala also made a superb 95 runs from just 88 balls faced in the final match of the tournament, helping EAP to its second win of the competition over the Australian Capital Territory.
The left-handed Vala, who represented Papua New Guinea at the Pepsi ICC World Cricket League Division 3 tournament in Argentina in 2009, was also selected in the Australian Country Team that played against the ACA Masters, and was selected in the 2010 Australian Country Cricket T20 Team.
EAP skipper Andrew Mansale was also a winner, voted by umpires as the best fielder in the tournament, winning the Doug Walters Fielding Award.
Following on from Vani Vagi Morea winning the same award in 2009, Mansale was a revelation at cover and short mid-wicket for the EAP team, with his trademark agility on show for all.