Raukele win minor title

THE Raukele premier side snatched the Port Moresby Cricket Association minor premiership after beating competition leaders Coasters on Sunday.
The 50-over competition at the Bisini cricket ground saw Raukele smash 327 runs chasing down Coasters’ 324 target in 41 overs.
The Chilli Sounds-sponsored side beat their Rigo cousins by two wickets to rise to the top of the ladder with 60 points and claim the PMCA minor premiership.
“We were seating second but after the win, it gave us the advantage to take over Coasters and settle down on the first place in the last round,” Raukele opening batsman Frank Ani said.
Coasters batted first amassing 323 in 50 overs at Amini Park which had its boundaries brought in.
“We fielded first and didn’t get early wickets which Coasters capitalised on,” Ani said.
Despite being set a massive target of 324, Raukele openers Ani and veteran Arina Lahari got the chase off to a solid start with No.3 Ryan Ani coming in at the sixth over to score a century.
Frank Ani credited Ryan’s efforts as a big reason why Raukele were able to reach the target with overs to spare.
He said while wickets fell Raukele batters continued their scoring spree to race to the total in an entertaining encounter where batting from both sides had been the highlight of the contest.
“Ryan went out after the sixth over and scored a hundred.
“He was electric on the pitch with his batting.
“Overall, we did well as a team to get the win.”
Although coming out victors, Frank said the typical Raukele style of play was not displayed.
He said this is crucial as final approaches in the coming weekend.
“Normally we take out early wickets but this didn’t eventuate,” Frank told The National while evaluating the team’s performance.
“We will need to work on our bowling.
“Finals start next weekend so that’s something we need to polish up on.
“We’ll need to train and prepare well with our team bonding to get our minds focused for the finals,” he said on Sunday.