PNG in the big time cricket
Charles Amini laughs. It has not quite sunk in yet for the Papua New Guinea stalwart. He is the latest in a long line of family members to represent his unique homeland. But he is the fi rst to qualify for a World Cup. After coming out on top of their group at a fi endishly competitive qualifying tournament, he – alongside a remarkable group of team-mates – has made history. More than half of the squad were born and raised in the village of Hanuabada. Every member of the side lives in the capital, Port Moresby. It is where Amini Park can be found – the national ground, named after Charles’ family. His brother, father and grandfather all captained the national side. His mother and aunt have played for the women’s team. It must be an unprecedented tale. And while this moment does not represent the completion of a cycle – rather, the beginning of something greater – it is the realisation of a family’s dream.
“It was a very, very proud moment for our family,” Amini says. “They’ve been through so many qualifi ers but have never succeeded. For me to be the fi rst not only in the family, but in the whole country, is so unreal. I was just very happy to make them proud. “I think this can open up so many doors for a lot of players to get opportunities and just to show that you don’t have to be playing cricket overseas or be the best players in the world to do what we’ve done. “We just have belief – and with that, you can do anything. It’s really good for young kids and the next generation of cricketers. If this team can go to a World Cup, then maybe they can be the next team in 10 or 15 years to go to another one.” Joe Dawes, appointed head coach in February 2018, recalls one of his assistants jokingly complaining of a sore hand from the sheer number of locals desperate to high-fi ve one of their new heroes.
In a country where government funding is often directed towards rugby league, this achievement is a door-opener. The Australian government assisted their neighbours last year, funding 48 new artifi cial wickets across the country. “The publicity and the additional funds that we’ll get out of this – and hopefully the boost in sponsorship and government funds – will allow us to keep building the depth,” says Dawes. “We’ve got a really talented group of players, but our depth isn’t very great. That’s our big priority. Our goal is to build the depth to make sure this isn’t a one-off and that it’s a continued thing and we can keep making World Cups and achieving goals and dreams for these players.” Dawes has followed a number of fi ne names into his role with PNG: Jason Gillespie, Brad Hogg, Andy Bichel, Peter Anderson and Dipak Patel have all been involved at various points. “They are all part of this journey,” Amini adds. So, too, he says, is Geraint Jones, the former England wicketkeeper who spent the fi nal days of his international career representing the country of his birth.
“He was very good,” Amini states with an emotional chuckle. “We all loved him. He was a really cool, calm guy and he’d say the right things at the right time. “He was a great bloke and a good man to talk to. Just his presence around the team was unreal.”
This PNG side encapsulates a team effort. Assad Vala had the best economy rate of anyone to bowl more than 10 overs at the Qualifi er, Damien Ravu bowled the highest percentage of dot balls. Norman Vanua’s 54 as PNG recovered from 19 for 6 was one of the Qualifi er’s defi ning knocks. It is a squad doused in humility, part of the Associate game that Dawes, who previously worked with Australia Women and India, has come to adore. “The Associate world is very different,” he says. “It’s a hand-to-mouth sort of existence a lot of the time. The greatest part of this job is the fact that we really get to change lives. “We had one of my young staff , who we took to Dubai. He got on a plane for the fi rst time go from Port Moresby to Brisbane. Fourteen hours after that, he’s looking at the Burj Khalifa.
“Just watching his face as he’s seeing these buildings – in Port Moresby a fi vestorey building is big, these are the great parts of this job – getting to take people to places that they’d never even heard of.”
The pinnacle, however, will come this time next year, when PNG arrive at the T20 World Cup. “I hope the big dogs realise that we’re not a joke in the backwater, but we’re actually not a bad cricket team,” Dawes adds. Amini says: “We want to go and win some games. If you get that opportunity, you just have to make the most of it. We have been through it so many times – it’s so tough. You miss out on the World Cup by one game. To fi nally get over the line is just one of the best feelings in the world. “There are a lot of people from PNG that live in Australia. Just talking with my family, they’re already planning the trip next year. “We always tell everyone that if you want to play rugby league, you’re just going to travel to Australia or the Pacifi c Islands. If you play cricket, you can travel the whole world. That’s the difference.”
