Lewas come up short

The City Pharmacy PNG Lewas put in a spirited display against Ireland but came up short in the semifinal of the ICC Women's World T20 Qualifiers in the Netherlands.

Ireland has gone on to win by 27 runs and qualify for the World T20 in West Indies, which will be hosted later this year.

With Pauke Siaka unavailable, Kaia Arua led the side and chose to bowl first at the Irish on a sunny day in Amstelveen.

Mairi Tom, fresh from her Player of the Match performance, was trusted with the new ball and boy did she deliver - picking the wicket of Clare Shillington - the highest scorer of the tournament - on the second ball of the match.

Ireland was under pressure and that was telling as chance after chance came for the City Pharmacy PNG Lewas but their catching let them down - 4 dropped catches in the next 4 overs and Cecelia Joyce and Gaby Lewis built on what turned out to be a match winning partnership of nearly 50 runs.

Joyce however, was living on borrowed time, with most of the dropped catches coming off the openers bat. And Captain Kaia Arua picked up the wicket of Joyce 18(25b, 3x4a), slipping through her back foot punch and hitting the stumps.

The impressive Gaby Lewis 36 (33b, 5x4s) followed shortly after some fine work by Sibona Jimmy who showed very good reflexes to hold on to the shot struck by Laura Delaney, and striking the stumps at the runners end to end Lewis's fine innings.

Arua brought on the spinners to devastating effect as Isobel Joyce 10(7b), twin sister of opener Cecelia, was next to follow, caught by Arua off the bowling of Vicky Ara'a and Eimar Richardson. She did not last too long in the middle, getting caught brilliantly by captain Arua to become Ara'a's second victim and Ireland had gone from 62-2 to 78-5 in the space of 4 overs.

But the Irish captain Laura Delaney knew if she stayed in the middle, Ireland would put up a competitive score and she did as she was partnered by Kim Garth 10(9b, 1x4s) and SM Kavanagh 10*(9b). Delaney's 21 not out from 30 balls ensured a strong finish for Ireland, who put up a challenging 113/6 in 20 overs.

With 114 to chase, the City Pharmacy PNG Lewas were hopeful of openers Kopi John and Sibona Jimmy to give the team a decent platform to build on, but both openers returned to the pavilion inside the first 3 overs and the run chase derailed from there as the pressure of losing early wickets became too much for the Lewas to recover from.

Tanya Ruma and Brenda Tau impressed with their dogged resolve to not lose their wickets, but the run rate kept climbing as the pair put on just 29 runs in the next 8 overs and could only muster the solitary boundary between them.

With the required run rate close to 9 an over, the players were searching for runs that weren't available, thanks to some tight bowling by the Irish.

Ruma 10(22b) was run out in an attempted single with the ball traveling straight to the fielder. Tau 22(39b, 1x4s) departed soon after, stumped by Irish keeper Mary Waldron - who was involved in 4 dismissals on the day.

With 67 needed from 42 balls, Kaia Arua was determined to make a go at it and the captain, who had a very good match despite the result, kept pushing the score and along with Veru Kila Frank the pair put on 16 runs in the next 2 overs to give the Lewas a false sense of hope.

The Irish captain brought herself back into the attack and put an end to any fightback that could be managed, with 2 wickets in the 16th over. First she got through bat and pad of Arua 13(11b) and then dismissed Naoani Noinoi Vare, 2 balls later.

Frank hit only the second boundary of the City Pharmacy PNG Lewas innings, but it all seemed too little too late as the Irish bowlers tore into the PNG tail and bowled the City Pharmacy PNG Lewas out for 86 runs, to ensure a 27 run victory and a place at the finals, where Ireland will play the winner of the game between Bangladesh and Scotland, while the Lewas will play the loser in the 3rd/4th place play off on Saturday evening.

At the end of the day, this was the closest the City Pharmacy PNG Lewas have ever come to qualifying for a World Cup and they have done themselves and Cricket PNG very proud with their display at the ICC Women's World T20 Qualifiers.

Match Summary

Ireland 113/6 (20 Overs) G Lewis 36(33b, 5x4s),L Delaney 21*(30b, 1x4s), C Joyce 18(25b, 3x4s), S Kavanagh 10*(9b), V Ara'a 4-0-23-2, K Arua 4-1-23-1, M Tom 3-0-21-1

defeated

City Pharmacy PNG Lewas 86 (19.2 Overs) B Tau 22(39b, 1x4s), V Frank 16(14b, 1x4s), K Arua 13(11b), T Ruma 10(22b), L O'Reilly 3.2-0-13-3, L Delaney 4-0-15-2, E Richardson 4-0-22-2

by 27 Runs

Author: 
Press release