U19 players adjusting to 50-over format, says coach

By PATRICIA KEAMO
PAPUA New Guinea Under-19 cricket head coach Jack Vare-Kevere says selection trials for the Garamuts is going well with the players adapting to play 50-over matches in preparation for the ICC U19 World Cup East Asia Pacific qualifiers.
Kevere said the team played 30-over matches during the first weekend but yesterday changed the format to ensure they played for a longer period to get them familiarised with the 50-over format.
“My focus is to get them playing more 50-over matches because our qualifiers in June, we will be playing 50-over so giving them game time in this format is important,” Kevere told The National yesterday.
“They have been playing 10-15 overs competition and it’s not ideal for them to go and play 50-over.
“We need these kids to train accordingly in 50-over matches so have a test and an idea of how a 50-over match is like.”
Kevere said they had about seven matches scheduled across their five-week long trials but the players had already shown great progress.
Yesterday’s trial saw the first group bat for the whole 50-overs reaching a target of 194 which Kevere described as impressive.
“We didn’t have much preparation time in last year’s qualifiers in Darwin, we only trained for about three months before competing so the results was different then with that group,” he said of the preparations.
“But for this group, we have ample time to prepare having started in January and with the qualifiers in June, I have two more months to tighten preparations.”
He was confident with the group of players as they showed real progress in just two weeks of trial.
“The first inning today (yesterday) they batted 50-overs and scored 194 (runs), that’s a massive take for me. Just imagine the amount of 50-over that they will play and I’m confident that gradually they’ll improve,” said Kevere.
“At the end of these five weeks’ trials, we will name the best 18-man squad, 14 players with non-travelling reserves.”