Australian High Commission Hosts PacificAus Sports Tea Reception for Women’s Cricket Invitational

The Australian High Commission held a small tea reception at its head office in Port Moresby yesterday (June 18) to officially welcome the participating teams and open the PacificAus Sports T20 Women’s Cricket Invitational. 

The event featured national women’s teams from Papua New Guinea, Samoa, Vanuatu, and the Australian Indigenous team, with the High Commissioner and several distinguished guests giving remarks and engaging with the players, as well as the team representatives. 

The PacificAus Sports is an Australian Government initiative that creates opportunities for the Pacific athletes, coaches, officials and administrators to access high-performance training and elite competition.

Interestingly, this will be the first time for the PNG Lewas to host the PacificAus Sports T20 Women’s Cricket Invitational tournament on home soil.

The Australian High Commissioner to Papua New Guinea and Special Envoy to the Pacific and Regional Affairs, His Excellency Mr. Ewen McDonald, officially opened the inaugural PacificAus Sports T20 Women’s Cricket Invitational.

“I’m delighted to host you (referring to the teams) here today and chat with you in what is PNG’s 50th year of Independence,” Mr. McDonald said.

“I want to say congratulations to all of you for being here and I very much look forward to watching the games.

“I also think it’s a really good testament to the bonds between the Pacific countries. It’s good to see you all here having the opportunity to connect and build friendships on and off the field.” 

Cricket PNG Chairman Michael Harrison extends his appreciation to Cricket Australia, the Australian High Commission and PacificAus Sports for making the women’s cricket invitational possible.

“I want to thank Cricket Australia, the Australian High Commission and PacificAus Sports for your assistance and putting all this together,” Harrison stated.

“It’s actually the first T20 women’s international game that has ever been played on the shores of Papua New Guinea. Thank you all for coming and I wish you all the best.” 

Motu Koita Assembly Chairman and National Capital District Deputy Governor, Dadi Toka Jr, echoed similar sentiments shared by High Commissioner Ewen McDonald and Mr. Harrison, wishing the teams good luck in the tourney.