Skipper Selina Solman’s dream day in the field takes Vanuatu’s name into the history books as they sealed a memorable win against France.
A total of four teams, namely France, Fiji, Samoa, and Vanuatu, are participating in the ongoing Pacific-France Women’s Championship in France. We witnessed incredible skills on display in the 2nd game of the tournament, where Vanuatu led by skipper Selina Solman were up against the home side France led by skipper Louise Wahmowe in the 2nd game of the series.
The Vanuatu skipper Selina Solman won the toss and opted to bat first against France at N’Du Stadium, Noumea. Vanuatu posted a competitive total of 123/3 on the back of a classic unbeaten half-century (56 off 44 balls) from their skipper Selina Solman and a vital contribution from Valenta Langiatu (37 off 61 balls) propelling them to a decent total on the board.
Louise Wahmowe (4-0-20-2) and Kamea Moingoto (4-0-21-0) were the stars with the ball for France. Defending a total of 124, a splendid, breath-taking spell from the skipper Selina Solman (1-1-0-4) turned the game around in a blink of an eye in a matter of just an over, where she not only bagged a historic hat-trick, the first for Vanuatu in international cricket, but also bowled a maiden which included four wickets.
The home side went on from being 35/2 in seven overs in the run chase to 35/6 at the end of the 8th over of the run chase, breaking the back of the home side batting line-up. France eventually folded for just 45 runs in the 13th over of the innings, falling short of the target by 78 runs and with 47 balls to spare, marking a historic occasion in the history of Vanuatu women’s cricket team, a win their first-ever game over France.
Skipper Selina Solman was rightly awarded the Player of the Match courtesy of her match-defining spell (1-1-0-4) in the game, which included the scalps of Armonie Konhu Nellie Qaeze, Rose Siwa, and Nasheng Ihmeling in her spell.
If that wasn’t enough, she also picked up a couple of catches in the field after scoring an unbeaten half-century (56 off 44 balls) with the bat, playing a crucial role in helping her side post a competitive total on the board. Her performance in the game could potentially be one of the most impactful contributions for a side in any T20I game at any level.
Loves all things female cricket
