UAE too strong for Baramundis

The Hebou Papua New Guinea Barramundis went down to hosts United Arab Emirates (UAE) in the first international Cricket Council World Cricket League Championships (WCLC) Round 5 One Day International (ODI) fixture in Abu Dhabi last Friday by 82 runs.
After winning the toss, Assad Vala sent the hosts into bat at the Sheikh Zayed Stadium. The decision seemed the right one when UAE were reduced to 149/4 inside 38 overs when Ghulam Shabber was dismissed by Chad Soper for a patient half century.
Then UAE went on a rampage, hitting 143 runs in the next 12 overs, with Rameez Shahzad (87 runs off 82 balls), Muhammad Shahzad (58 not out off 38 balls) and Mohammad Naveed (34 not out off 15 balls) smashing all the PNG bowlers to all parts of the ground to guide UAE to a mammoth 292/5 in their allotted 50 overs.
Alei Nao (2-47) and Soper (2-63) were the pick of the Barramundis taking two wickets apiece.
In reply, PNG got off to a promising start with Vani Vagi Morea (32) and Tony Ura (61) putting on 81 runs for the first wicket, before Morea’s dismissal by Imran Haider  started a mini-collapse.
Lega Siaka (9), Vala (4) and Ura were then dismissed shortly after to reduce the visitors to 111/4. A middle order resurgence by Sese Bau (42), Dogodo Bau (28) and Mahuru Dai (21) could not help the Barramundis chase down the UAE total and the side was eventually bowled out for 210 in 47.3 overs.
Imran Haider (4-49), Ahmed Raza (3-30) and Zahoor Khan (2-23) were the pick of the UAE bowlers.
Barramundis coach, Dipak Patel was disapointed at the result.
“It wasn’t the result we planned for. We were very disappointed at the way we fielded and bowled in the last 10 overs.  It’s been one of our strengths in previous games and we still believe it is. It was one of those days,” Patel said.
Alei Nao and Nosiana Pokana made their ODI debuts, with Patel impressed at the progression of Nao in particular.
“Alei was once again very impressed with the ball playing his ODI debut. Alei has gone from strength to strength on this tour. He has shown that all the hard work he has out in over the past 12 months has paid off. He has shown a lot of cricket maturity and the results speak for themselves,” Patel said.
Tony Ura has been in great form on this UAE Tour.
“Tony has been the most consistent batsman on tour. He is starting to believe in his new approach to batting. He too has shown a lot of patience and maturity in his batting style. Other batsman can learn a lot from the way he approaches his batting processes.
“I’m very happy for him. He has put in a lot of extra work during our preparation phases in Port Moresby.”
Match Summary:
UAE 292/5 (Ghulam Shabber 50, Rameez Shahzad 87, Muhammad Shahzad 58 not out, Mohammad Naveed 34 not out, Alei Nao 2-47, Chad Soper 2-63) PNG Barramundis 210 (Tony Ura 61, Sese Bau 42, Vani Vagi Morea 32, Dogodo Bau 28, Imran Haider 4-49, Ahmed Raza 3-30, Zahoor Khan 2-23). UAE won by 82 runs.
Fixtures: Tues, April 4 – PNG v UAE (ODI); Fri-Mon, April 7-10 – PNG v UAE (ICC ICUP); Wed, April 12 – PNG v UAE (T20I 2 games); Fri, April 14 – PNG v UAE (T20I 2 games).