Uganda win last-over thriller against Hong Kong to set up fantastic finale

ICC Media Release

28 January 2009

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Two wickets by Ronald Ssemanda in the final over of a sensational match against Hong Kong handed Uganda a dramatic one-run win in the Pepsi ICC World Cricket League Division 3.

With Afghanistan ending Papua New Guinea’s unbeaten run at the tournament after an inspired performance by stand-in captain Karim Khan, three teams now sit level on points after the fourth round of matches.

And despite the agony of the defeat, Hong Kong still remains in contention at this tournament, although it will be reliant on some shock results if it is achieve a top-two finish.

This means four sides go into Friday’s final group matches with the potential to win one of the two remaining spots at the ICC Cricket World Cup Qualifier in April on what should be an exciting finale to the group stages of the event.

Should teams be tied on equal points and equal wins in the round-robin matches, places will be determined by who has the higher net run-rate, and if the teams are still equal the team with the higher number of wickets taken per balls bowled in the round-robin matches in which results were achieved will be placed in the higher position.

Uganda’s man of the match Kenneth Kamyuka, who followed up yet another valuable contribution with the bat in the lower-order with four wickets, admitted that his side had turned around what had looked like an impossible situation when Hong Kong was 160-5 with almost five overs remaining and paid tribute to his coach, Ebrahim Mohamed, for the side’s tough mental resolve.

“The coach has helped us with these situations by working on the mental side of our game. He has told us we should be soldiers and fight to the last ball,” said Kamyuka.

“I enjoy bowling when there is a lot of pressure on the batsmen.”

Needing just 21 runs for victory, with five wickets in hand and 27 balls remaining, Hong Kong looked all set for victory, after an 84-run third-wicket partnership from Butt Hussain (52) and Manoj Cheruparambil (51) had helped it recover from the loss of two early wickets.

But inspired bowling from Kamyuka and Ssemanda created one of the most memorable finishes to a game in the history of the Pepsi ICC World Cricket League.

With just three runs required for victory in the final over, Ssemanda first dismissed Zain Abbas (35) before Jamie Atkinson was trapped lbw with Hong Kong one run short of its target.

Earlier in the day, Roger Mukasa’s 67 provided the foundation for Uganda’s 180 all out, with Moner Ahmed the pick of the bowlers with 4-30.

“I didn’t give up hope as we have been in these type of situations before and from the moment we got a couple of late wickets, there was always a chance and we were determined to fight until the last ball,” said Ebrahim Mohamed, Uganda coach.

His opposite number, Aftab Habib, admitted that he was devastated by the result but was extremely proud of the effort put in by his side.

“To be honest we were cruising the game and then all of a sudden we lost five wickets for 19 runs. We weren’t quite good enough, but I’m proud of the guys and the amount of effort they put in,” said Habib.

“There was pressure through the whole of the game and the boys felt a bit hard done by in the end.”

Afghanistan stand-in captain Karim Khan led the way for his team with an outstanding individual display in a comfortable eight-wicket win over PNG and believes his side is well placed to win Friday’s fixture against Cayman Islands.

“I am very proud that I captained my country, took six catches and scored a 50, so I am very happy. I am also pleased we have helped our net run-rate and hopefully we go out and win on Friday,” said Karim.

“We beat Cayman Islands in a practice match before this tournament and we have our captain coming back for this match so I am hopeful that we can win.

“It is my dream to get my very poor country to the World Cup. All of our people want to watch our country play in the tournament and watch the games live on television.”

PNG chose to bat first despite the fact overnight rain had made conditions tricky for batting in on what was a humid, overcast day in Buenos Aires. And there may have been some regret there as the team slumped to 29-4, a mess from which it never full recovered as it was eventually dismissed for 93 in 31 overs.

Fast bowler Hamid Hassan’s gradual improvement in the tournament continued with a three-wicket haul, although it was a strong all-round bowling display from Afghanistan, well supported behind the stumps by Karim Khan.

With net run-rate likely to come into contention on Friday in deciding who will finish in the top two of the table, Afghanistan played in typically aggressive fashion and Karim’s 43-ball 50, which included eight fours, ensured that the match ended even before the lunch interval was due.

“We let ourselves down in the batting and it was always going to be hard to defend a small total like that,” said PNG captain Rarua Dikana.

“We need to work hard on our batting and if we put on a good score we should be able to defend it given our bowling strength. We have been quietly confident throughout and hopefully we will do well on Friday.”

Meanwhile, Argentina skipper Esteban MacDermott admitted he was desperately disappointed after the host lost to Cayman Islands by six wickets.

The fourth consecutive defeat in this tournament means his side is now relegated to the WCL Div. 4 but MacDermott vowed that his team was determined to respond in a positive manner.

“We will have to adapt and face up to the situation we are in and we will look to get promotion from Division 4,” said MacDermott.

“The tournament is not over yet and we owe it to the people who come to watch our matches and we owe it to ourselves to do our best in our last two games.”

A hard-hitting innings from opener Lucas Paterlini (70) got Argentina off to an excellent start in its innings but once again a middle-order collapse was to prove costly as it only managed a disappointing 165 all out.

In reply, an excellent knock from Ramon Sealy (66 not out) was enough to bring his side home and give the Cayman Islands its first win at the event.

“It’s good to get a win at this event. We were always confident of reaching the target as it wasn’t that big a total but it was nice to get a victory,” said Sealy.

In Friday’s matches, Argentina plays Uganda, PNG faces Hong Kong, while Afghanistan takes on Cayman Islands.

 

Antelope-1 confirmed deepest yet

Vertical section almost 960 metres.

 

The latest testing has confirmed InterOil's Antelope-1 exploration well has tapped into the deepest subterranean gas reservoir discovered in Papua New Guinea to date.

 It is now confirmed the reservoir has a vertical section of 962 metres (3,156 feet) in the onshore reef.

 InterOil Chief Executive Officer, Phil Mulacek has described the results of the latest testing as "The signs are very encouraging and supports a third reservoir type on the onshore trend with the Elk-Antelope structures".

 Porosity averages more than 8.4% across the entire vertical section, with some sections exceeding 20%.

 The cumulative net or productive reservoir has a net to gross ratio of 90%.

 Further tests are to be carried out at Antelope-1 to better ascertain gas volume and the pressure at which it can be delivered.

 "Additional drilling and testing activity may be conducted before the full flow tests are performed", Mr. Mulacek said.

 Antelope-1 is the third major gas strike InterOil has made in its prospecting site in the Gulf Province and the first confirming gas from an on-shore reef.

 Two nearby wells, Elk-1 and Elk-4 both returned the highest gas flow rates of any gas discovery ever made in the country.

 Both were evaluated at more than 100 million cubic feet of gas per day, with cumulative flow rate capacity of 207 million cubic feet of gas per day.

 The company now intends to run a vertical seismic profile with the well under pressure.

 This will be followed by a series of drill stem tests on the lower sections of the well bore and other zones of interest.

 These tests will

• Tie the wellbore directly to seismic data,
• Evaluate the newly drilled section, and
• Determine the level of the lowest known hydrocarbons, if not yet encountered by the extended drilling program.

It is expected that gas from the Elk-Antelope structures would feed the proposed Liquid Niugini Gas project (of which InterOil is a foundation partner).

 The proposed project would be a major windfall for the PNG economy and make a significant contribution to the nation's GDP in years to come.

 For further information please contact

 Susuve Laumaea

Senior Manager Media Relations InterOil Corporation

Ph: 321 7040

Mobile: + (675) 684 5168

Email: susuve.laumaea@interoil.com  

Understanding consumer preference of fresh produce in Papua New Guinea

Caption: Highlands fresh carrots sold at Lae market 
Story and picture by JOSEPHINE YAGA
The Papua New Guinea fresh produce sector has great potential in generating export revenue.
 It is also an important source of cash income for highlands farmers if the functioning of the supply chain is improved.
However, the sector at present is not organised to provide reliable supplies of consistent quality produce and this is compounded with no effective quality control system in place. 
This is according to a recent National Agriculture Research Institute publication Think Locally before Going Global: Understanding the Consumer Preferences of Fresh Produce in Papua New Guinea. The technical bulletin, written by research economists Norah Omot and Jesse Anjen of NARI and Professor John Spriggs of University of Canberra, says that in order for the PNG fresh produce industry to effectively compete on the export market, it is essential to improve the functioning of the supply chain.
The bulletin was published in August 2007 following a survey funded by the Australian Centre for International Agricultural Research (ACIAR), which was carried out in major supermarkets of Lae and Port Moresby.
The study focused on improving the formal marketing system for fresh produce in PNG. 
The publication, which provides valuable information on fresh produce and markets in the country, says fresh produce grown under temperate climate in the highlands has an excellent reputation for quality.
PNG can take advantage of rapidly involving global opportunities.
Agriculture exports are viewed as an important alternative source of export revenue as royalties from the mining sector begin to diminish.
Thus, improving the domestic marketing system for the highland fresh produce is a matter of urgency.
But lack of proper handling, storage and most importantly, formal domestic marketing system for fresh produce are issues needed to be addressed by the government.
“If agriculture is to achieve the National Government’s objective on export-driven economic growth, rural development, poverty reduction and empowerment through human resource development through the Medium Term Development Strategy (MTDS) 2005-2010, there needs to be an improvement in the formal domestic marketing system for fresh produce before casting its sights further a field to the export market,” according to the report.
Consumers, both at the highlands and coastal markets, prefer the quality of local fresh produce more that those imported.
However, the poorly-developed marketing system for locally-grown fresh produce, results in inconsistent quality and unreliable supply.
The publication says besides filling the gap that is currently being inadequately served by imports, improving the local industry will also provide a springboard for the successful export of fresh produce grown locally in PNG to the rest of the world. 
The publication is currently selling at K5.
Meanwhile, socio-economic studies are currently underway to find avenues that can help improve marketing systems of fresh produce in PNG.
One such study, funded by ACIAR, is a collaborative research project on improving the marketing efficiency, post-harvest management and value addition of sweet potato in PNG.
The project is being carried out by NARI, the Fresh Produce Development Agency and partners from PNG and Australia.

Afghans end Papua New Guinea's winning run

ICC Media Release

28 January 2009

Afghanistan was the early winners at the Pepsi ICC World Cricket League Division 4 after a stunning 8-wicket victory over Papua New Guinea (PNG) in Buenos Aires on Wednesday.

PNG, who were unbeaten in the tournament going into this match, crumbled to 94 all out with Hamid Hassan leading the demolition with 3-26.

And the match was finished before the players even had their lunch, when a quick-fire fifty from Karim Khan, who won the Man of the Match Award, helped his side to its target with 36.2 overs to spare.

“I am very proud that I captained my country, took six catches and scored a fifty, so I am very happy. I am also pleased we have helped our net run rate and hopefully we go out and win on Friday,” said Karim.

 

Telling the tuberculosis story in pictures

The World Vision TB DOTS project is launching a nationwide photography competition titled Images to Stop Tuberculosis- TB Photo Award in Papua New Guinea from Jan 26, 2009 till Feb 27.

Almost 3, 000 people die every year in Papua New Guinea from TB and TB is the leading cause of death amongst people infected with HIV.

The first initiative of its kind, it is inviting members of the public to submit outstanding photos depicting TB prevention and treatment and community activity to raise awareness about it.

World Vision Pacific Development Group (WVPDG) operations director Curt von Boguslawski says he hopes the competition will increase community participation on a whole new creative level and hopefully bring a human face to the TB disease and the fight against it.

“We would also like to thank our sponsors - the Media Council of Papua New Guinea and Digicel - for their continued support and we look forward to seeing the entries,” he said.

Digicel chief executive officer PNG John Mangos said: “Digicel firmly believes in giving back to the communities in which it operates.

“Digicel is proud to back this World Vision initiative, which will both showcase photographic talent in PNG and more importantly, raise awareness of TB, which is a vital and often debilitating health issue for the people of this country.

“Digicel would also like to commend World Vision for its efforts in addressing this issue, and wish you the best for the future with this work.”

“We would like to encourage those who are enthusiastic photographers, both amateur and professional, and are 18years and over and not an affiliate of World Vision, its partners or stakeholders, to enter the competition.”

The winner will receive an award of K1, 500, second prize K800 and third prize K500.

There will also be six Digicel mobile phones to be awarded to all the prize winners including three consolation prizes for three other photographs as runner-up to the grand prize.

In culmination of World TB day celebrations on Mar 24, an exhibition will be held in the NCD and other provinces.

 Hence, these photographic images pertaining to TB related issues, will help to embrace the effort to promote greater awareness as they will have come from the eyes of the public themselves.

For further information on the competition contact Kristine Kepore at WVPDC on tele phone 311 2530. facsimile 325 4225 or email Kristine_Kepore@wvi.org.

 

Papua New Guinea stuns Uganda with Brazier starring in brilliant bowling display

ICC Media Release

27 January 2009

 

Jamie Brazier’s four wickets helped Papua New Guinea secure its place at the top of the Pepsi ICC World Cricket League Division 3 after a surprise 26-run win over Uganda.

And with Afghanistan and Hong Kong also recording victories on a dramatic day of action in Buenos Aries, the race to secure the two remaining places at the ICC Cricket World Cup Qualifier is wide open.

Martin Gleeson, coach of Papua New Guinea, was delighted that his side secured one of the surprise wins of the day, after defeating previous Division 3 champions Uganda in a tightly fought contest at Belgrano.

“It was a great result for us. There is still a bit of work to do and there is some room for improvement, but we have got the bowling right,” said Gleeson.

“We are very disciplined and we have worked very hard on our bowling. We have good variety, with pace, spin and some medium-pace and have worked on getting the right line and length.

But Gleeson was also keen to play down the fact his side is potentially one win from securing a place in the ICC Cricket World Cup Qualifier, although it still has Afghanistan and Hong Kong to play.

“We’re not getting ahead of ourselves at this stage. We still have Afghanistan and Hong Kong to play so we plan to continue just taking each game day by day,” said Gleeson.

“Afghanistan will provide a big test and after a little bit of a stumble, they seem to be gathering momentum and I think it should be a great match.”

Papua New Guinea recovered from the loss of two early wickets against Uganda to post a respectable target, with Peter Moide holding the innings together with 43 not out off 83 balls.

However, credit should go to the Ugandan bowlers who managed to close out the PNG innings with good effective bowling, reducing it from 126-5 with more than 11 overs of the innings remaining to 165 all out.

In reply, Uganda also looked to be cruising at 67-2 but once Arthur Kyobe (33) was dismissed by four-wicket hero Jamie Brazier, the middle-order crumbled and even a last wicket stand of 28 could not deny Papua New Guinea victory, with Kenneth Kamyuka, who had earlier taken three wickets, left stranded on 34 not out.

Kamyuka disheartened by defeat

Uganda opening bowler Kenneth Kamyuka said that his side was extremely disappointed with the 26-run defeat to Papua New Guinea.

“We are very disheartened as we should have won the match. We took winning for granted and that is something we spoke about in the team meeting,” said Kamyuka.

“We relaxed too much, dropped some easy catches and played some bad shots.”

Uganda who face Hong Kong on Thursday, who beat Cayman Islands on Wednesday, now face a battle to finish in the top two at the tournament, but Kamyuka still believes his side will win a place at the ICC Cricket World Cup Qualifier.

“I am sure that we will win tomorrow and again on Friday,” he added.

Afghanistan coach Kabir Khan praised the spirit of his team after yet another dramatic victory, narrowly scraping past Argentina by 19 runs.

“The best thing about our team is that they are fighting back when the game seems to be slipping out of our hands,” said Kabir.

“They never give up, they just keep on fighting, and that is the true Afghan spirit.”

Argentina put Afghanistan, who were missing skipper Narooz Mangal following his two-match suspension, under early pressure and consistently broke down partnerships just as batsmen were beginning to threaten to be dangerous.

Opener Ahmad Shah top-scored with 44 in a disappointing total of 164 all out, the third consecutive time in this tournament that the side has failed to bat out the full 50 overs, as many as the star names in the Afghanistan side once again failed to perform to the best of their ability.

Argentina Player-coach Hamish Barton was in outstanding form, taking 3-12 off his 10 overs, including four consecutive maiden overs.

Opening the batting, it was Barton again who led the counter-attack opening Argentina’s innings, with an aggressive 33, but once he was out the frailness of the host team’s batting again was on show as it suffered a dramatic batting collapse, with the spin of Ahmad Shah (2-21) and Mohammad Nabi (2-24) causing problems.

But Argentina has a reputation for fighting hard and some powerful late order hitting from Diego Lord, who had earlier taken two wickets, meant for the third match in this event Afghanistan was facing a dramatic finish.

However, Lord was eventually run out attempting a second run, leaving the home side 19 runs short of its target.

The Afghan coach admitted it had been another nerve-wracking game to watch and that it proved the competitiveness of the Pepsi ICC World Cricket League Division 3.

“Anybody can beat anybody else in this tournament and that is why it is still wide open and we need to work hard to get our place in the final two,” said Kabir.

“If we can beat PNG it will gave us the confidence to go into the game against the tournament’s weakest team but the Cayman Islands have done really well in the last few years and you never know what they are going to do against us.”

In the other game of the day, Hong Kong handed Cayman Islands a third straight defeat, to keep Tabarak Dar’s dream of ICC Cricket World Cup Qualification alive.

Hong Kong posted a target of 210 all out off 46.3 overs, with Manoj Cheruparambil hitting an impressive 83, the highest individual score of the tournament so far, with good support from Roy Lamsam (60).

And a regular flurry of wickets saw Cayman Islands finally dismissed for 161 all out, 49 runs short of its target.

 

BreaKing news - Papua New Guinea beat Uganda by 26 runs

Papua New Guinea beat Uganda by 26 runs

Papua New Guinea 165 all out (49.5 overs)

Uganda 139 all out (44.2 overs)

Details to come