Softballers win Super 8s trophy

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By TRAVERTZ MABONE

AN interesting cricket tournament, the Hebou Women’s Battle of the Codes Super 8s, which was the first of its kind started in Port Moresby yesterday.
Thanks to one of Cricket PNG’s major partners, Hebou Construction who sponsored the event,  saw PNG women athletes from different sporting codes on show.
A total of eight teams from various codes, including bowling, canoeing, netball, powerlifting, soccer, softball, touch rugby and volleyball all tried their hidden cricket skills for the Hebou Super 8s trophy fielding eight players with 10 overs.
However, the day had softball written all over it with the ladies cleaning out all their matches and taking the Super 8s trophy in this first time event.
Using their softball skills and applying the concept to cricket, the softball women endured a whole day cricket and managed to defeat the netballers by two runs in the grand final.
The netballers went in to bat first with sisters Lua Rikis and Winnie Mavara which saw Rikis dominating the match with an unbeaten 34 not out, including two sixes and three fours.
Mavara, on the other hand, was run out for a duck while Mona-Lisa Leka went out for two and Salote Doko for seven.
Port Moresby cricket representative Norma Ovasuru came in to assist Lua with 17 and managed to secure a final score of 3/90.
The softballers, who even outstanding with their fielding showed their class with the bat which needed no new skills.
Up first was Navasha Pilak who scored 13 runs followed by Carolyn Moeder with 14.
Going up to the seventh over, poor lighting began to creep in which saw the netballers causing errors with their fielding costing them some very important runs.
The POM cricket representative assisting the side, Boni David managed to keep the runs ticking and contributed a massive 36 runs not out.
In a thrilling ending with just two balls left and a run to win Georgina Bais got caught when she returned a delivery back to the bowler’s hands.
With both teams tied on 90 runs and a last delivery from netball’s Leka to the new batter all hopes were either on just one run to win or a dot ball for a draw.
But to the netballer’s disappointment the ball was bowled wide and an extra two runs were taken to seal the win for the softballers, who walked away happily with the Hebou Super 8s trophy.