Cricket holds talent ID camp for Garamuts

EVERY athlete in this world has a shelf life.
This is an aspect that resonates across all sports and cricket is no exception.
With that in mind, it is imperative that national coach Joe Dawes, pictured, has a large talent pool to chose from, to be able to put together a team that can compete with the best in the world.
Fifty-two youngsters have been selected in the Swire Shipping Talent ID programme, which runs through the term break and helps the powers that be get a closer look at the raw talent from around the country, that are currently in school and hoping to make a name for themselves in cricket.
As is tradition, Cricket PNG hosts these outstanding young players for a week, which begins with masterclasses from the PNG Under-19 Garamuts coach Kila Pala.
Overseeing it all is talent ID coach Rodney Maha.
“These kids are the best talent we have got and they are here as a part of the extended U19 squad,” Maha said.
“Kila Pala will identify the best players here and if they are good enough, get them into the Garamuts set up. This time, the players have come from Kimbe, Alotau, Lae, Central and of course we have our boys from Port Moresby.”
Pala is very involved with the programme this entire week as he seeks to improve the U19 squad.
“We’ve brought in players from outside centres,” Pala said.
“The main purpose is to look for the next crop of Garamuts.
“I’m impressed with the talent these boys have shown.
“But it is raw talent and it needs to be honed which is what we are doing this week.
“We are working on the basics with them and these boys can see the examples of Sema Kamea and Eisa Eka, who have come through the same programme and played at the ICC U19 Cricket World Cup in New Zealand, to see what it takes to step up to the standards set by the Garamuts who are number one in the region,” Pala said.
“Coming from a coaching perspective — we just want to tick the boxes that we have been working on, in the Talent ID programme that head coach Joe Dawes has given us. If we do that, we should be heading in the right direction.”
Maha understands that the needs of a team are constantly changing, based on the balance the coach seeks, which evolves with the talent at his disposal.
This is why he has picked a variety of players.
“There are quite a few fast bowlers. We have seven spinners, five of them are off spinners, two leggies — one is a chinaman bowler.
“Our batting has been lacking in the past few tournaments so we are also looking for the batsmen as well.