Cricket re-signs Patel

CRICKET Papua New Guinea has announced the renewal of Hebou PNG Barramundis head coach Dipak Patel’s contract for another year.
The announcement was made by CPNG chief executive officer Greg Campbell
“Cricket PNG is fortunate to have Patel on board with us as head coach.
“He is our longest-serving coach and has done a tremendous job in shaping our cricket players into professional athletes,” Campbell said.
The former New Zealand cricketer made his decision to renew his contract for another year with Cricket PNG last week.
“As a coach, I still have unfinished business, especially with the Hebou Barramundis, following our disappointment in missing out on the World T20 in India, however qualifying for a World Cup would be on the list  and I’ve been very impressed with the huge progress made,” Patel said.
Armed with a coaching style described as “democratic”, Patel started his tenure as PNG cricket’s head coach in 2014 with the task of shaping emerging amateur players into fully-fledged professional athletes.
“I believe in sharing responsibilities with the whole group and empowering the players and coaches,” Patel said.
“The expectations at all times at training and practices are to become the best in the world as individuals and as a team.”
Following an impressive home victory against Kenya in PNG’s first International Cricket Council (ICC) sanctioned match in May, Patel has more expectations in his long-term vision for cricket in PNG,
“There are a number of areas that the Barramundis have excelled in, the players are a lot more professional on and off the field and we’ve increased our winning ratio consistently in all forms of the game, which has been my main objective.
“The Barras’ individual records are always improving, particularly in the I-Cup (Four-day Internationals),” Cricket PNG is an associate member of the International ICC and is currently the number one ranked country in the East-Asia Pacific region and 15th in the world.