MUSCAT: Oman’s preparations for the ICC T20 World Cup is on track with the Men in Red notching up a win in the official warm-up game against Papua New Guinea (PNG) in Trinidad on Monday and the fourth win on a trot since their arrival in West Indies.
On Monday, Oman, coached by Sri Lankan great Duleep Mendis, chased down PNG’s total of 137 with five balls to spare to win by three wickets at Brian Lara Stadium, Tarouba in Trinidad. Having been put into bat, PNG found scoring tough going with Lega Siaka posting their highest score with 28 off 20 balls before being dismissed to leave his side at 55 for three. A late cameo of 17 from 10 balls from Alei Nao pushed PNG to 137 from their 20 overs as captain Aqib Ilyas disrupted the middle order with three wickets for 22. Oman now face Afghanistan in the final warm-up game on Wednesday at Queen’s Park Oval in Port of Spain in Trinidad.
In the three warm-up games in Barbados, Oman won two against Barbados XI and one against the University of West Indies team. In his remarks after the win against PNG, Mendis said: “Our preparations are on track and these victories are morale-boosters for the players. The confidence among my boys is great and they are in good shape.”
He added, "It was a good win against PNG in the first official warm-up match. We have played so far three unofficial games in Barbados and one official warm-up match [vs PNG]. We won all of the four. Our preparations are ideal for the World Cup, where we have tough teams to negotiate."
The head coach said: "The early arrival has helped the boys a lot as they got time to acclimatise to the weather conditions and also got a feel of the wickets in the West Indies. Thanks to the support of Oman Cricket board who arranged the pre-World Cup tour. We have another tough test against Afghanistan tomorrow [May 29] and hope to keep the winning streak." Oman play their opening encounter on June 2 against Namibia in Barbados, a side they’ve defeated twice in the past, and a win could set the tone for their tournament. They next play former champions Australia on June 5 before travelling to Antigua for the remaining games.
Oman’s third group game is against fellow Associate nation, Scotland on June 9 before concluding their Group B engagements with a match against defending champions England on June 13. Oman are being led by all-rounder Aqib Ilyas, a top-order batter and team’s leading spinner. Ilyas will get the support of former captain, Zeeshan Maqsood, in the squad along with a mix of experienced players like Bilal Khan, Mohammed Nadeem, and Mehran Khan along with World Cup debutants - Pratik Athavale, Kashyap Prajapati, Shakeel Ahmad, Shoaib Khan, Khalid Kail and Rafiullah.
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