Cricket PNG temporarily down-scales operations

By ROBINSON LEKA
CRICKET Papua New Guinea (CPNG) has temporarily downscaled its operations following the start of the month-long national isolation strategy, which started this week.
CPNG general manager Lee McDowell told The National yesterday that the move followed the National Pandemic Response Controller David Manning’s new measures on sports and public gatherings.
“In regards to the isolation period, CPNG is very proactive with our own Covid-19 protocols and, of course, follows any Government or Health Department directives,” he said.
“We implemented a temporary reduction in staff numbers at Cricket Haus (and) from Thursday, we will be moving to a skeleton crew prior to the start of the isolation period this week.
“Our players are continuing to train individually, focusing on strength and conditioning.
“They will move to small group sessions for skills when allowed.
“We had to delay our planned start in April for our national T20 and one-day tournament that will likely be moved now to mid-May.
“We will always honour our duty of care to our players and staff first and foremost.”
Meanwhile, McDowell said there would be an announcement later this week regarding the coaching positions for the national teams.
“We have had some movement in our coaching ranks and an announcement will be made later this week,” he said.
“There is a process to follow and once all is in place and signed off, we can announce these changes.
“We can assure everyone that there is a smooth transition in place and that all parties are working together and are committed to the continued success of our national teams.”