Barras to start prep for T20 qualifiers

Sports

NATIONAL men’s cricket team head coach Carl Sandri says he plans to select a 14-man squad and two non-travelling reserves for the Twenty-20 (T20) World Cup qualifiers in Zimbabwe from July 8-9.
He arrived in Port Moresby last week to ramp up the Barramundis’ preparations with the inclusion of the Australian-based cricketers.
He told The National yesterday that the upcoming T20 Isuzu Bash would be an advantage to their preparations.
“We plan to leave for a tour leading up to the qualifiers on June 19 or 20 which will be held in South Africa,” Sandri said.
“The next round of Isuzu T20 games will provide us valuable information regarding our squad selection for the upcoming tour.
“We will select 14 players to travel to the qualifiers and two non-travelling reserves who will only be called up upon injury.
“We have a players’ meeting tomorrow (today) to discuss our strategy for the qualifiers.
“Once we agree on the strategy, the important part will be to fully commit to it as a squad.”
Meanwhile, Barramundis skipper Assad Vala told this paper last week that having the entire squad, including the coach, would bolster their preparations as they work on building their team spirit for the qualifiers.
“This is another opportunity for us in bringing the team together, that’s what we did well when we qualified (in 2019) for the World Cup,” he said.
“It’s good that everyone is here, training and playing together.
“It will be really good having the best players playing in the T20 Isuzu Bash.
“This gives the coach an opportunity to put in place the best plans and combinations to give us another opportunity to qualify for the World Cup.”