Papua New Guinea national cricket team

Infobox non test cricket team
country_name = Papua New Guinea

---

image_caption = Flag of Papua New Guinea
icc_member_year = 1973
icc_status = Associate member
icc_region = East Asia/Pacific
current_captain = Rarua Dikana
WCL_division = Three
regional_tournament = World Cricket League EAP region
regional_tournament_division = n/a
first_match = 30 March 1972 v Australia at Amini Park, Port Moresby
icc_trophy_apps = 8
icc_trophy_first = 1979
icc_trophy_best = 3rd place, 1982
la_matches = 7
la_win_loss_record = 2/5
asofdate = 5 July 2008

The Papua New Guinea national cricket team is the team that represents the country of Papua New Guinea in international cricket matches. They have been an associate member of the International Cricket Council (ICC) since 1973, [http://www.cricketarchive.co.uk/Archive/Countries/77.html Papua New Guinea] at CricketArchive] having made their international debut the previous year.Encyclopedia of World Cricket by Roy Morgan, Sportsbooks Publishing, 2007]

They are one of the strongest teams in the ICC's East Asia/Pacific region, having won the gold medal in the South Pacific Games cricket tournament on all five occasions it has taken place. [http://www.cricketeurope4.net/CRICKETEUROPE/DATABASE/2007/TOURNAMENTS/SOUTHPACIFIC/about.shtml 2007 South Pacific Games cricket tournament] at CricketEurope] They have also played in every ICC Trophy tournament. [ [http://www.cricketarchive.co.uk/Archive/Records/PapuaNewGuinea/Icct/Icct_List.html List of Papua New Guinea ICC Trophy matches] at CricketArchive] They currently hold the world record for the highest score in an international one-day match, 572/7 against New Caledonia in 2007. [http://www.cricketeurope4.net/DATABASE/ARTICLES/articles/000056/005620.shtml Papua New Guinea run riot] by Andrew Nixon, 1 September 2007 at CricketEurope]

History

Beginnings

Cricket was introduced to the Territory of Papua by missionaries in the 1890s, and the local population soon took up the game. Matches were not always played to strict rules, with teams of more than fifty players a common occurrence. Cricket did not arrive in the Territory of New Guinea until Australia took over the administration of the territory under a United Nations mandate.

Cricket in rural areas tended to be played mostly by the indigenous population, whilst in urban areas such as Port Moresby the game was played mostly by the British and Australian expatriate population, and a competition for clubs in the city was started in 1937. A team of nine expatriate and two indigenous players played in Papua New Guinea's first international, against Australia in 1972. [ [http://www.cricketarchive.co.uk/Archive/Seasons/PNG/1971-72_PNG_Australia_XI_in_Papua_New_Guinea_1971-72.html Australia XI in Papua New Guinea 1971/72] at CricketArchive]

ICC membership

Papua New Guinea became an associate member of the ICC in 1973, shortly before the country gained independence in 1975. The West Indies cricket team visited the country that year, beating the national side by four wickets. [ [http://www.cricketarchive.co.uk/Archive/Scorecards/140/140062.html Scorecard] of Papua New Guinea v West Indies, 23 October 1975 at CricketArchive] The team for that match contained six indigenous players, and from this point on, indigenous players began to dominate the national team.

They played in the first ICC Trophy in 1979, though they failed to progress beyond the first round. [http://www.cricketarchive.co.uk/Archive/Seasons/ENG/1979_ENG_ICC_Trophy_1979.html 1979 ICC Trophy] at CricketArchive] They won the gold medal at the first South Pacific Games cricket tournament later in the year and have won the gold medal every time since. After a tour of Australia in 1981, [ [http://www.cricketarchive.co.uk/Archive/Seasons/AUS/1980-81_AUS_Papua_New_Guinea_in_Australia_1980-81.html Papua New Guinea in Australia 1980/81] at CricketArchive] Papua New Guinea had their best international performance in the 1982 ICC Trophy where they finished third after beating Bangladesh in a play-off. [http://www.cricketarchive.co.uk/Archive/Scorecards/42/42589.html Scorecard] of Bangladesh v Papua New Guinea, 9 July 1982 at CricketArchive]

Papua New Guinea again failed to progress beyond the first round at the 1986 ICC Trophy, [http://www.cricketarchive.co.uk/Archive/Seasons/ENG/1986_ENG_ICC_Trophy_1986.html 1986 ICC Trophy] at CricketArchive] though they did record the highest total in the tournament's history in their match against Gibraltar. [http://www.cricketarchive.co.uk/Archive/Records/Icct/Overall/Highest_Team_Totals.html Team totals of 300 and more in an innings in the ICC Trophy] at CricketArchive] They bounced back to win the gold medal at the South Pacific Games in New Caledonia the following year. They reached the second round of the 1990 ICC Trophy in the Netherlands [http://www.cricketarchive.co.uk/Archive/Seasons/NL/1990_NL_Unibind_ICC_Trophy_1990.html 1990 ICC Trophy] at CricketArchive] and the gold medal when they hosted the South Pacific Games in 1991.

They reached the plate final of the 1994 ICC Trophy, but did not play the match as they had already booked a flight home, not expecting to qualify. [http://www.cricketarchive.co.uk/Archive/Scorecards/58/58641.html Scorecard] of Denmark v Namibia, 1 March 1994 at CricketArchive] This has been an occasional problem for Papua New Guinea, as flights to and from the country are infrequent. They also left the 1998 ACC Trophy in Nepal early after losing their first two games, forfeiting their match against the Maldives as otherwise they would have had to have waited more than a week for the next flight. This has also meant they have rarely played overseas outside of official tournaments, the only exceptions being a visit to Fiji in 1977, a tour of Hong Kong in the early 1980s and the aforementioned tour of Australia.

Modern era

Another international outlet for Papua New Guinea team opened up in 1996 when they participated in the first ACC Trophy in Kuala Lumpur. They reached the semi-final, where they lost to Bangladesh. [http://www.cricketarchive.co.uk/Archive/Scorecards/102/102651.html Scorecard] of Bangladesh v Papua New Guinea, 13 September 1996 at CricketArchive] They played in the tournament again in 1998, but left the tournament early. They have not played in the tournament since due to the establishment of the ICC's East Asia/Pacific development region. In-between the two ACC Trophy tournaments, Papua New Guinea finished 13th in the 1997 ICC Trophy. [http://www.cricketarchive.co.uk/Archive/Scorecards/63/63785.html Scorecard] of Papua New Guinea v Singapore, 5 April 1997 at CricketArchive] They failed to progress beyond the first round of the 2001 tournament in Ontario. [http://www.cricketarchive.co.uk/Archive/Seasons/CAN/2001_CAN_ICC_Trophy_2001.html 2001 ICC Trophy] at CricketArchive] They finished third in the 2001 Pacifica Cup [http://www.cricketarchive.co.uk/Archive/Scorecards/71/71601.html Scorecard] of Papua New Guinea v Tonga, 8 February 2001 at CricketArchive] and won the same event in 2002, beating Tonga in the final. [http://www.cricketarchive.co.uk/Archive/Scorecards/74/74743.html Scorecard] of Papua New Guinea v Tonga, 5 June 2002 at CricketArchive]

They again won the gold medal at cricket tournament of the 2003 South Pacific Games, [http://www.sportingpulse.com/comp_info.cgi?a=ROUND&compID=18028&c=2-1976-0-0-0 2003 South Pacific Games cricket tournament official website] ] and in 2005 played in the repêchage tournament of the 2005 ICC Trophy. They won the tournament after beating regional rivals Fiji in the final. [ [http://www.cricketarchive.co.uk/Archive/Scorecards/102/102370.html Scorecard] of Fiji v Papua New Guinea, 27 February 2005 at CricketArchive] This qualified them for the 2005 ICC Trophy, where they finished 11th. [http://www.cricketarchive.co.uk/Archive/Scorecards/82/82975.html Scorecard] of Papua New Guinea v Uganda, 11 July 2005 at CricketArchive] In 2007, Papua New Guinea played in Division Three of the World Cricket League in Darwin where they finished third. [http://www.cricketarchive.co.uk/Archive/Scorecards/122/122318.html Scorecard] of Cayman Islands v Papua New Guinea, 2 June 2007 at CricketArchive] They most recently played in the cricket tournament of the 2007 South Pacific Games, where they again won the gold medal.

Tournament history

ICC Trophy

*1979: First round
*1982: 3rd place
*1986: First round
*1990: Second round
*1994: Reached plate final but did not take part
*1997: 13th place
*2001: First round
*2005: 11th place

ICC World Cricket League

*2007: 3rd place (Division Three

Pacifica Cup

*2001: 3rd place
*2002: Winners

outh Pacific Games

*1979: Gold medal
*1987: Gold medal
*1991: Gold medal
*2003: Gold medal
*2007: Gold medal

ACC Trophy

*1996: Semi final
*1998: First round
*2000 onwards: Not taken part as now part of the East Asia/Pacific region

The future

In late January 2009, Papua New Guinea will travel to Buenos Aires to take part in Division Three of the World Cricket League where they will play Argentina, the Cayman Islands, Uganda and the top two teams from Division Four in 2008. A top two finish in this tournament will qualify them for the 2009 ICC World Cup Qualifier in the United Arab Emirates later in 2009, from which they can qualify for the 2011 World Cup. [ [http://www.cricketeurope4.net/CRICKETEUROPE/DATABASE/TOURNAMENTS/GLOBAL/WCL/structure0609.pdf World Cricket League Structure 2006-2009] ]

Records

ICC Trophy

*Highest team total: 455/9 v Gibraltar, 18 June 1986 (Tournament record)
*Highest individual score: 162 by B Harry v Israel, 20 June 1986 [ [http://www.cricketarchive.co.uk/Archive/Records/PapuaNewGuinea/Icct/Highest_Player_Scores_PapuaNewGuinea.html Individual scores of 100 and more in an innings for Papua New Guinea in the ICC Trophy] at CricketArchive]
*Best innings bowling: 5/12 by W Maha v Gibraltar, 18 June 1986 [ [http://www.cricketarchive.co.uk/Archive/Records/PapuaNewGuinea/Icct/Best_Innings_Bowling_PapuaNewGuinea.html Five or more wickets in an innings for Papua New Guinea in the ICC Trophy] at CricketArchive]

Overall

*Highest team total: 572/7 v New Caledonia, 31 August 2007 (World record)
*Highest individual score: 162 by B Harry v Israel, 20 June 1986
*Best innings bowling: 8/27 by Mea Steven v New Hebrides, 1979

Players

Current squad

The following players played for Papua New Guinea at their last tournament, the 2007 South Pacific Games: [ [http://www.cricketarchive.co.uk/Archive/Events/SAM/South_Pacific_Games_2007/Papua_New_Guinea_Batting.html PNG players for South Pacific Games] at CricketArchive]

*Kapena Arua
*Peter Arua
*Mahuru Dai
*Rarua Dikana
*Mahuta Kivung
*Api Leka
*Jacob Mado
*Vani Morea
*Loa Nou
*John Ovia
*Kila Pala
*Piki Ravusiro
*Arua Uda
*Asad Vala

Other players

In addition to those listed above, the following Papua New Guinea players have played List A cricket:

*Chris Amini [ [http://www.cricketarchive.co.uk/Archive/Players/53/53657/53657.html Chris Amini] at CricketArchive]
*Hitolo Areni [ [http://www.cricketarchive.co.uk/Archive/Players/84/84696/84696.html Hitolo Areni] at CricketArchive]
*Inoa Baeau [ [http://www.cricketarchive.co.uk/Archive/Players/83/83869/83869.html Inoa Baeau] at CricketArchive]
*Jamie Brazier [ [http://www.cricketarchive.co.uk/Archive/Players/36/36108/36108.html Jamie Brazier] at CricketArchive]
*Toka Gaudi [ [http://www.cricketarchive.co.uk/Archive/Players/5/5454/5454.html Toka Gaudi] at CricketArchive]
*Gima Keimolo [ [http://www.cricketarchive.co.uk/Archive/Players/36/36111/36111.html Gima Keimolo] at CricketArchive]
*Peter Moide [ [http://www.cricketarchive.co.uk/Archive/Players/84/84687/84687.html Peter Moide] at CricketArchive]
*Ipi Morea [ [http://www.cricketarchive.co.uk/Archive/Players/5/5462/5462.html Ipi Morea] at CricketArchive]
*Kauna Vagi [ [http://www.cricketarchive.co.uk/Archive/Players/84/84686/84686.html Kauna Vagi] at CricketArchive]

In addition, Geraint Jones, who has played Test cricket for England, was born in Papua New Guinea. [ [http://www.cricketarchive.co.uk/Archive/Players/34/34355/34355.html Geraint Jones] at CricketArchive]

ee also

*Papua New Guinea national women's cricket team

References