THE Papua New Guinea U19 Garamuts are determined to improve on their next fixture against Fiji despite losing by 106 Runs (71/10) against hosts Japan (177/8) in the ICC Cricket World Cup East Asia Pacific Division 1 Qualifier on Thursday.

The Japan U19 team outclassed the Garamuts, bowling them out for 71 runs in reply to their score of 177 runs for 8 wickets in a rain-shortened match reduced to 35 overs each.

Japan’s top order batter’s Nihar Parmar scored the highest runs securing 59 off 89, Nikhil Pol (38 off 52) and Hugo Tani Kelly (33 off 32).

Earlier, the Garamuts had struggled to take wickets until late in the Japan innings, with the score advancing to over 100 before the 2^nd wicket fell.

Japan’s spinners took control of the match after their opening attack had removed the Garamuts’ openers with only 12 runs on the board.

That platform allowed Japan to push on in the latter part of their innings, and despite losing another 6 wickets, they scored 64 runs from the last 8 overs to set a very respectable target of 178 runs from 210 balls.

The Garamuts’ next match is against Fiji and they will need to find form quickly over the next 24 hours to turn their tournament around.

To qualify for the ICC Men’s U19 Cricket World Cup, the Garamuts must win well in the next three matches and hope that Japan falters after their strong first-up performance.

Full scores: https://cricclubs.com/cricketorjp/fullScorecard.do?matchId=5357&clubId=21278