Author: Melissa Fare
Vanuatu Cricket Assocation
The Ridgway Blake T10 League kicked off last Saturday, October 31st, with two victories for the Mele Tafea Bulls women and one win each for the Mele Tafea Bulls men and Ifira Sharks men. The competition started with the Mele Tafea Bulls going into a double header, facing the Mighty Efate Panthers in the first match and the Ifira Sharks in the second match in both the men and women’s category. Teams:
Ifira Sharks
Mele Tafea Bulls (MT Bulls)
Mighty Efate Panthers (ME Panthers)
WOMEN
In the first match of the morning, the Mighty Efate Panthers won the toss and elected to bat first. The decision seemed to be in their favor in the first inning with captain, Selina Solman, comfortably knocking 51 runs off 25 balls and a team total of 76 runs at the end of the inning.
Mele Tafea Bulls, going in to bat, looked comfortable with an opening partnership worth 54 runs by Valenta Langiatu (30) and Nasimana Navaika (31*), chased down the score in 8.4 overs to secure their first win of the day.
Selina Solman, captain of the ME Panthers, picked up the player of the match award for her outstanding 51 runs off 25 balls.
Match Summary: MT Bulls vs ME Panthers
Mele Tafea Bulls defeated the Mighty Efate Panthers by 8 wickets
ME Panthers 4/76: S. Solman 51, M. Vatoko 2/22, V. Mansale 1/7.
MT Bulls 2/77: N. Navaika 31*, V. Langiatu 30, S. Stephen 1/14.
Player of match: Selina Solman 51 runs of 25 balls.
In the second women’s match, the MT Bulls won the toss and opted to continue their outstanding batting from their previous match by batting first.
The decision to bat first seemed like it was backfiring when young Vanessa Vira (3/6, 2 overs) of the Ifira Sharks collapsed the MT Bulls' top order in just the first 3 overs with her spin. However, the middle order of the Bulls in the likes of Marcelina Mete (24*) and Shania Kenni (18), took the MT Bulls’ total to a very respectful 94 runs at the end of their inning.
Ifira Sharks, needing a required run rate of just over 9 runs an over got off to a good start in the power play, but could not break through the MT Bulls fielding team, leaving them 26 runs short of their 95 runs target at the end of the second inning giving the MT Bulls their second win of the day.
Marcelina Mete picked up the player of the match award for her contribution with the bat.
Match Summary: MT Bulls vs Ifira Sharks
Mele Tafea Bulls defeated the Ifira Sharks by 26 runs
MT Bulls 6/94: M. Mete 24*, S. Kenni 18, G. Chilia 13, V. Vira 3/6, R. Kaltongga 1/26.
Ifira Sharks 2/68: R. Kaltongga 36, J. Avok 25, M. Mete 1/7, V. Mansale 1/10.
Player of match: Marcelina Mete - 24* runs off 19 balls, 1/7 off 2 overs.
MEN
The afternoon featured the men’s matches with the MT Bulls going into a double header against the ME Panthers first then followed by the Ifira Sharks.
In the first match, the MT Bulls won the toss and elected to bowl first against the ME Panthers. The decision to bowl first proved to be the best decision for the playing conditions which saw the Bulls restricting the ME Panthers to just 85 runs at the end of their inning. Junior Kaltapau (29 runs off 20 balls) from the ME Panthers was the star with the bat in his T10 debut match after recovering from a broken leg. Rival Samson starred with the ball taking 3 wickets for just 6 runs off his one over.
MT Bulls needing 86 runs to win, chased down the score in 7.3 overs with a quick fire 60 runs off 24 balls from Andrew Mansale to claim their first win of the competition defeating the Panthers by 7 wickets.
Match Summary: MT Bulls vs ME Panthers
Mele Tafea Bulls defeated the Mighty Efate Panthers by 7 wickets
ME Panthers 8/85: J. Kaltapau 29, W. Viraliliu 13, L. Carlot 11, R. Samson 3/6, W. Nalisa 2/8. M. Taea 1/13
MT Bulls 3/86: A. Mansale 60, W. Nalisa 17, S. Obed 2/15.
Player of match: Andrew Mansale – 60 runs off 24 balls
In the second match, MT Bulls won the toss and opted to field again with hopes to repeat their performance in the first match. However, Ifira Sharks had a different plan as they put on their best T10 batting performance with Apolinaire Stephen matching Andrew Mansale’s performance with 60 runs off 25 balls and 25* runs contribution from Ala Viraliliu and 20 runs from Jamal Vira took the Sharks’ total to a whopping 142 runs at the end of their inning, posting the highest ever total in a Vanuatu Cricket T10 competition.
MT Bulls, now with a bigger target of 143 runs to win, were hopeful that rain would not impact their inning as they chase the total. However, delays in the innings meant that par score had to be determined by the Duckworth-Lewis-Stern (DLS) method. Ifira Sharks’ high total meant that they had the upper hand in the match and even with fantastic contributions from Clement Tommy (34*) and Andrew Mansale (33), the Bulls fell short of a second victory.
Ifira Sharks claimed their first win defeating the MT Bulls by 54 runs according to the DLS method.
Match Summary: MT Bulls vs Ifira Sharks
Ifira Sharks defeated Mele Tafea Bulls by 54 runs (DLS Method)
Ifira Sharks 3/142: A. Stephen 60, A. Viraliliu 25*, J. Vira 20, R. Samson 1/29.
MT Bulls 2/88: C. Tommy 34*, A. Mansale 33, N. Nipiko 1/17.
Player of match: Apolinaire Stephen – 60 runs off 25 balls.