Lewas, Samoa cruise on Day 2 of EAP tourney

PNG made light work of Fiji in the second round of the 2019 International Cricket Council’s East Asia-Pacific women’s qualifier in Port Vila, Vanuatu, yesterday.
On a rain interrupted day, Samoa also proved themselves a genuine challenger for the title as they join the Lewas as the only undefeated teams in the T20 tournament.
PNG bowler Ravini Oa, pictured, took 4 for 4 and captain Kaia Arua chimed in with 2 for 8 with the ball as the City Pharmacy-sponsored side decimated Fiji’s batting to have their fellow Melanesians out for a meagre 23 in 11.1 overs.
PNG reached the target in 3.1 overs without loss with Sibona Jimmy top-scoring with 14 runs for a 10-wicket win.
PNG next play Japan, whose opener Akari Kitayama hit an unbeaten 63 in their loss to Samoa, tomorrow.
PNG lead the standings on 6 points each with the Lewas on top with a net run rate of 3.359 compared to Samoa’s 2.388.
Samoa’s top order proved to be too strong once again as they ended the day with convincing nine-wicket wins over both Japan and Indonesia, to go with their nine-wicket win over Fiji on the opening day.
It wasn’t all smooth sailing for Samoa when they won the toss and elected to field against Japan.
Japan’s Kitayama (63 off 54 balls) got the team off to a flying start hitting eight boundaries, however the tight bowling of Lily Mulivai (4 for 18 off 4 overs) helped restrict Japan’s total to be all out for 119 after the allotted 20 overs.
In reply, Samoa flexed their muscle with a substantial opening partnership of 96 from the opening thirteen overs, with captain Regina Lill’i (47* off 52 balls) and Lelia Bourne (47 off 38 balls) making the most of their opportunities to put the game beyond doubt.
In the afternoon match, tournament hosts Vanuatu thrilled the crowd as they registered their first win of the tournament with a 63-run win over Fiji in another DLS affected game.
The top team at the end of the tournament will qualify for the 2020 ICC Women’s T20 World Cup Qualifier in Scotland later this year, and also for the 2021 ICC Women’s World Cup Qualifier next year.
Fiji 23 all out (Oa 4-4, Arua 2-8) PNG 27 (Jimmy 14 not out). PNG won by 10 wickets.
Standings: PNG 6 (3.359), Samoa 6 (2.388), Vanuatu 2 (0.182), Indonesia 2 (-0.478), Japan 0 (-1.227), Fiji 0 (-6.202).
Fixtures: Thurs, May 9 – Vanuatu v Samoa, Fiji v Japan, PNG v Japan, Indonesia v Vanuatu; Fri, May 10 – Indonesia v Fiji, Japan v Vanuatu, Samoa v PNG.