Cricket raises the bar

CRICKET had a challenging but rewarding year in 2016, with Papua New Guinea performing above its weight, according to chief executive officer Greg Campbell.
The former Australia Test and One Day International representative said the country’s teams, especially its senior men’s (Barramundis) and women’s (Lewas) senior sides had a productive past 12 months and the future was bright as Cricket PNG (CPNG) to looked to improve on its performances internationally as well as shoring up growth across the country and in the junior programme.
“This year was a challenging but very rewarding at the same time for CPNG both domestically and internationally. I would like to thank the CPNG board and the staff, for a magnificent effort in 2016 and for their willingness to endeavour in maintaining and achieving a high degree of work,” Campbell said.
The national teams, Hebou PNG Barramundis and the City Pharmacy PNG Lewas, had successful campaigns in 2016.
The Barramundis started the year with a hard-fought defeat in the Intercontinental Cup (ICUP) and T20 international series to Ireland, before defeating Kenya at home in the ICC World Cricket League Championships (WCLC).
Then they travelled to Australia to compete in the South Australian Cricket Association (SACA) Premier League where they finished a respectable third place on 34 points with four wins, three draws and a single loss.
Then they continued on their winning ways, beating Namibia in the ICUP and WCLC matches at home, to propel them into top place in the WCLC and fourth place in the ICUP after four rounds.
Unfortunately the Barramundis finished the year with a 2-1 defeat in a one-day international (ODI) series in Hong Kong.
“The Barramundis went from strength to strength this year and they have a wonderful opportunity to finish in the top four of both the ICUP and WCLC next year,” Campbell said.
“Credit must go to the high performance department, led by Rarua Dikana and coach Dipak Patel, coaches and the players for their hard work and professionalism this year.
“Already, the Barramundis have a busy 2017 schedule, with matches against Australian state teams, Scotland, Hong Kong, Scotland, UAE and possibly English county teams and International 2nd XI Teams planned,” the 52-year-old said.
The Lewas also had a successful year, winning the ICC East Asia-Pacific (EAP) Women’s Trophy in Samoa without losing a single match.
This victory meant that they qualified for the ICC Women’s World Cup Qualifier in Sri Lanka in February. Then they finished the year with a tour to Adelaide in preparation for Sri Lanka.
“The Lewas improved outstandingly in 2016, with a larger pool of female players vying for selection in the national team from all parts of PNG.
“There is a great opportunity for the girls to show their skills against some of the best women cricketers in Sri Lanka next year, but also qualify for an ICC World Cup for the first time. Rodney Maha (coach) and Cathryn Fitzpatrick (consultant coach) must be given a lot of credit to grooming these women into international cricketers.”
For the first time, CPNG hosted official ICC ICUP and WCLC matches at Amini Park, with plans in place to host ICUP, WCLC and ODI matches in 2017 at Amini Park.
One of the success stories of CPNG in the past have been the grassroots programmes which include the ICC award winning development programme – BSP School Kriket programme.
The BSP School Kriket programme reached a record 188,407 participants across 252 schools and 110 clinics across 11 regions across the country this year. This mark beat the previous record of 171,500 which was reached in 2013 across 297 schools.
The Gold Nuggets School Kriket trophy and Kriket Blo Olgeta (KBO) also promoted the game to the wider community of PNG.