Aussies take their cricket on tour
The Cricket Australia National Indigenous Side recently travelled to Papua New Guinea (PNG) to play a four-match series against the host nation.
13 September 2010
Although the Australians were unable to come away with a win over the Barramundis, the tour proved to be a valuable exercise for the development of Indigenous cricket.
Playing on the first ever and newly-laid turf wicket in PNG the locals came out firing. Under the guidance of former Australian and Queensland fast bowler Andy Bichel, the Barramundis took wickets at regular intervals, managing to restrict the tourists to a total of 110.
Western Australians Michael Bailey (22 runs) and Dane Ugle (23 runs) made solid contributions in the middle order and were the only batsmen to offer any real resistance.
Led by all-rounder Chris Amini (42 runs) PNG were able to chase down the total in the 19th over with seven wickets to spare.
PNG made it two from two when they defeated the Australians in the second match of the series by five wickets.
The tourists got off to a disastrous start losing seven wickets for just 77 runs. However a strong performance from the tail, including a blistering 92 from Joshua Lalor and contributions from Chris Swain (26 runs) and Marcus McGregor Cassidy (24 runs) meant that Australia posted a competitive total of 210.
Lalor staked his man of the match claims taking 3/40 off his eight overs. Unfortunately it wasn’t enough. Strong batting performances from the PNG middle order allowed the home team to reach their target in the 44th over.
The third match saw a return to the Twenty20 format. Australia put themselves in a position to win the match, restricting the Barramundis to 8/128 from their 20 overs.
Co-Captain Preston White then set about dismantling the total with a quick fire 71, but a lack of support at the crease and the loss of quick wickets meant that the young Aussies soon found themselves in trouble.
Needing a boundary to win off the last ball, Joshua Lalor was unable to repeat his heroics from the previous match as the ball whistled past the outside edge and through to the keeper.
The Barramundis were clinical in dispatching the young Australian side for the fourth time in four games by a margin of 149 runs in the 38th over. Mahuru Dai, recalled to the Barramundis after a two-year absence from international cricket, capped off a brilliant series with 72 runs and bowling returns of 5-33 in the last match. This made his series figures of 186 runs at 46.5 and 8-120 off 27 overs.
Although results may not have gone the way of the Australian side, according to Indigenous coach Troy Collard the series was an invaluable exercise to develop the game of cricket.
“I am really pleased with the way they are coming together as a team. We are a young side and this experience will be invaluable for their development,” he said.
After getting international experience under their belt, the players will now look to the 2011 Imparja Cup in Feburary where they will play for the pride of their State.
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