Barramundis primed

By PATRICIA KEAMO
THE national men’s team are primed for their Group-B matches against Oman, Scotland and Bangladesh in the Twenty-20 Cricket World Cup which bats off in Dubai, United Arab Emirates, on Sunday.
Cricket Papua New Guinea domestic manager Lakani Oala said they were confident that the Kumul Petroleum PNG Barramundis would achieve better results despite falling short in their lead-up matches in Oman.
Led by skipper Assad Vala, the Barramundis will be playing the opening match against Oman.
“The team’s preparations leading into the 50-over matches in Oman were badly affected by the Coronavirus restrictions and requirements,” Oala told The National last week.
“Our team just could not travel out of the country and scheduled matches in PNG with countries from abroad never eventuated.
“Other countries were not affected like us.
“The team’s first couple of matches in Oman did not produce the results we had expected, hence the opposition thrived on our inactivity.
“However, recent results show that our rustiness seems to be fading and players are individually improving.
“The more quality matches and opposition we play, the better our chances of getting the desired results.
“The actual T20 World Cup matches start next week and we are quietly confident of recording better results.
The Barramundis arrived in Dubai earlier last week from Oman and were preparing for the T20 World Cup opener against hosts Oman.