Papua New Guinea (PNG) beat Nepal by 72 runs on the opening day of the ICC World Cup Qualifying Series Division 2 tournament in Malaysia, an event that will determine the final qualifying spot for July's ICC Trophy 2005.
Inspired by the destructive batting of Jamie Brazier who hit 97 from 83 balls, PNG rattled up 240 runs for the loss of eight wickets in their 50 overs after winning the toss. Brazier, whose innings included three huge sixes hit over the fence into the adjacent residential area, was ably supported by fellow right hander Arua Uda in a crucial stand of 133.
Nepal have performed impressively at junior level over recent seasons, including beating South Africa in the ICC U-19 World Cup 2004, and were one of the higher-fancied teams going into the event. But PNG's total at the Kelab Aman ground proved too good for the senior Nepal players who completed their 50 overs on 168 for 9. The win puts PNG joint top of Group A after the first round of games along with Kuwait who beat Italy by four wickets.
In Group B, Qatar beat Zambia by nine wickets and, in the tightest game of the day, Fiji beat Cayman Islands by nine runs. Group B's most impressive individual performance came from Qatar off-spinner Saleem Aktar who picked up five wickets for two runs in 4.1 miserly overs of offspin.
Tuesday's Fixtures
Group A
Italy v PNG
Kuwait v Nepal
Group B
Cayman Islands v Qatar
Fiji v Zambia