PNG U19s waiting for test results

By PATRICIA KEAMO
THE national Under-19 men’s cricket squad are awaiting their Coronavirus (Covid-19) test results before being cleared to train for their first warm-up match against United Arab Emirates on Tuesday, says an official.
Head coach Rodney Maha told The National yesterday that upon arriving in the West Indies on Monday for the Under-19 World Cup, they had been placed under strict quarantine at Marriott Hotel in St Kitts.
“After we get our test results (today), we should be training in small groups for the next two days ahead of our matches,” he said.
“The weather here is similar to the weather back home so the squad should be able to adapt without any issues.
“Our biggest challenge right now is aligning our body clocks with the time of St Kitts (15 hours behind PNG time).
“Some players are still getting used to staying awake when it’s day time here, but the next couple of days should be good.
“It was definitely challenging, given our long flight here.
“But the team are really enjoying every moment and are looking forward to their first practice match.”
Maha said due to Covid-19, all teams had been told to follow strict restrictions.
“We were tested for Covid-19 the day after we arrived (Tuesday),” he said.
“And then on Wednesday, we were tested again. We were supposed to be informed of our test results today (yesterday) before being released to train.
“But there is a big group of players, officials and security (from other teams too), so we will find out tomorrow (today).
“Once we are cleared then we will train in small groups. The players are looking forward to the two warm-up matches before our World Cup fixtures.” Fixtures: Tues, Jan 11 — PNG v United Arab Emirates (PNG time); Thurs, Jan 13 — PNG v England (warm-up matches); Sun, Jan 16 — PNG v Pakistan; Wed, Jan 19 – PNG v Afghanistan; Fri, Jan 21 — PNG v Zimbabwe.