Lewas win Pacific Cup
The Kumul Petroleum Lewas were crowned as the inaugural winners of the Pacific Cup in Vanuatu yesterday. They went through the round robin event against Samoa, Fiji and Vanuatu undefeated winning 5 games only denied a sixth victory after rain washed out the last game with the Lewas firmly in command.
In the penultimate match against Samoa the in form Lewas won by 10 wickets in there most dominate match of the tournament. Samoa chose to bat after winning the toss but struggled against a committed Lewas bowling attack, none of the Samoan batters reaching double figures, skittled for just 49.
Isabel Toua continued her purple patch with 3/7 taking her to 11 wickets for the tournament, Oa, Araa and Thomas also finishing with two wickets each in a comprehensive bowling effort. The run chase was over within 5 overs as Vare 25 not out and Jimmy 17 not out made easy work in acquiring the small total for victory.
The afternoon match provided the Lewas with the opportunity to clean sweep the tournament and after being sent into bat the Lewas top order again fired. They have been a consistent force throughout the tournament and weren’t going to miss out in their last match. Ruma top scored with 48, Vare another 35 runs and Tau the last one out for 30 before rain stopped play in the 18th over, the Lewas in a strong position at 4/154.
As rain persisted the game was eventually abandoned, an unfortunate way to end the tournament, the Lewas clearly deserving champions. Naoani Vare led the tournament batting with 225 runs across six innings, only dismissed twice with a high score of 88 not out. Tanya Ruma was not far behind with 198 tournament runs backing up her excellent World Cup Qualifiers form last month.
The bowlers shared the spoils, Toua the leading wicket taker but all bowlers performed well with three, Doriga, Arua and Thomas taking five wickets in phenomenal individual match performances. The Kumul Petroleum Lewas will return to Port Moresby on Saturday for a well-deserved break after being on tour since early September.