Garamuts’ Kariko following father’s footsteps

NATIONAL Under-19 men’s cricket team all-rounder John Kariko says he has come to love the sport, thanks to his father who is a former Papua New Guinea Barramundi.
“At around 10 years old, my favourite sport was volleyball,” he said.
“I hated playing cricket.
“My father would always encourage me to play cricket, but I never listened.
“When I reached 13, I started playing cricket in the Hanuabada competition.
“I really liked cricket from then on.’
By 15, Kariko had joined a local cricket club and things just evolved from there.
Now 17 and competing in the U19 Cricket World Cup in the West Indies, he said the game had taught him a lot of things.
“I learnt a lot of things through cricket beyond like batting and fielding techniques, like respecting the coaches and our parents,” Kariko said.
“Training has been good.
“I still need to work on my running and batting skills, as we’ve only had a few months of training.
“But I’m very excited to be playing in the World Cup and a bit nervous about travelling.”
The Hanuabada villager said he wanted to learn as much as he could from the other countries in the World Cup.
“I like retired Australian cricketer Mitchell Johnson,” Kariko said.
“He bowls a lot of trick balls and I’ve never seen a bowler bowl like that before.”
Prior to Saturday’s opener against Zimbabwe, he had a few words of encouragement for his teammates.
“I want to encourage them to think big,” Kariko said.
“I’d like to remind my teammates that we’re doing this for our country.”