BARRAMUNDIS PLAY FIRST OFFICIAL ICC T20 MEN’S WORLD CUP TOURNAMENT AGAINST TOURNAMENT HOST WEST INDIES

·         SENT IN TO BAT BARRAS SET A TARGET OF 137 RUNS AFTER SESE BAU AND KIPLING DORIGA CONTRIBUTIONS

·         WEST INDIES REACH THE TARGET IN 19 OVERS

The PNG barramundis played their first match of the ICC T20 World Cup at midnight Sunday PNG time.  The match was a tight contest and the West Indies had to bat into the final stages in a low-scoring match to chase down the Barramundis score of 136 runs for eight wickets.

At times during the match the Barramundis looked like they might have done enough to win this first group stage match of their World Cup campaign. With West Indies needing 40 runs off the last 24 balls, it was always going to be tight, but the experienced Andre Russell and Ronston Chase stayed at the crease to the end to win with just one over to spare.

Losing the toss, the Barramundis were asked to bat first on what looked to be a good flat pitch, but West Indies opened with left-arm spin of Akeal Hosein who conceded only a solitary run off the opening over, finding good turn and troubling both openers Assadollah Vala and Tony Ura.

The first PNG wicket fell to Romario Shepherd who had Ura caught behind, before Hosein in his second over bowled Lega Sika between bat and pad.

Vala started to find some touch hitting Ronston Chase for a six over cover, then smashing Alzarri Joseph for two fours in three balls, before he cut in the air off Joseph’s last ball of the sixth over only to see the ever present Chase take a superb diving catch at a deep gully position to leave PNG in trouble at 34 for three. Sese Bau then took over from Vala and played positively hitting boundaries off both spin and pace to keep the score rolling along. When Hiri Hiri was out reverse sweeping, Charles Amini joined him in the middle and the two set about rebuilding the innings with the best partnership of the innings with 44 for the fifth wicket.

Despite losing Amini, Sese Bau continued on with boundaries from Motie and Joseph and eventually reached his 50 from 42 balls, but was out shortly after to see PNG at 98 runs for six wickets down with just over three overs left. Kipling Doriga took over as the aggressor and finished not out with 27 runs from 18 balls to see PNG set the West Indies a competitive target of 137.

Things continued to look up for the Barramundis when Alei Nao was on the favourable side of a leg-before-wicket decision from the first ball of the second over against Johnson Charles for a golden duck. The rain began to fall but not before another leg-before-wicket shout against Nicholas Pooran was turned down. The Barramundis declined to review the decision, only to see the replay as they were leaving the field showing that had they done so, the original decision would have been overturned and sent Pooran to the sheds.

A change of bowling saw the Barramundis half-century maker, Sese Bau, come into the attack. Pooran immediately found his touch with two sixes and a four to put West Indies in control at one wicket down for 52 runs at the end of the six-over powerplay. West Indies struggled to find consistent runs, scoring only 25 runs from the next 42 balls delivered by Chad Soper, John Kariko, and captain Vala. Pooran was out to John Kariko and Vala removed Brandon King both caught on the boundary, before Soper had Rovman Powell caught behind. When Vala took his second wicket, that of Sherfane Rutherford at the end of the 16th over, West Indies needed 40 from the last four overs.

This brought the experienced Andre Russell to the crease, and together with Ronston Chase, who finished with 42 runs off 27 balls, they put the less experienced Barramundi bowlers under pressure, and West Indies knocked the remaining runs off in 18 balls, to register a narrow win.

For the Barramundis, Alei Nao with one wicket for nine runs from two early overs, Assadollah Vala with two wickets for 28 runs from four overs, and young John Kariko, who continues to grow as a left-arm spinner, with one wicket for 17 runs from his four overs, were the pick of the PNG bowlers.

The PNG team will have earned the respect of many T20 World Cup fans with this spirited first-up performance, which saw them unlucky not to get away with another Associate Member nation victory over a Full Member nation at global events.

Ends.

Further Information: Hennah Joku hjoku@cricketpng.org or WhatsApp +675 7389 4781