Super Cricket on with SP funding
By PETER PUSAL
PNG’s sole brewer SP Brewery are back in cricket’s corner in 2008 with a hefty K80,000 sponsorship for the Cricket Super League Series that will pit four teams made up of players from the eight clubs of Port Moresby as well as Lae-based players.
The competition, to start on April 6 and end on June 22, will have the four “super” teams playing each other over a three-month period in Port Moresby with games on Sundays at Amini and Colts grounds at Boroko.
SP who have been generous sponsors of various sporting codes annually have signaled their intention to be at the vanguard of cricket development in PNG and announced their commitment in Port Moresby yesterday.
Speaking of SP’s supportive gesture to PNG cricket SP general manager Stan Joyce told a gathering of players and officials that his company’s backing was part of an on going commitment to cricket noting other corporate sponsors who have lent their assistance to cricket.
“Now in its third year, I understand that this tournament is set to be even bigger not only through our increased sponsorship but also from the backing of some prominent corporate houses who are the major sponsors of the four teams,” Joyce said
“The Super Series is one of the main national cricket tournaments which PNG Cricket uses to identify talent and more importantly can be used to select the PNG national team and we are happy to make this possible.”
In 2007 SP Brewery contributed K65,000 for cricket in PNG with the majority of the funding going towards representative teams.
The Super Series format is aimed at bringing A grade and PNG’s elite cricketers to the next level of competitive cricket and in the process lift the standard of domestic competition.
In his acceptance speech a gracious Port Moresby Cricket Association president Babani Maraga thanked SP Brewery for their contribution and spoke highly of the direction cricket was taking in PNG with the help of such committed sponsors.
Maraga said the tournament would play a critical role in shaping the country’s elite players to take the next step in to the more competitive international stage.
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