Assad Vala
CountryPapua New Guinea
FullnameAsadollah Vala
Birth date5 August 1987 (age 39)
Birth placePort Moresby, Papua New Guinea
BattingLeft-handed
BowlingRight-arm off break
FamilyPauke Siaka (wife)
Internationaltrue
Internationalspan2014-present
Odidebutdate8 November
Odidebutyear2014
OdidebutagainstHong Kong
Odicap10
Lastodidate5 April
Lastodiyear2023
LastodiagainstCanada
Odishirt13
T20idebutdate15 July
T20idebutyear2015
T20idebutagainstIreland
T20icap9
Lastt20idate18 May
Lastt20iyear2026
Lastt20iagainstJapan
Columns4
Column 1ODI
Matches 166
Runs 12,003
Bat avg 130.81
100s/50s 11/12
Top score 1104
Deliveries 12,388
Wickets 155
Bowl avg 128.70
Fivefor 10
Tenfor 10
Best bowling 13/17
Catches/stumpings 134/–
Column 2T20I
Matches 243
Runs 2839
Bat avg 223.97
100s/50s 20/6
Top score 293*
Deliveries 2389
Wickets 227
Bowl avg 215.81
Fivefor 20
Tenfor 20
Best bowling 23/7
Catches/stumpings 219/–
Column 3FC
Matches 37
Runs 3700
Bat avg 363.63
100s/50s 33/3
Top score 3144*
Deliveries 3341
Wickets 35
Bowl avg 333.20
Fivefor 30
Tenfor 30
Best bowling 32/80
Catches/stumpings 36/–
Column 4LA
Matches 4101
Runs 42,986
Bat avg 430.78
100s/50s 42/18
Top score 4105*
Deliveries 42,702
Wickets 469
Bowl avg 426.24
Fivefor 40
Tenfor 40
Best bowling 43/17
Catches/stumpings 446/–
Date21 September 2023
Sourcehttp://www.espncricinfo.com/ci/content/player/25056.html Cricinfo

Asadollah Vala (born 5 August 1987) is a Papua New Guinean cricketer and the captain of the national side.[1][2] A left-handed batsman and off spin bowler, he has played for the Papua New Guinea national team since 2005.[3]

Early career

Born in Papua New Guinea in 1987,[3] Assad Vala first represented Papua New Guinea at the under-19 level, playing in the 2004 Under-19 World Cup in Bangladesh.[4] He made his debut for the senior side at the 2005 ICC Trophy in Ireland, where he played seven List A matches.[5]

He returned to the under-19 level later in the year, playing in the Africa/East Asia-Pacific Under-19 Championship at Willowmoore Park in Benoni, South Africa. In 2006, he played for a combined East Asia Pacific team in the Australian National Country Cricket Championship, and did so again in 2007 and 2008.[4]

In 2007, Vala played in Division Three of the World Cricket League in Darwin and represented his country at the 2007 South Pacific Games,[4] where he won a gold medal in the cricket tournament.[6]

International career

He made his One Day International (ODI) debut on 8 November 2014 against Hong Kong in Australia.[7] He made his Twenty20 International debut against Ireland in the 2015 ICC World Twenty20 Qualifier tournament on 15 July 2015.[8]

In June 2015 on his first-class cricket debut, he scored a match-winning 124 not out against the Netherlands in the 2015–17 ICC Intercontinental Cup.[9] He scored three hundreds in his first four matches, also making centuries against Ireland (120) and Namibia (144 not out).[10]

In February 2018, the International Cricket Council (ICC) named Vala as one of the ten players to watch ahead of the 2018 Cricket World Cup Qualifier tournament.[11] In June 2018, at the Papua New Guinea Cricket Awards he won the Tony Elly Medal for the best male player.[12]

In August 2018, he was named as the captain of Papua New Guinea's squad for Group A of the 2018–19 ICC World Twenty20 East Asia-Pacific Qualifier tournament.[13] He was the leading run-scorer in Group A of the tournament, with 294 runs in six matches.[14] In March 2019, he was named as the captain of Papua New Guinea's squad for the Regional Finals of the 2018–19 ICC World Twenty20 East Asia-Pacific Qualifier tournament.[15] The following month, he was named captain of Papua New Guinea's squad for the 2019 ICC World Cricket League Division Two tournament in Namibia.[16]

In June 2019, he was selected to represent the Papua New Guinea cricket team in the men's tournament at the 2019 Pacific Games.[17] In September 2019, Vala was named as the captain of Papua New Guinea's squad for the 2019 United States Tri-Nation Series.[18] In the final match of the series, against Namibia, he scored his first ODI century, with 104 runs from 114 balls.[19]

In September 2019, he was named as the captain of Papua New Guinea's squad for the 2019 ICC T20 World Cup Qualifier tournament in the United Arab Emirates.[20][21] Ahead of the tournament, the ICC named him as the key player in Papua New Guinea's squad.[22] He was the leading run-scorer for Papua New Guinea in the tournament, with 197 runs in eight matches.[23]

In November 2020, Vala was nominated for the ICC Men's Associate Cricketer of the Decade award.[24] In August 2021, Vala was named as the captain of Papua New Guinea's squad for the 2021 ICC Men's T20 World Cup.[25]

In May 2024, he was named the captain in Papua New Guinea’s squad for the 2024 ICC Men's T20 World Cup tournament.[26]

Personal

Vala is married to Papua New Guinean women's national team cricketer Pauke Siaka.[27]

References

  1. ^ "Assad Vala". ESPNCricinfo. Retrieved 23 October 2016.
  2. ^ "PNG squad for Inter-continental Cup match against Namibia". ESPN Cricinfo. Retrieved 17 October 2016.
  3. ^ CricketArchive profile
  4. ^ Other matches played by Asad Vala Archived 18 October 2012 at the Wayback Machine at CricketArchive
  5. ^ List A matches played by Asad Vala at CricketArchive
  6. ^ Points table for the 2007 South Pacific Games cricket tournament at CricketArchive
  7. ^ "Hong Kong tour of Australia, 1st ODI: Papua New Guinea v Hong Kong at Townsville, Nov 8, 2014". ESPN Cricinfo. Retrieved 8 November 2014.
  8. ^ "ICC World Twenty20 Qualifier, 23rd Match, Group A: Ireland v Papua New Guinea at Belfast, Jul 15, 2015". ESPN Cricinfo. Retrieved 15 July 2015.
  9. ^ "ICC Intercontinental Cup, Netherlands v Papua New Guinea at Amstelveen, Jun 16-18, 2015". ESPN Cricinfo. Retrieved 18 June 2015.
  10. ^ "ICC Intercontinental Cup Results". ESPNCricinfo. Retrieved 23 October 2016.
  11. ^ "10 stars to look out for at CWCQ". International Cricket Council. 27 February 2018. Retrieved 27 February 2018.
  12. ^ "Assad Vala, Pauke Siaka win top PNG Cricket awards". International Cricket Council. Retrieved 20 June 2018.
  13. ^ "Squads and fixtures announced for 2020 ICC World T20 - EAP Group 'A' 2018". International Cricket Council. Retrieved 9 August 2018.
  14. ^ "ICC World Twenty20 East Asia-Pacific Region Qualifier A, 2018, Most Runs". ESPN Cricinfo. Retrieved 29 August 2018.
  15. ^ "Squads and Fixtures Announced for 2020 ICC Men's T20 World Cup EAP Final 2019". Cricket Philippines. Retrieved 22 March 2019.
  16. ^ "Barras on a mission". The National (Papua New Guinea). Retrieved 3 April 2019.
  17. ^ "Athlete List for Samoa 2019 Pacific Games". Pacific Games Council. Retrieved 21 June 2019.
  18. ^ "First One Day International to be played in USA". International Cricket Council. Retrieved 10 September 2019.
  19. ^ "Vala century in vain as Namibia see off PNG". International Cricket Council. Retrieved 24 September 2019.
  20. ^ "Barras named for qualifiers". The National. Retrieved 4 October 2019.
  21. ^ "Captains enthusiastic ahead of ICC Men's T20 World Cup Qualifier 2019". International Cricket Council. Retrieved 12 October 2019.
  22. ^ "Team preview: Papua New Guinea". International Cricket Council. Retrieved 12 October 2019.
  23. ^ "ICC Men's T20 World Cup Qualifier, 2019/20 - Papua New Guinea: Batting and bowling averages". ESPN Cricinfo. Retrieved 3 November 2019.
  24. ^ "ICC Awards of the Decade announced". International Cricket Council. Retrieved 25 November 2020.
  25. ^ "Papua New Guinea unveil T20 World Cup squad". International Cricket Council. Retrieved 24 August 2021.
  26. ^ "Papua New Guinea’s Player Squad for ICC T20 World Cup". ScoreWaves. Retrieved 2024-06-12.
  27. ^ "Who is Assad Vala Wife? Know Everything About Pauke Siaka". Sportsunfold. Retrieved 2025-10-04.