Barras bowler Pokana holding on to complete late father’s dream

TRAGICALLY, Kumul Petroleum Papua New Guinea Barramundis opening bowler Nosaina Pokana lost his father Ricky last week.
Former talented all-rounder Ricky was a major influence in his life, playing for Kempa.
He was proud of his son, and Nosaina is staying with the national men’s cricket team to complete the dream his father had for him, playing in the Twenty-20 World Cup for PNG.
“Cricket has got me to see life from a different perspective,” Nosaina said.
“Seeing the world, your way of thinking starts to change and you begin to think outside the box.”
The 25-year-old is set for the World Cup.
With preparation for the Barramundis nearing completion, it now comes down to trusting the process.
Training also includes a good healthy diet, so that is what Nosaina is following too.
“I’m just taking in the good stuff,” he said.
But if Nosaina could have a cheat meal, it would unquestionably be fried chicken and chips.
He said it would be a big accomplishment if the Barras won a match against a full member.
“Beating one of those big giants like Australia, New Zealand or the West Indies,” Nosaina said.
“It’d be good to beat one of those teams and test yourself against the best players.”
Having played cricket for more than a decade, he said his family played cricket mostly in local tournaments.
So for Nosaina, he did not look far for inspiration.
“My role model is our skipper, Assad Vala,” he said.
“I’ve learnt a lot from him and I just admire how he goes about his business.”
The Rigo native said he knew what it took to be part of an international men’s team.
So his valuable piece of encouragement is stated plainly: hard work and commitment.
‘If you want to achieve your goals, you firstly need to be disciplined in ways that you commit yourself to what you want to achieve,” Nosaina said.
“It starts with commitment then hard work, work ethics and so on.”
Nosaina is optimistic about his team’s performance in the World Cup.
“I’m just proud of how far the team have come and all the hard work we’ve put in, in the last two years,” he said.
“It’s all about believing in ourselves and trusting the work we’ve put in.
“The only thing left is to believe.”