PNG Lewas finalise preparations

The City Pharmacy PNG Lewas are finalizing their preparations before their opening match against Bangladesh tomorrow (July 7th) at the 2018 ICC Women’s World T20 (WWT20) Qualifier in the Netherlands.

Having arrived in Amsterdam last week, the PNG Lewas have familiarised themselves with the foreign conditions in the Netherlands by playing four practice matches; winning two against the United Arab Emirates (UAE) Women and losing against Thailand (in the last over) and finally against Ireland in their last warm up game.

The second loss came in the hands of Ireland Women by eight wickets last night.

Batting first, the City Pharmacy PNG Lewas posted 4/106 off their allotted 20 overs with captain Pauke Siaka (28) and Kopi John (24) leading the way with the bat. In reply, Ireland Women had no issues, chasing down the target inside twelve overs and losing just two wickets.

Speaking before the warm up matches, City Pharmacy PNG Lewas’ Captain, Pauke Siaka, was excited and looking forward to the ICC WWT20 Qualifier.

“I think we have a settled team for the tournament, though we have not played any international cricket since the Japan tournament,” said Siaka, who is a right-handed batter and medium-fast bowler. The City Pharmacy PNG Lewas qualified for their second ICC WWT20Q after winning the ICC WWT20 East-Asia-Pacific (EAP) Qualifier in Japan last year.

“We all are excited and looking forward to making a good impression in Amsterdam. We have been training hard for the last six months under Coach Rarua Dikana’s intense training program and we hope to qualify for the World Cup after all that hard work,” added Siaka.

The City Pharmacy PNG Lewas are grouped in Group A for the 2018 ICC WWT20 Qualifier along with Bangladesh, United Arab Emirates (UAE) and hosts Netherlands. Group B consists of Ireland, Scotland, Thailand and Uganda.

“Like other sides, we will arrive with a conviction that we can win the tournament. It will then depend on how we perform on match days, but I think we are ready to compete against the more experienced sides,” concluded Siaka.

“That’s the objective and I think it is very much achievable. We just need to do the basics right, not look too far ahead and respect our opponents.”

(reland Captain Laura Delany and PNG Captain Pauka Saika at the toss – Picture: ICC)

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Press release