Soper isolated from Barras

THE Papua New Guinea Barramundis have been starved of international cricket since qualifying for this year’s International Cricket Council (ICC) T20 World Cup which will be held in India.
The Covid-19 pandemic has wreaked havoc on the ICC scheduling over the past 13 months, with all events postponed since the Women’s World Cup in Australia in March last year.
With domestic cricket also affected by the pandemic and government protocols, all the Barramundis have had limited time in match situations apart from one.
Chad Soper, who made his debut for the Barramundis in 2015, is based in Australia on the Central Coast of New South Wales (NSW), isolated from his national teammates.
Soper, who has been a mainstay since his debut, spoke about his situation from his home earlier this month.
“It has been tough being away from the boys, we are in touch regularly and I’m involved obviously through the coaching and player groups now done online,” he said.
“We have constant contact with the coaching staff, programmes are continually sent through. It has been working well, all the boys have been working hard and maintaining their fitness.
“We report to each other after our sessions, so it keeps us all accountable.
“I’ve been blessed to have the opportunity to play a full cricket season in Sydney and able to put all my training into practice in the middle.
“I feel for the other boys, I know they would love to be playing.
“They are still upbeat though, morale is high, and we are all helping each other, we will be ready when we get to play again in the PNG Barras shirt.”
Soper had a strong season in NSW cricket, playing for Northern Districts who won the club championships with his first-grade team making the semi finals of both formats, and four other club sides winning their premierships.
Soper took 35 wickets for the season and performed well with the bat despite limited opportunities in lower the order with his team dominating a majority of games.
He was upbeat when questioned on the recent coaching change.
“I’m really looking forward to working with Carl (Sandri),”Soper said.
“I did my research and was excited, he has plenty of experience and having been a recent player will help as well.
“(Former coach) Joe Dawes was great, he brought the group up to his level of professionalism, improved my game.
“I’m sure Carl will be the same and bring new energy into the group.”
Soper has just completed a week off after a gruelling first-grade season and is now undergoing the Barramundis’ training programmes.
He is waiting to be reunited with his teammates and focused on achieving his World Cup dream, contributing to a successful campaign in India and doing PNG proud.