Cricket gets back on track

Another wicket of cricket with our national men’s and women’s squads returning to full training and also the resumption of the Port Moresby Cricket Association indoor competition.
Sadly, like all sport, the competition had to be put on hold due to the Covid-19 pandemic and its return is a welcome step into cricket season.
There are three weeks left for the competition and then we can move into the outdoor season and 11-a-side cricket.
This week also signalled the return of the Barramundis to full squad training and it was a big week indeed.
The men got stuck into some hard running sessions followed by two days of intense centre-wicket training on our new turf wicket.
Whilst I was happy with the efforts of the squads training in small groups and individual sessions during the state of emergency, there is nothing like intra-squad competition.
Watching the players go at it in their sessions with losers doing penalties which brought out the competitive spirit you want as a coach.
As a coach, you want your players to learn that it is important to push through and enjoy the pain even when it gets hard.
That is what professional sports are about, especially for the fast bowlers.
The new centre wicket proved to be quite a challenge for the batters as our groundsmen got to know the characteristics of the new turf and how to prepare the wicket.
This can only come through trial and error which will no doubt produce more challenging wickets for the batters.
If it is not challenging, you won’t improve and that is what we are trying to get across to all our players in both squads.
These sessions focused on spin and us batting through the middle overs of a one-day international is something that we have not done well as a group yet.
The added challenge of a spin-friendly wicket made it realistic and matched some of the wickets we played on last year in Scotland.
The sessions were excellent for all involved and although a little behind our wicket is going to be what we want it to be.
The women are also back into it and these are exciting times with the contracted players being joined by five youngsters from our academy.
These players and those selected from outside the squad will be using the Curtain Bros T20 Smash to push for selection for the World Cup qualifier in Dubai in November.
The coaching staff are excited about the young talents and the attitude they are bringing to the squad.
I’m looking forward to the women giving the next T20 World Cup qualification a real shake.
You will see the squads running around with new uniforms from today and I think they look amazing.
The Lewas have gone with something special with a dash of pink thrown into the mix whilst still portraying the unique and beautiful country the players are representing.
The men’s T20 World Cup uniform is amazing and we can’t wait to be able to show everyone what they will be wearing.
Anyway, that’s it for this week. Next week, I’ll be able to bring you an update on the Isuzu National Cup, including the teams and the schedule.
Stay safe and see you then.

Cheers,
Joe