Barramunidis coach hails squad’s six-week tour a success

PAPUA New Guinea Barramundis head coach Tatenda Taibu has hailed their six-week tour a success, despite having mixed results as the team adapted well to new game strategies introduced in preparation for their twenty-20 (T20) World Cup.
From the 13 T20 and ODI’s they played from India to Oman, Hong Kong and Malaysia, the Barramundis won seven games and lost six, including two ties and claiming a series title.
The team returned to Port Moresby this morning after ending their campaign in Malaysia on Sunday and would have a week-long break before the Isuzu T20 Smash starts next weekend.
“When we play a game, it’s about winning and losing however I had certain things that I was trying out with the team,” Taibu told The National yesterday. “I did tell the boys that we might make some mistakes in trying those things and if we end up losing any of those games because of those trials, I am to be blamed and not them.”
He attributed the success of the team to the new strategies and approaches they’ve taken during the tour as well as the team having faith in their abilities in the shorter format.
“We didn’t have the same team playing over and over, a lot of the times we tried new combinations,” he said.
“The guys believed that it didn’t matter who was on the field but whoever was entrusted to be on the field had to do the job for the team so that was successful, having that team effort we put together,” said the coach.
He highlighted some of the positives from their tour which included playing as a team and having the fighting spirit to go on even when the odds were against them.
He commended the team for sticking to their game plan and at times exceeding his expectations in both batting and fielding.
Taibu said he would continue to work with the team in the next few months and tighten their preparation for the World Cup in July.