Barramundis set for Aust

By PATRICIA KEAMO
THE Papua New Guinea Barramundis will be leaving for Australia for T20 cricket matches against Sydney Sixers and Sydney Thunders in preparation for this year’s World Cup, says an official.
Barramundis assistant coach John Ovia told The National yesterday that the team had already received approval from the immigration office for their travel and were awaiting the second dose of their Covid-19 vaccination before leaving.
He said following their matches in Australia, the Barramundis would be competing in Oman before attending the World Cup, which is likely to be relocated from India to the United Arab Emirates due to the Covid-19 pandemic.
“Our preparation has been affected by the Covid-19 restrictions, but we haven’t stopped training,” Ovia said.
“We’ve been doing strength and conditioning training in smaller groups as per the (directive from the national pandemic response controller).
“The boys are looking fit and strong.
“We started our match sessions like bowling, batting and wicket keeping two months ago, so our preparation is going well.
“We received our first dose of the vaccine a month ago so once we get the second dose, the team will leave for Australia.
“The T20 matches against the Sixers and Thunder are in preparation for the T20 World Cup and also the World Cricket League.”
In terms of world ranking, Ovia said the Barramundis were ranked 14th. Meanwhile, he said travel arrangements for the Barramundis were underway and they were looking forward to getting some game time. “All the travel arrangements are being done here,” Ovia said.
“We just received approval from the immigration office, so we’re all good to go when the second dose is (administered) before we leave.”