Garamuts set for travel

The National Sports

By PATRICIA KEAMO
THE national Under-19 men’s cricket squad will depart for the West Indies on Jan 1 for the Jan 14-Feb 15 World Cup after a three-day pre-travel quarantine.
Head coach Rodney Maha said the 15-man squad had trained well and were looking forward to the World Cup.
“Due to our flight changes, we will be going into isolation on Dec 29 (Wednesday) before we leave on New Year’s Day,” he The National last week.
“The boys have been training hard and have sacrificed a lot to be where they are now. Their families have provided great support from day one and are looking forward to the World Cup.
“The Garamuts will be led by Barnabas Maha as skipper and Boio Ray will be his vice-captain.
“The pair will also lead the batting department alongside Peter Karoho and Malcolm Aporo.
“Our pace attack will be led by quicks Junior Morea and Aue Oru while John Kariko, Patrick Nou and Boio Ray will lead our spin attack.
“We have a balanced team and all players are looking forward to the World Cup.
“We are in the same pool as Pakistan, Bangladesh and Zimbabwe.”
Asked if the Garamuts would be taking part in any warm-up matches, Maha said they were awaiting confirmation from the International Cricket Council.
“We are waiting for the council to confirm our training days and matches as the Coronavirus will dictate what we do,” he said.
“At the moment, we will be moving out of the hotel only to play or train, so looks like our movement will be restricted until the council says otherwise.
“We have ceased training so the players can spend time with their families, but with strict instructions to stay away from big groups or crowds for their safety.
“We will have a test at Pacific International Hospital (which is our naming rights sponsor) and then go straight into isolation on Dec 29.
“Initially, we had 18 players in the squad, but three have missed out on the final selection, but are still training as non-travelling reserves.
“On the last day, the 15-man players will be tested.
“If any of them tests positive, they will be replaced by any of the three reserves. Only the captain has experience travelling abroad, but the others are first-timers, so this will be a new experience for them.”