East Asia Pacific delegates impressed with PNG cricket

CRICKET PNG hosted the International Cricket Council (ICC) East Asia Pacific Conference last week in Port Moresby.
The conference, held at the Holiday Inn, attracted the chief executives, chairmen and ICC officials for three days of discussions on ways to grow the game in the region.
The delegates flew in from Indonesia, South Korea, Samoa, Cook Islands, Philippines, Vanuatu, Australia, New Zealand and the United Arab Emirates to join the hosts.
The conference was backed onto the EAP Regional Final at Amini Park, Port Moresby, where delegates witnessed some superb cricket by the Barramundis who took on Vanuatu and the Philippines in a tri-series.
The theme of the conference ‘Project 2 million’ was about growing the sport’s participation rates in the region to two million, a challenge all members accepted.
CPNG CEO Greg Campbell said: “PNG is number one in the EAP so we have a big part to play in reaching this target, getting more kids, women and men playing our game.”
Campbell went on to say the other pacific nations were looking to follow PNG’s lead and learn from their successes with intiatives like the BSP School Kricket programme which saw more than 100,000 participate annually throughout the country.
The delegates visited Hanuabada village as part of the programme and enjoyed joining in the activities with the community.
ICC global development manager Will Glenright said: “This is what it is all about, seeing all these kids with their big smiles enjoying cricket, participating as a community, growing the game does not have to be formal, it can be a social game, anywhere”