PNG Lewas Squad Announced for the Inaugural PacificAus Sports Cricket Invitational…
Cricket Papua New Guinea is pleased to announce the 16-player PNG Lewas squad for the upcoming PacificAus Sports Cricket Invitational, to be held from 15 to 21 June 2025 at Amini Park, Port Moresby.
The squad was officially selected on Friday 06 June, allowing the team ample time to prepare for the highly anticipated tournament. The T20 tournament is supported through the Australian Government’s PacificAus Sports program, which creates opportunities for Pacific athletes, coaches, officials and administrators to access high performance training and elite competition.
The team will be captained by Brenda Tau, and consists a mix of experienced players and exciting new talent: PNG Lewas Squad – PacificAus Sports Cricket Invitational 2025:
1. Brenda Tau – Batter/Wicketkeeper (Captain)
2. Naoani Vare – Batter
3. Miria Raio – Batter
4. Erani Pokana – Batter
5. Pauke Siaka – Batter/Mpace-All-rounder
6. Henao Thomas – Batter/Spinner-All-rounder
7. Lakshmi Rajadurai – Batter/Spinner-All-rounder
8. Hollan Doriga – Batter/Bowler-All-rounder
9. Hane Lohia – Batter/Spinner-All-rounder
10. Dika Lohia – Spinner
11. Isabel Toua – Spinner
12. Geua Tom – Bowler
13. Buruka Vicky – Bowler
14. Mairi Tom – Bowler
15. Konio Oala – Batter/Spinner-All-rounder
16. Melanie Ani – Batter
Speaking on behalf of the team, Captain Brenda Tau shared her confidence and excitement ahead of the tournament:
The team has been working extremely hard over the past few months in preparation for this tournament. I am proud of how far we have come, and I know each one of the players are eager to represent our country with pride.
This is a well-balanced team with a strong mix of experienced players and exciting new talent, which brings fresh energy to our game.
I would also like to thank Cricket PNG, the Board, the selectors, and both our head coach and assistant coach for their continued support and belief in the team. I would like to thank also the Australian Government for supporting this tournament.
To team Samoa, Vanuatu and Australian Indigenous team, we look forward to meet you on the Cricket Field.”
“We are ready, we are focused, and we’re looking forward to competing at home against quality sides. We can’t wait to take the field this Sunday,” she added.
Cricket PNG extends its best wishes to the PNG Lewas as they prepare to take on Vanuatu, Samoa, and the Australian Indigenous Women’s Team in this historic tournament.
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For further information, please contact info@cricketpng.org
About Cricket PNG
Cricket PNG (CPNG) is the National Sports Federation responsible for the governance, promotion and development of cricket in Papua New Guinea (PNG). CPNG has been an Associate Member of the International Cricket Council (ICC) since 1973 and is supported by the ICC East Asia-Pacific (EAP) regional office, and more recently the PNG Olympic Committee. CPNG currently has about 70 staff in ten (10) regions across PNG with a majority involved in driving entry-level participation through the Schools Kriket Programme and the School Kriket Programme (Malolo Hard-Ball Competition). In 2024, the School Kriket Programme reached over 129,000 students across PNG. Domestically, the Isuzu T20 Smash is our pinnacle event, supported by men’s and women’s Nationals at U19 and Senior levels. At the high-performance level internationally, our Barramundis (national men) are ranked 20th in T20 and had ODI status until early 2023, our Lewas (national women) are ranked 12th in T20 and currently have ODI status, our Garamuts (U19 boys) and Siales (U19 girls) have historically been the best performed of the ICC EAP U19 member teams.
