PNG Barramundis secure Second big win over Uganda

Papua New Guinea (PNG) and Scotland have each recorded victory on day three of the ICC Cricket World Cup Qualifier New Zealand 2014 (CWCQ), with PNG’s Charles Amini claiming six wickets to lead his side to its second big win of the tournament.

Amini, who ripped the heart out of the Uganda batting line-up, took career-best figures of six for 19 from his ten overs to help dismiss Uganda for 105 inside 36 overs at Pukekura Park, New Plymouth.

After being sent in to bat, Uganda’s Roger Mukasa was the only batsman to make a major contribution, scoring 33 from 39 deliveries.

PNG reached its target for the loss of just one wicket, with Lega Siaka continuing his good form, following up Monday’s century against Kenya with an unbeaten 65 to see PNG reach 107 for one in 17 overs to record its second win of the tournament.

Amini was thrilled with his performance: "I found a really good rhythm and I was landing the ball well."

The leg-spinner said that his team is also performing well: "There’s a great feeling around the team. We’ve only lost three wickets in the tournament so far, and we’ve had two comprehensive victories.

"We’re very confident, and can’t wait to take on Namibia and the Netherlands. But we’re just taking it one game at a time," he said.

Uganda captain Davis Karashani Arinaitwe was dissatisfied with his side’s batting performance, after a promising start by the openers against Netherlands on the first day of the tournament. "It was a very, very, very disappointing result for us today. We need one of our batsmen to get in and stay in, so that the rest of the team can bat around them and build a decent total."

After back to back losses, Arinaitwe said Uganda needs to focus on getting some points on the board. "We still have something to play for in this tournament. We’re not just here to get kicked around."

In the only Group A match of the day, Scotland recorded a comfortable 90-run win over Nepal at Queenstown Events Centre, Queenstown in a match delayed by light showers.

Scotland bounced back from its loss to Hong Kong on Monday to post a competitive total of 249 for seven, with the top order contributing runs. Man of the match Freddie Coleman (64 not out from 67 balls) put on a 46-run fifth wicket partnership with Preston Mommsen (35), while lower order batsman Safyaan Sharif struck three boundaries in an unbeaten knock of 25 off 17 balls to add quick runs at the end of the innings.

Sompal Kami was the pick of the Nepal bowlers (three for 35), while Sagar Pun took two for 38.

The Nepal run chase never recovered after opener Pun was dismissed off the first ball. Gyanendra Malla (34) and Sharad Vesawkar (30) were the main contributors with the bat, posting patient totals while wickets fell around them. Nepal’s last three wickets fell for 18 runs in five overs, and the side was dismissed for 159 in 46.1 overs.

Twenty-three year old Coleman was pleased that his team was able to bounce back from its earlier loss to record such a decisive victory. "It was a pretty tough start for us (against Hong Kong) and we were obviously pretty disappointed with that result, but it was important for us today that we came out and got ourselves rolling and got a good win under our belt and we did that so now we are up and running."

Reflecting on his own performance, he said: "It was nice to get some runs and we got off to a good start, but it was quite tricky during the middle overs with the spinners. The pitch has been played on a bit so it is a bit slow which made it difficult to hit the ball into the gaps, but it was nice to kind of hold my patience a little bit and score a few at the end."

Scores in brief:

At Pukekura Park, New Plymouth, North Island

Uganda 105 all out, 35.5 overs (Roger Mukasa 33; Charles Amini 6-19, Mahuru Dai 2-4)

PNG 107 for one, 17 overs (Lega Siaka 65 not out, Assad Vala 37 not out)

Result: PNG won by nine wickets

Man of the Match: Charles Amini (PNG)

At Queenstown Events Centre, Queenstown, South Island

Scotland 249 for seven, 50 overs (Freddie Coleman 64 not out, Calum MacLeod 46, Matt Machan 37, Preston Mommsen 35; Sompal Kami 3-35, Sagar Pun 2-38)

Nepal 159 all out, 46.1 overs (Gyanendra Malla 34, Sharad Vesawkar 30; Iain Wardlaw 3-32, Majid Haq 2-24, Rob Taylor 2-27)

Result: Scotland won by 90 runs

Man of the Match: Freddie Coleman (Scotland)

Source: Yahoo.com