Papua New Guinea Marks Another Milestone in UAE as Former Teammate is Remembered
Author: Daniel Beswick
The Lewas of Papua New Guinea triumphed over the USA in Dubai on Wednesday, securing a six-wicket victory in the first match of an ODI tri-series, which also features Scotland. This victory comes two weeks after their inaugural Women’s T20I win against a Full Member, achieved against Zimbabwe in Harare.
Papua New Guinea vs USA Scorecard
Isabel Toua was awarded Player of the Match, with an impressive performance of 4/38 in her 10 overs. She was ably assisted by Henao Thomas’s 2/33 (10) and single-wicket hauls from Sibona Jimmy, Vicky Araa, and Geua Tom.
The seasoned Tanya Ruma then took the reins with the bat, with the PNG No.3 outplaying a youthful USA attack, and successfully completing the chase in the 37th over with a commendable 80 not out from 93 balls.
Papua New Guinea celebrates their first victory in a women’s One Day International #PNGvUSA scorecard https://t.co/PxMB6ZBXON pic.twitter.com/jRrYHBvjd7
As the Lewas celebrated their historic win in Dubai, former women’s internationals, the current men’s national team, and hundreds of fans back home paid their respects to the late Kaia Arua at Amini Park, following her passing in the PNG capital last week.
Memorial service tributes were led by former PNG men’s international Mahuru Dai and Cricket PNG CEO Richard Done. Arua, a significant figure in PNG cricket, captained her country in 39 T20Is with official status and played a pivotal role in securing Women’s ODI status for Papua New Guinea.
Arua, the leading wicket-taker in Women’s T20Is for Papua New Guinea, first represented her country in 2010 and assumed the captaincy permanently in 2019.