Indoor cricket set for restart

Sports

Welcome to another week and an article that shows we’re getting closer to the end of the tunnel.
This weekend sees the resumption of indoor cricket. They are into the finals which is exciting and brings us closer to the resumption of outdoor cricket for the year. This should restart before the end of the month with clubs able to resume training this week.
Cricket Papua New Guinea (CPNG) held some trials for players outside Port Moresby over the weekend.
We had 22 players from Kila Kila, Keapara, Pari, Tubusereia and Porebada villages come into the nets here at Cricket Haus and try out for the upcoming Curtain Bros CPNG Smash and Isuzu National Cup.
It was great to see the talent on display with the CPNG selectors chairman David Bishop and talent manager Rodney Maha pleased with what they saw.
Six players have been selected from the trials and will be added to the academy training squad where they will look to impress our coaches and play in those tournaments.
For me, it was another opportunity to see some past Under-19 players and some exciting young talent which reinforces my belief that there are plenty of talented cricketers out there just looking for an opportunity to show what they have.
This week, the men’s and women’s national squads train together for the first time since March. Both groups are excited and will allow us to get stuck into preparations for the year.
The Lewas’ Women’s World Cup qualifier has been moved to November in the United Arab Emirates which is exciting as that is the venue that the Barramundis (men) qualified for their first World Cup so hopefully history will repeat itself.
Our women have a young squad and have been working hard with the upcoming Women’s T20 Smash, providing opportunities for players from outside the squad to showcase their skills and push for selection for this tournament and a contract next year.
I believe the programme is a game changer for women who want to play the sport and participate in some amazing experiences along the way.
The Barramundis are still waiting for the decision on their World Cup but whatever happens, they will be as prepared as they can be and ready to do their country proud.
The players have three new words — know, trust and commit — to focus their preparation on as we turn our attention away from the gym and into the nets.
We have asked them to know their role in the team, trust that role and commit to it 100 per cent.
We have also asked them to know their team-mates, the team plan and themselves as well as trusting and committing to those things.
I think it is a simple and effective way of focussing our preparation. The most successful teams in the world use simple methods to focus on their preparations.
Sadly, Covid-19 is starting to appear in PNG but we are taking all the necessary steps here at CPNG to protect our players and staff.
We have implemented the guidelines requested by the PNG Sports Foundation and we have also put all of our high performance staff through a online coronavirus-safe coaching course to ensure we are up to date with the best and latest ideas and practices in Australia.
Stay safe and look forward to talking next week.

Cheers,
Joe