Cricket hoping to lure top nation

By ISAAC LIRI
AFTER successfully hosting Kenya in the ICC World Cricket League Championship in May and Namibia in the Inter-continental Cup (four dayer) match and two World Cricket League Championship matches this month, Cricket Papua New Guinea believes it is possible to host a top notch test playing nation in a One Day International match.
Cricket PNG general manager Greg Campbell said on radio over the weekend in Port Moresby that playing a top Test-playing nation like Australia was something his organisation were working to towards.
“That will happen I will sort of guarantee that,” Campbell said.
“There are slow talks with Cricket Australia but then we have to get our grounds up and going, and they (Australia) will look at coming to play the Hebou Barramundis,”  the former Australian Test and limited overs bowler said.
Campbell referred to the middle of the year when the Barramundis played three state sides (warm-up matches) as a successful indicator of Cricket PNG’s road to hosting a top Test playing country, which followed up with talks with Cricket Australia to give PNG a fixture in the near future.
Barramundis top performers in captain Assad Vala, Sese Bau, Dogodo Bau and bowlers Norman Vanua and Willie Gavera points to the success of CPNG’s programmes.
With that set as an objective for Cricket PNG to accomplish, the Tasmanian mentioned a possible pathway for that to become a possibility and mentioned PNG’s aim in participating in cricket leagues in Australia  next year and 2018
“We are also looking at getting into their leagues and I’m pretty sure in a two year period we can get our facilities up and going and see big name cricketers at the Amini Park running around with our Hebou Barramundis.
“That’s our goal and aim and wouldn’t that be great to see, but we better put our infrastructures and structures in place before that can happen,” he said.
With the issue of infrastructure standing out as a bridge in making future events possible, Campbell admitted that Cricket PNG had litterally and figurately lost ground in this area which had resulted in Port Moresby Cricket matches being hosted in venues outside of the city.
“We have lost some grounds and we are an international game and it’s a concern for cricket, but Cricket Australia is a close ally now and we working very closely with the International Cricket Council.
“There is a little ground we’ve obtained at Amini Park behind the softball area and we will turn that into a turf oval once Fifa World Cup is over.
“We will take control of that ground so we’ll have Amini and that ground for the future.
“We’re also talking with other people around Port Moresby to acquire some land to put up turf ovals for the future,” he said.
Campbell said the issue of acquiring land for venues was a major issue with all sporting federations in the country and cricket was working with the Sports Ministry and the PNG Sports Foundation to ensure they have land for their competitions and their junior and women’s programmes in the future.