TWO of Papua New Guinea’s (PNG) most promising young cricketers have been awarded a six-month scholarship with the Wanderer’s CC in Townsville, far north Queensland.
Twenty-year-old batsman Assad Vala and 19-year-old pace bowler Loa Nou have been rewarded for their outstanding recent performances at both domestic and international level, and will spend the Australian summer testing their skills against the best players in the Townsville.
The initiative, a partnership between the Wanderer’s CC, PNG Cricket and the ICC East Asia-Pacific (EAP) Development Program, will also see both players learn about club administration, turf wicket preparation and the coordination of junior development programmes while in Townsville.
“This is a great opportunity for two of our young players to experience Australian culture and quality club cricket,” commented PNG Cricket Chairman Mick Nades. “We thank the Wanderer’s CC for their support of PNG Cricket and hope that this is the beginning of a long relationship.”
The Wanderers CC has a proud history of producing elite cricketers including current Australian players Andrew Symonds and Mitchell Johnson. Having played in the past two Grand Finals the club is hoping to continue this on-field success in season 2007/08.
“We are a proud club and are continually looking for ways to improve,” added Wanderer’s CC President Peter Wiltshire.
“Having hosted the PNG National Team during their Townsville Tour in May we saw the potential and thought we had something to offer their young players.”
Vala arrived in Townsville in late October and has already helped the club to a victory over Suburban Parks CC scoring 33 runs only 24 hours after touching down on Australian soil.
The talented left-hand batsman has been a member of the PNG National Team for the past 3 years and also earned selection in the ICC EAP Team during this period.
Nou is scheduled to arrive in early November and having recently helped PNG secure the gold medal at the South Pacific Games should hit the ground running when he joins Vala and his Wanderer’s CC teammates. The lively right-arm pace bowler has enjoyed a meteoric rise which included helping PNG to secure a place in next year’s ICC Under 19 World Cup.