Papua New Guinea led by skipper Brenda Tau successfully defended their Women’s T20 Pacific Cup title by defeating New Zealand Maori Women by 5 wickets and 9 balls to spare in the final.
A total number of 6 teams namely Fiji, Cook Islands, Vanuatu, Samoa, Papua New Guinea, and New Zealand Maori participated in the Women’s T20 Pacific Cup. The tournament commenced on 17th January 2024 and concluded on 21st January 2024.
The PNG led by skipper Brenda Tau finished 2nd on the points table with 8 points from 5 games during the league stages. Their only defeat in the league stages came against New Zealand Maori Women by 7 wickets in the first game of the season. After their defeat in the first game, they went on to win their next four games on the bounce.
New Zealand Maori women on the other hand stayed unbeaten throughout the league stages as a result, they finished at the top of the points table with 20 points from 5 games in the league stages. The top two finishes in the league stages ensured them a place in the final of the Women’s T20 Pacific Cup.
The New Zealand Maori skipper Kerry-Anne Tomlinson won the toss and opted to bat first in the final against PNG. The New Zealand Maori openers got off to a cautious start before Georgia Atkinson was found short of her crease to provide the first breakthrough for Papua New Guinea. Sam Curtis joined Skye Bowden at the crease and the duo stitched a 23-run partnership for the 2nd wicket before Sibona Jimmy picked up the wicket of Sam Curtis to provide the 2nd breakthrough for Papua New Guinea.
🚨 CHAMPIONS 🚨
PNG beat Maori Women to claim the Pacific Cup 2024 Title.#CricketTwitter 📸 @WHITE_FERNS pic.twitter.com/CtvXf5qfAB
— Female Cricket (@imfemalecricket) January 21, 2024
The New Zealand Maori women suffered a collapse as they lost their next 8 wickets for just 53 runs and as a result, they were eventually bundled out for 87 in their quota of overs. Skye Bowden (23 off 26 balls) and Sam Curtis (21 off 12 balls) were the top performers with the bat for the New Zealand Maori women. Sibona Jimmy (4-1-10-5), Kaia Arua (4-0-5-0), and Isabel Toua (4-0-21-1) were the top performers with the ball for Papua New Guinea.
Chasing a target of 88, the PNG batters made tough work for themselves in the run chase. Papua New Guinea eventually got over the line in the 19th over of the run chase with 5 wickets in hand, after being 75/3 in the 14th over of the run chase to defend their Women’s T20 Pacific Cup title. Sibona Jimmy (25 off 27 balls) and Tanya Ruma (21 off 36 balls) were the top performers with the bat for Papua New Guinea. Marama Downes (4-1-13-1), Eden Carson (4-0-20-1), and Georgia Atkinson (3-0-7-2) were the top performers with the ball for the New Zealand Maori Women.