For Papua New Guinea, the end of this road but the start of a journey

NICK FRIEND: For PNG, there is a determination to be back again, a pledge that this is to be the start of something rather than a once-in-a-lifetime moment, an awareness that there must be more to come beyond this history-making generation

Before the Under-19 World Cup in 2018, Greg Campbell laid out his vision for the future of Papua New Guinea as a cricketing nation.

“We think long-term future, so we have high hopes that six to seven of these young boys in the next one or two years could be Barramundi players,” said Campbell, the former Australia bowler turned Cricket PNG chief executive. “We rate them quite highly, but we understand the task at hand.”

Over the last five days, they have always fought through to the end and impressed at times. Without that character, they might just now hold the lowest score in the history of this competition – they were 29 for 7 at one stage against Bangladesh, before Kiplin Doriga countered, as Norman Vanua had done against Scotland.

This was Papua New Guinea’s first time as part of a men’s World Cup; they were handed the honour of opening the tournament against co-hosts Oman, backed by a phenomenal public goodwill.

But those words of ambition from Campbell – and the weight given to bringing through the next Barramundis (they first appeared in the Under-19 World Cup in 1998, though didn’t qualify for the 2020 edition) – are more significant than messages of respect and support. There is a determination to be back again, a keenness to hold more than the ‘plucky underdog’ status generally afforded to associate nations on the few occasions that an ICC global tournament format allows and encourages their participation, a pledge that this is to be the start of something rather than a once-in-a-lifetime moment, an awareness that there can be so much more to come beyond this history-making generation. No nation should feel like they are guests at someone else’s party.

“I hope that somehow the big dogs realise that we’re not a joke in the backwater, but we’re actually not a bad cricket team,” Joe Dawes told The Cricketer upon their qualification. He was Papua New Guinea’s coach at the time but quit earlier this year.

^{Assad Vala reached fifty against Oman in the tournament opener}

For some, there won’t be many more opportunities: captain Assad Vala is 34 now and has been through it all – he was 18 when Papua New Guinea’s under-19 side finished fourth in the Africa/East Asia-Pacific Under-19 Championship of 2005, beating Zambia, Kenya and Nigeria along the way. His half century against Oman was, in one sense, beautifully poignant and, in another, evidence of a talent that has been waiting for this stage for so long.

Indeed, as was similarly the case for Namibia, who recorded their first World Cup win yesterday after beginning their qualification process in Botswana, it isn’t all as glamorous as it looks. To reach this point, Papua New Guinea overcame Vanuatu, Samoa, Fiji and the Philippines before even reaching the central qualifier.

Charles Amini leaves this competition without a major score, but his reputation enhanced nonetheless; not many in this first group stage have looked nearly as stylish or skilful with the bat, even fewer have fielded so well. He will have a place in the catch-of-the-tournament stakes, having channelled his inner Ravindra Jadeja in throwing himself forward from long on to dismiss Shakib Al Hasan.

Amini was doing all this shortly after the passing of his mother who, like his brother, father and grandad, was a former captain of the national team. The main ground in Port Moresby is named in the family’s honour. Needless to say, he has done the name no harm.

Kabua Morea’s pedigree, too, dates back to age-group cricket: he dismissed both Sanju Samson and Imam-ul-Haq at the Under-19 World Cup in 2014 and, at the end of Bangladesh’s innings, was this competition’s joint-leading wicket-taker.

Between November 2, 2019, and September 6, 2021, Papua New Guinea didn’t play a single game. That’s not an excuse for three consecutive losses on the big stage but rather a reality of wearing their shoes.

^{Kabua Morea took six wickets in three games}

Some on social media bemoaned the absence of Zimbabwe, banned from international cricket at the time of the global qualifier, suggesting that they might have provided closer games than World Cup debutants on the back of a 674-day gap ahead of their pinnacle. Maybe they would have done, but that is far beside the point. For a start, that’s not how it works, and Papua New Guinea finished second in qualifying, so it should have been fourth-placed Oman, where any misdirected ire was thrown – not that they were at fault either.

More than that, however, this was Papua New Guinea’s first-ever T20I against a full-member nation: they faced Ireland and Afghanistan in five between 2015 and 2016 before either were afforded that status. They excelled where any team of limited resources should excel, out-fielding everyone they came up against. But it is little wonder if they struggled against the all-round qualities of Shakib Al Hasan, who made 46 and took four wickets.

Afterwards, though, Vala made no excuses. He was frustrated that Bangladesh broke free in the final overs of their innings, he bemoaned the execution of their skills and he reflected on their top-order struggles through the powerplay.

“We need to be at our best next time if we get the opportunity,” he said, channelling Campbell’s conviction. Papua New Guinea have had their first taste of it, and they will come again.

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