Popondetta Cricket Association lost to Lae Gold in an action-packed four (4) days
tournament which saw the finest players of both PCA and Lae Cricket Association (LCA)
battle it out in Lae that started on Thursday 11th May and ended on Sunday 14th.
Even though they lost to Lae Gold in both their male and female divisions, President for
Popondetta Cricket Association (PCA) Robin Dogia said that it was a great challenge for team
Butterfly as most of the players are new, and this competition gave them an opportunity to
expose their talents in cricket.
"We see where you are right now and where we need to improve. We will return back to
Oro and prepare for another game with Alotau hopefully by June," said President Robin
Dogia.
"We hope to see more of this competition," added Dogia.
Furthermore, PCA secretary Christina Gegera said its the second time PCA has taken part in
a tournament outside the province after the Pacific Games.
Most players are students and are beginners to the competition. Hence, we saw the
mistakes, and we will come back strong for the next tournament," Gegera said.
Team Captain Boniface Tangara said they usually play against themselves, and coming to Lae
was an entirely different experience.
"We usually play among ourselves. We're not familiar with cricket standards until we come to Lae," he said.
Lae Kumul team one and team butterfly made it into the finals for the womens division.
One down in the 12th over helped Lae City win. Butterfly was proud of their performance
and are now determined to practice more and improve their skills. As a result, they are
more familiar with the standards of cricket.
In the male division, Lae Green faced Lae Gold. This ended with Lae Gold winning over 131
targets and setting for the victory.
Vice President for Lae Cricket Association (LCA) Veari Taviri said the plan was to promote
players from Popondetta and Lae to participate in both tournaments.
He added that they also invited PNG cricket representatives to come and select qualified
players to represent the province.
Representing the key sponsor of the T20 tournament was Regional Manager for Theodist
Jean Pascal who said that Theodist is a proud sponsor and they are happy to involve
communities and be part of what they do and they have shown that in sports.
The purpose of this tournament is to prepare for PNG games and PNG games tournaments.
Photo Credit and Source: Melvina Rabi, Lae.
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