Tony Ura
Tony Ura (born 15 October 1989) is a Papua New Guinean cricketer. Ura is a right-handed opening batsman. International careerHaving played age-group cricket for Papua New Guinea Under-19s in the 2008 Under-19 World Cup and 2010 Under-19 World Cup,[1] he was selected in the Papua New Guinea squad for the 2011 World Cricket League Division Three, where he played 6 matches, helping them earn promotion to 2011 World Cricket League Division Two. It was in this competition that he made his List A debut against Bermuda. He played a further 5 List A matches in the competition, the last coming against Hong Kong.[2] In his 6 matches in the competition, he scored 92 runs at a batting average of 15.33, with a high score of 52.[3] HIs half century came against Bermuda.[4] Ura made his One Day International debut on 8 November 2014 against Hong Kong in Australia.[5] He made his Twenty20 International debut against Ireland in the 2015 ICC World Twenty20 Qualifier tournament on 15 July 2015.[6] In the 2018 Cricket World Cup Qualifier, Ura scored a national record 151 runs from 142 balls against Ireland. He was named player of the match despite his team losing.[7] In the next match against West Indies, the inaugural ODI between the two teams, he scored 37 runs from 45 balls, hitting two sixes off the bowling of Ashley Nurse.[8] Following the conclusion of the Cricket World Cup Qualifier tournament, the International Cricket Council (ICC) named Ura as the rising star of Papua New Guinea's squad.[9] In August 2018, he was named in Papua New Guinea's squad for Group A of the 2018–19 ICC T20 World Cup East Asia-Pacific Qualifier tournament.[10] In Papua New Guinea's opening match of the qualifier, against Samoa, Ura scored 120 runs from 55 balls.[11][12] In March 2019, he was named in Papua New Guinea's squad for the Regional Finals of the 2018–19 ICC T20 World Cup East Asia-Pacific Qualifier tournament.[13] On 23 March 2019, during Papua New Guinea's match against the Philippines, Ura became the first batsman for Papua New Guinea to score a century in a T20I match, scoring 107 not out.[14][15] He was the leading run-scorer in the tournament, with 243 runs in four matches.[16] The following month, he was named in Papua New Guinea's squad for the 2019 ICC World Cricket League Division Two tournament in Namibia.[17] In June 2019, he was selected to represent the Papua New Guinea cricket team in the men's tournament at the 2019 Pacific Games.[18] In September 2019, he was named in Papua New Guinea's squad for the 2019 ICC T20 World Cup Qualifier tournament in the United Arab Emirates.[19] In August 2021, Ura was named in Papua New Guinea's squad for the 2021 ICC Men's T20 World Cup.[20] In May 2024, he was named in Papua New Guinea’s squad for the 2024 ICC Men's T20 World Cup tournament.[21] References
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