Pauke set to play lead

 By ISAAC LIRI 

GROWING up in an environment where cricket is played right outside her doorstep, 28-year-old Pauke Siaka says she is geared up to lead the Papua New Guinea Lewas in their first-ever Pacific Games. 

Siaka started playing cricket when she was 18-years-old after being inspired by her family members — especially John Ovia, who is the Under-19 Garamuts coach.

The all-rounder first played for the Lewas in 2008 when she travelled to South Africa for the Twenty-20 Women’s World Cup qualifier.  

Siaka recalls that time as an experience she would never forget because for her, playing overseas opened her eyes to see cricket in a different way.

“When I was a teenager, I never thought I was good enough to play overseas and get good results,” Siaka said.

“After being selected in the national squad, I realised that anything was possible if I committed myself to training.”  

After the 2008 experience, the mother-of-one has been an ever-present member of the Lewas and has developed her skills to be considered one of the top female cricketers in the country and in the East Asia-Pacific region.

She captained the Lewas to the East Asia-Pacific title last year, where they beat champions Japan on their home turf. The Coasters player in the Port Moresby Cricket Association is part of the Lewas 25-member train-on squad that will be reduced to 14 in April. 

She views the Pacific Games as an opportunity for women to really show what they are capable of in the sport, and in doing that, they would be able to open doors for more funding for women’s cricket in the country and the region as well. 

The Hanuabada native commended the work Cricket PNG had done to develop women’s cricket.

“We’ve done a lot of training and I know we’ll be ready to go out there and win gold at the Pacific Games,” Siaka said.

“I think it is not going to be hard if we have no doubts — I believe in myself and I know my other teammates believe in themselves too. We can do it,” she said with confidence. 

Siaka is the cousin of Barramundis star batsman Lega Siaka, and said being in a family that loved the sport made it easy for her to pursue her goals.

Siaka said she was planning on stepping back from representative cricket when she reached 30 but was hoping to add a Pacific Games gold medal to her list of achievements.   

“I think women’s cricket has the potential to grow and because we are successful, I think more girls will be interested in playing cricket.”