PNG come out fighting to keep conscience intact

Assad Vala's side came out fighting despite the awkward situation they found themselves in. © Getty

It was an act of absurd bravado and bloody-mindedness worthy of Camus' Sisyphus.

Papua New Guinea, already out of contention for the next stage of the tournament, needed the Netherlands to progress at the expense of the UAE if they were to retain any realistic hope of retaining ODI status. For that to happen, the Netherlands needed two more wins, one of them against PNG. So PNG knew they had to throw the game.

They didn't.

Papua New Guinea didn't come to Zimbabwe to lose games of cricket if they could help it. They weren't waiting on any final judgment, they prefer to be judged on the day.

Despite the announcement on the morning of the match that the two lowest-placed Associate side would not only be denied ODI status but also face relegation to WCL Division 2, meaning that PNG would do themselves not only out of the somewhat decorative recognised international status but also potentially a substantial chunk of their schedule for the coming cycle, not to mention ICC funding, Assad Vala's side came out fighting.

The first over set the tone, tight and cramping the Dutch openers for room, Norman Vanua conceded just two runs. The next from Vala was a maiden. The Papuans were electric in the field, cutting off boundaries and turning twos into singles. The pressure would tell as one Dutch batsman after another perished trying to break the shackles. With every catch PNG were hammering another nail into their own coffin.

The Dutch would collapse from 57 without loss to 98-5 by the 30th over, but young Sikander Zulfiqar fought back with the help of Roelof van der Merwe and Pieter Seelaar to get the Dutch to a defensible if sub-par 216-8 by the close, but at the break PNG were pleased enough with damage they had done themselves and the Dutch.

It wouldn't be enough for the win in the end. Not even close, really. Tony Ura and Lega Siaka would both fall cheaply, Vala would try to hold the top order together - scoring 44 off 58 balls - but with an already tough wicket beginning to deteriorate, the chase would prove beyond them. The introduction of Roelof van der Merwe's left arm spin brought about a rapid collapse, with five wickets falling for just 25 more runs, PNG were effectively out of the game at 93-7 after 30 overs.

But even then they would not roll over. Without any real hope of even winning the match, with every boundary putting a dent in the Netherlands' net run rate and their own best interest, they fought on. "This guy's gonna try to bomb it" Pieter Seelaar presciently observed while patrolling the boundary, seconds before number nine Norman Vanua slog-swept van der Merwe well back over the deep midwicket rope.

The Dutch knew their opponents well enough to expect nothing different. "No way they throw the game" said Netherlands skipper Peter Borren ahead of the match, "it's just not in their make-up". And so it proved, the Papuans battled to the end, making the Dutch fight for every bit of the eventual 57 run margin of their win.

Even after the match, the Papuans did not look happy to have been beaten, though they had plenty of reasons to be cheerful. The Netherlands hopes of making the Super Six survive another day, and so do PNG's hopes of defending their claim to ODI status. When the Dutch take the field against the West Indies on Monday, their opponents today will be cheering them on.

With Afghanistan's hopes also still alive in Bulawayo, there may even yet be two ODI spots up for grabs in classification. PNG may just come out of this tournament with both conscience and status intact. Or perhaps only the former. Either way, they will have done themselves enormous credit.

And as Camus reminds us, Everything considered, a determined soul will always manage.