Garamuts to name squad

By PATRICIA KEAMO
PAPUA New Guinea’s final 15-man squad will be named next week for the Jan 14-Feb 5 Under-19 Cricket World Cup in the West Indies, according to coach Rodney Maha.
He told The National yesterday that the final squad would undergo pre-travel quarantine on Dec 27.
“The final squad should be announced next week as soon as the selectors and the Cricket Papua New Guinea board approve the list,” Maha said.
“We are now two weeks away from going into quarantine.
“The players are excited and ready for the trip.
“Our passports are ready and we are arranging for visas as the trip may require multiple transits.
“We have no confirmation on flights yet as the International Cricket Council is still working on the best route for us to take.”
Maha said final squad would be doing two more polymerase chain reaction tests before undergoing quarantine at a hotel in Port Moresby.
“We will have two tests, one on Dec 24 and another on Dec 27 just before we undergo quarantine,” he said.
Meanwhile, Cricket PNG general manager Tony Naidu told The National earlier that any member of the squad would be ruled out of the tour if they tested positive. “We are trying to avoid a repetition of what happened to the Kumul Petroleum PNG Lewas (national women’s team),” Naidu said.
“Once they do the final test and go into quarantine, they will not be able to leave their rooms and no-one will be able to see them.”
Maha and his squad, known as the PNG Garamuts, are expected to leave on the first week of next month.