Selection into national side depends on attitude: Ovia

By ROBINSON LEKA
SELECTIONS for the national men’s cricket team, Papua New Guinea Barramundis, will come down to who has the right attitude on and off the pitch, says assistant coach John Ovia.
He said the next two weeks of the Isuzu Barras Bash tournament would provide a final selection platform for the national team which will be competing in the Twenty-20 World Cup in October.
“Obviously, the final team will be made of players who have the skills and fitness, but we’re also looking at their conduct off the field,” he told The National.
“I think the main thing now is having the right mindset, how strong they are mentally because they will be going up against some of the best cricket teams in the world and they have to be prepared.”
Ovia said the team not being able to travel into Australia last month for competition was another example of building a tough mindset to re-adjust and focus on local tournaments.
“For us not being able to travel down to play in competition in Darwin was really disappointing not only to the players but the coaching team and our officials,” he said.
“But it’s beyond our control.
“Despite that, the 50-over tournament last month was a really good outing for the players where they managed to get some really good hits in the middle over longer periods.
“The spirits in the team is very high, they are all ready to get back on the field for the T20 matches.”