Papua New Guinea eye return to the top
After a shock defeat at the 2015 East Asia-Pacific qualifying tournament for the ICC Under 19 Cricket World Cup, Papua New Guinea’s team are striving to get back to the global tournament they have participated in seven times.
Papua New Guinea’s Garamuts will head to the 2018 ICC Under 19 Cricket World Cup – East Asia-Pacific Qualifier 2017 in Samoa hoping to regain their mantle as the region’s dominant side.
The Garamuts bring a team with a mix of experience and freshness to the event next week and are hoping they can combine their skills to gain automatic qualification to the ICC Under 19 Cricket World Cup in New Zealand next year.
Coach Kila Pala says his team want to earn a place at the tournament in New Zealand.
“This next crop of under 19 players are very eager to try and go one better than the group before.”
“We will be playing in very similar conditions to what we are used to at home. The biggest challenge will be for the players spending time away from their families,” said Pala.
Despite that Pala is excited about his team’s potential.
“The players just want to go out there and showcase their talent to the world.”
“It is a special feeling when you get selected to represent your country. It is an honour in itself.”
“For most of the players growing up and seeing players go from the under 19 to our senior team the Barramundis it is something to work for. “
“It’s exciting they can see that happening. One day they might join them,” concluded Pala.
Pala is positive about the game’s development in Papua New Guinea.
He believes that “the pathway for these young players is there. There are more and more opportunities for young players to play top level cricket here in PNG. They are getting to play regularly with our Barramundi players.”
With just one player returning from the last qualifying tournament Pala is excited by his fresh team and added that Daniel Arua is one to watch with the ball.
“He is an exciting off-spin bowler who has been performing well in our men’s competition. We are looking forward to seeing how he goes at this level,”
Pala knows that “second isn’t an option for us. We want to play to the best of our ability and hopefully we can do that in Samoa. We want to go back to being the number one ranked team in the region.”
Papua New Guinea face Fiji on the opening day of the tournament in Samoa.
The tournament will begin on Tuesday August 8th and conclude on Wednesday August 16th. Live scores will be available through https://www.icc-cricket.com/u19-cwc-2018/eap/qualifier-2017.