Hosts eye Amini win, Kenyans after points

THE captains and coaches of the Hebou Papua New Guinea Barramundis and the Kenyan cricket team held a press conference yesterday in the lead up to the two 50-over matches for the third round of the International Cricket Council’s World Cricket League Championship tomorrow and Monday.
These matches will have special significance for cricket in PNG, as it will be the first time an ICC-sanctioned 50-over match will be played in the country.
Kenya will be the Barramundis’ first opponents on home soil, and have spent the past couple of weeks playing warm-up matches in Darwin to gain some form heading into the fixtures.
Kenyan head coach Thomas Odoyo commented on the team’s preparation.
“We acclimatised pretty well got some game time. It’s been raining quite heavily back at home, so we haven’t really played much cricket, so it was good to have a run outside,” Odoyo said.
“To us, it is a very important game; we have obviously dropped down the pecking order in terms of the ranking.
“We once had full ODI status, and were looking to get that back.”
Kenya captain Rakep Patel echoed his coaches sentiments: “For us back home, expectations are high and we know what is at stake.
“The players are going to play hard, looking at the points table, these games are crucial for us to move forward,” Patel said.
“We just have to do our basics right for us to get good results.”
With the weight of expectations on the shoulders of the Barramundis, captain Jack Vare said that the team were focused on the two games.
“I think the boys are handling everything well, just concentrating on the job at hand,” Vare said.
“This is our first ICC-sanctioned match at home and expectations are high. The boys and myself are not worried about that, we’re just concentrating on what we can do on the field come Saturday.”
Vare said that he was honoured to captain the Barramundis in their first matches at home.