Garamuts name squad

By PATRICIA KEAMO|
CRICKET Papua New Guinea yesterday announced a final 15-man squad for next month’s Under-19 Cricket World Cup in the West Indies.
The Rodney Maha-coached squad will be going into pre-travel quarantine next Wednesday after their final Coronavirus (Covid-19) polymerase chain reaction (PCR) test.
With the World Cup scheduled for bat-off on Jan 14, the Garamuts are expected to travel in the first week of next month.
The final squad are Barnabas Maha, Boio Ray, Sigo Kelly, Malcolm Aporo, Toua Boe, Ryan Ani, Aue Oru, Ketenalaki Singi, Christopher Kilapat, Junior Morea, Peter Karoho, Patrick Nou, Rasan Kevau, Karoho Kevau and John Kariko.
Barnabas Maha was appointed captain while three other players — Vele Kariko, Gata Mika and Api Ila — were placed as non-travelling reserves.
The squad has two more routine PCR tests – one scheduled for tomorrow and another on Monday – before they go into a “bubble”.
Meanwhile, the International Cricket Council had announced the fixtures last month with PNG placed in Group C with Pakistan, Afghanistan and Zimbabwe.
The Garamuts will play their first World Cup match against Pakistan on Jan 15 followed by Afghanistan and Zimbabwe on Jan 18 and 20 respectively.
Following the group matches, the top-two teams in each group will play Super League fixtures to qualify for the finals playoff scheduled for Feb 1.
The bottom-two teams in the four groups will be vying for spots in the Plate finals.
According to the council, there will be 16 warm-up matches prior to the main fixtures that will be played between Jan 9-12.
Given the Covid-19 protocols around post-travel quarantine, the Garamuts are likely to travel in the New Year.
Head coach Rodney Maha told The National last week that they were awaiting confirmation from the International Cricket Council on their travel route to the West Indies.