Tarapia leads Raukele to victory in Lae Cricket T20 clash

By LARRY ANDREW
LAE Cricket Association’s main A-Grade T20 fixture between Friends and Raukele saw the latter claim victory in the Morobe capital on Saturday.
Raukele batted first and had seven dismissed for 114 runs after 20 overs in the Pacific Cargo Services-sponsored competition at the Lae Showground.
They were led by opener Samson Tarapia, who recorded 32 runs off 26 balls, and was supported by Ruma Igua (29 off 33) and Terry Sewe (14 off 16).
These were the only three Raukele batsmen who claimed double figures.
The standout Friends bowlers were Absalom Kilapat (2/25) and Michael Sota (2/27).
Gad Pavey, Gordon Tangara and Darren Ambo all took a wicket each while the experienced Rawali Mogala was introduced late and helped restrict Raukele to 114 runs despite not taking any wickets.
In the run chase, Friends were all out for 83 runs after 17.1 overs.
Friends were led by veteran Nigel Topai (32 off 29) and he was assisted by opening batsman Jerry Pulagis (18 off 22).
They were the only two Friends players who recorded double figures.
Raukele’s bowlers caused a lot of problems for the Friends batsmen who had a long list of single figures, falling short of the run chase by 31 runs. The Best bowling figures for Raukele came from youngster Jeremiah Nigani (3/9), closely followed by Thomas Vuivagi (2/10). Both players are only 15 years old. The other bowler to take two wickets was evergreen Jeremiah Alova (2/17) while Sewe, spinner Igua and George Terry took a wicket each.