THE Papua New Guinea (PNG) cricket team has won the ICC World T20 Qualifier after beating Vanuatu at Albert Park in Suva yesterday.
PNG defeated all their opponents before beating Vanuatu in their last match yesterday.
PNG head coach, Joseph Dawes said their aim was to win the tournament and qualify to the ICC World T20 championship next year.
“We came here to win the tournament and qualify to the next T20 competition and that was the goal we set before we came to Fiji to play in this tournament,” said Dawes.
“The boys got the job done by winning all our six matches and I’m really proud of the effort the boys displayed in this competition. “Winning is a habit for the team, so we have worked really hard to get in this position and set some standards,” Dawes said.
He added they have some players from overseas who helped them in achieving their goals in this year’s competition.
“We had some boys in the team who played for overseas clubs and have contributed a lot in achieving our targets,” said Dawes.
PNG captain, Assad Valla said it was not a surprise for them winning the tournament as they worked hard for it.
“We worked really hard from the last five months and it was not a surprise for us coming out victorious in this tournament,” said Valla.
“It was about the basics and game plan we worked on during our preparation and that was our secret weapon.”
