Vala records another half-century

Source: Cricket PNG

Assad Vala scored another half-centurySource: Cricket PNG

The Brian Bell Scholarships men completed round six of the Gold Coast Cricket Competition with Broadbeach & Palm Beach recording wins respectively to remain unbeaten. In the first one dayer of the season Broadbeach easily accounted for Runaway Bay with Palm Beach also breezing past Queens whilst competition new comers Burleigh Heads came out second best in a thrilling last over thriller against Southport. 

Assad Vala continued his good run of form with the bat with another impressive half-century as he laid the foundation for Broadbeach to score 50 before he holed out on the long-on boundary. Broadbeach were able to get to a very competitive score of 8/200 off their allotted 40 overs. Jason Kila also chipped in with 14 as Norman Vanua picked up 2/41 off his 8 overs. Runaway Bay struggled early on and weren’t able to recover as they were bowled out for a disappointing 110 at the end of the 34th over. 

Burleigh Heads suffered a painful last over loss to Southport by 4 wickets as they went down with a ball to spare. Burleigh won their first toss of the season and didn’t hesitate to bat. Daniel Matheson top scored for the Bullsharks with 51 with handy contributions from the middle and lower order as they posted a competitive total of 8/164 at the end of their innings. The Bullsharks bowlers started off well in the first half of the innings to reduce Southport to 3/48 at the 20 over mark. It was a different story in the latter half as Southport skipper Rhys McDonald led his team with the bat to guide his team home in the last over. McDonald top scored with 67* whilst young Sam Yabsley picked up 2/18 and Chris Amini 2/20 off his 8 overs. 

Palm Beach locked in the second position of the ladder as they easily accounted for the bottom placed Queens CC by 121 runs. PNG pair Tony Ura & Jack Vare opened the batting for Palm Beach and got them off to a good start as they helped them to post a mammoth 8/232 off their 40 overs. Ryan Armstrong top scored with 56 with Ura 28 and Vare 34. Queens never looked like reaching the target as they were bowled out for a paltry 111. Wickets were shared amongst all the bowlers. 

The competition heads into the Christmas and New Year break and will resume on the 5th January 2013 with a majority of the PNG Scholarship Boys on tour with the East-Asia Pacific team.

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