50-over cricket on the horizon

Hello again and welcome to another week where we are getting closer to player outdoor cricket.
Firstly, the Port Moresby Cricket Association (POMCA) ran another great weekend of indoor cricket.
Congratulations to the volunteers at POMCA.
Next up is the Isuzu National Cup which starts next Friday and continues through to Sunday then repeats for the next three weekends.
I am excited about this competition as it will give our players an opportunity to play 50-over cricket which is something that has been missing due to a lack of grounds in PNG.
Cricket Papua New Guinea (CPNG) national talent manager Rodney Maha has been busy finding talents from outside Port Moresby to play in this competition along with the Barramundis and POMCA players.
Trials were held two weeks ago for those from outside centres and it was great to see the talents available. The national selection panel has chosen three teams — Red, Black and Yellow — with 14 players in each.
All sides will play two 50-over games every weekend so there will be some sore and tired bodies on Mondays. But that is what the Barramundis are forced to do on tours so it will be good to see who is up to the challenge.
We will have three rounds of this competition to start and depending on the Covid-19 pandemic, we will potentially have more later in the year.
All games will be played at Amini Park and I would like to invite everyone to come and watch some exciting cricket and see the Barramundis play for the first time since securing T20 World Cup qualification last year.
Thanks must go to Isuzu which despite the tough times for all businesses, has committed to this competition for three years and we can’t wait to see the benefits of our players getting used to the longer format as we head into World Cup qualification in the 50-over format in 2022.
Without the support of businesses that are willing to back something new and see the bigger picture, sports here would be a real struggle.
It has been really pleasing that all selected players have accepted the invitation to play and it is no surprise with the opportunities that lay ahead for male cricketers in the country.
The Barramundis have 28 one-day internationals next year so the opportunities are there for players to do what Riley Hekure and Gaudi Toka did last year to come from club land and play international cricket.
Sometimes club cricketers think that selection is a closed shop.
But we’ve proved over the last two years that club performances and domestic cricket will get you noticed and picked in a squad or a tour like Steven Eno did in 2018 where he led the run scoring in local cricket and smashed 63 in the first T20 Smash fixture that year and found himself in the Barramundis squad for Fiji later that year.
CPNG has over the last two years run academy tours to Lae to provide Port Moresby and Morobe cricket with opportunities to test themselves and reward players who have had good club seasons.
Last year, we also ran the tour to include our women’s academy which worked well and we will be hoping to run both later in the year.
All in all, things are starting to heat up and I can’t wait for the first ball to be bowled next Friday. Good luck to the teams competing in indoor cricket this weekend and stay safe.

Cheers,
Joe