Barras to depart for Darwin

The National Sports

By PATRICIA KEAMO
THE national men’s cricket squad will leave for Australia today with the aim to improve in the revamped Darwin 365 programme that bats off on Thursday.
Despite finishing in third place last month’s Twenty-20 (T20) World Cup qualifiers in Zimbabwe, the Papua New Guinea Barramundis remain focused on the positives from that tour.
Led by assistant coach John Ovia, the 12-man squad will be joined in Brisbane by head coach Carl Sandri, all-rounder Norman Vanua and Damien Ravu before heading to Darwin for the tournament. “After returning from the Zimbabwe qualifiers, the team was given a week off to rest before resuming preparations for the Darwin tournament,” Ovia told The National yesterday.
“But due to election-related violence in the city, we had to postpone training till last week.
“Since the Darwin tournament is a T20 format, our focus is more on taking risks in batting. We worked on taking more risks in batting, bowling at the right time and executing our game plan.”
Ovia said the bulk of the squad from the qualifiers remained with only Alei Nao and Riley Hekure dropped and replaced by Kipling Doriga and Hiri Hiri with the inclusion of Nosaina Pokana. He said the qualifiers had been challenging after playing limited international matches due to the impact of the Coronavirus pandemic.
“Although we didn’t achieve our goal of qualifying, we still took away some positives, including Tony Ura’s batting performance,” Ovia said
“If he brings that form to Darwin, I’m sure he’ll deliver for us.”
Meanwhile, skipper Assad Vala said the team remained positive about the Darwin tournament.
“The feeling around the group is really good with the players looking forward to showcase their skills against some of Australia’s best talents,” Vala told this paper.
“My aim as captain is to improve from the qualifiers. There were some really good performances, but we weren’t clinical in the big moments.
“In the crucial moments when the game was in the balance, we did not execute our skills under pressure.”
Barramundis: Assad Vala (captain), Charles Amini (vice-captain), Norman Vanua, Tony Ura, Lega Siaka, Sema Kamea, Kipling Doriga, Sese Bau, Chad Soper, Hila Vare, Damien Ravu, Hiri Hiri, Kabua Vagi Morea, Simon Atai, Nosaina Pokana.