Cricket programme plotting win

The Girls’ Cricket Empowerment programme is aiming to back up last year’s win in the community sports initiative category of the SP Sports Awards on Saturday.
The programme was shortlisted alongside the Pink Nose/No School-No Surf and the Port Moresby Women’s Softball Community initiatives.
Set up in 2015, the programme targets secondary schools to increase female participation in cricket, and empower the students about social and health messages.
Programme coordinator Henao Samuel said the initiative provided a developmental pathway to the Papua New Guinea Lewas.
“Normally, we do a full-term programme where it runs from the second week to the eighth week of a term and then we select players to compete in a competition at Amini Park. The best girls from that competition go through to the talent identification programme run by coach Rodney Maha,” Samuel said.
Samuel said it would be satisfying to see some of the participants from the talent identification programme make it to the Lewas.
Four schools are targeted each term where the students and teachers are taught the basics of cricket.
“We coach these teachers and leave some equipment with the school, so they can carry on coaching the girls throughout the year,” Samuel said.