Barras to play ACT XI

The National Sports

IN a major coup for Cricket Papua New Guinea, Cricket Australia together with Australian Prime Minister Malcolm Turnbull announced on Monday that the Hebou Barramundis would take on the Australian Capital Territory XI in the curtain raiser to the main PM’s XI match on Feb 15 at Manuka Oval, Canberra.
The PM’s XI, captained by Australian batsman and Western Australian and Perth Scorchers skipper will take on the touring Sri Lankan side in a T20 Fixture.
Cricket Australia confirmed that the match would become a double-header, with the Barramundis taking on an ACT XI at 2.30pm.
The announcement of the double header, continues Cricket Australia’s support to emerging nations, and further strengthens relationships between Australia and PNG.
Speaking on the raft of announcements, Turnbull said he was looking forward to the match.
“This is my second PM’s XI and I’m looking forward to a fierce contest against Sri Lanka. The double header with PNG adds an exciting new dimension to the traditional fixture,” Turnbull said.
CPNG’s chief executive Greg Campbell was delighted at the opportunity given by CA and the Australian Government to be a part of the annual PM’s XI fixture.
“This is an incredible achievement by CPNG to have the Hebou PNG Barramundis be a part of this event filled with so much history,” Campbell said. “A lot of hard work has gone on behind the scenes to make this happen. We had Lega (Siaka) being selected in the actual PM’s XI a couple of years ago, but to have the Barramundis take part in the curtain raiser against a strong ACT XI team will give another opportunity for the Barramundis to show their skill to a large audience.
“We thank CA, Cricket ACT, NSW Cricket and the Australian Government for this wonderful opportunity.
“We hope that the PNG Government gets behind CPNG and supports our vision of hosting the PM’s XI fixture here at Amini Park (Port Moresby) in the future.”
In a lead-up to this fixture, the Barramundis will take on the NSW XI in two 50-Over and one T20 match in Sydney.
Tour fixtures: Wed, Feb 8 – PNG vs NSW XI (50-Over) at Blacktown; Sun, Feb 12 – PNG vs NSW XI (50 Over) at Hustville Oval; Mon, Feb 13 – PNG vs NSW XI (T20) at Blacktown; Wed, Feb 15 – PNG vs ACT XI (T20) at Manuka Oval.