da dobrowin： India versus Papua New Guinea appears to be a huge mismatch, but for the underdogs it’s a big opportunity to learn from the experience of playing against the best
da prosport bet： George Binoy in Kuala Lumpur16-Feb-2008
Nobody expects Papua New Guinea to beat India, but it’s an excellent opportunity for the underdogs to test themselves against the one of the top teams © Cricinfo
The first day of matches in the Under-19 World Cup appear to be, on paperat least, a series of mismatches: Australia play Namibia in Penang,Malaysia face defending champions Pakistan in Johor, while England take onneighbours Ireland in Kuala Lumpur. The biggest mismatch, though, could beat the Kinrara Oval where India, who are expected to progress towards thefinal rounds, play the qualifiers from the East Asia Pacific region, PapuaNew Guinea.The difference between the two teams, and countries, couldn’t be starker.India are entertaining thoughts of a sizeable victory, keeping an eye onthe net run-rate in a group which includes South Africa and West Indies;Papua New Guinea have lost each of their 18 matches in their four previousappearances in this tournament. Millions of children play cricket in Indiawhereas only a few thousand play the game in Papua New Guinea, primarilybecause the facilities are minimal and the equipment too expensive.The Papua New Guineans realise that hardly anybody is giving them a chanceof upsetting India and the reality is that, apart from coping with theopposition, several of their cricketers will be facing additionalproblems, which are inconceivable for established teams like India.The majority of the Papua New Guinea team have never played on a turfwicket, because there isn’t a single turf facility in their country.Arua Dikana, Colin Amini, Lua Nou, Willie Gavera and Tony Ura and the onlyones who’ve had some experience on turf and that was because they went toAustralia as part of an East Asia Pacific squad. They don’t have anyacademies in Port Moresby, the capital city and the main cricketingcentre, either.Vic Williams, who is an employee of Queensland Cricket and has beenassociated with developing the sport in Papua New Guinea for the last twoyears, believes that turf wickets will pose the greatest challenge. “Thereare no turf wicket facilities in Port Moresby,” Williams said. “They playon concrete wickets with mats rolled out on the top.”The Papua New Guinea players appeared to be extremely fit and athleticduring their practice session at the Kinrara Oval. They had a high-energycatching session and were enthusiastically cheering each other on at thenets. Williams said that the players were at their best when they were”laughing and having fun”, but a huge problem area was sustaining theconcentration levels and intensity for the duration of the 100 overs.”They don’t get tested for 50 overs in the club cricket that they play.The boys can play good cricket but in short patches. So they need tostring those patches together and play good cricket over a long period oftime.”Unlike India, who won both their warm-up matches against New Zealand andEngland, Papua New Guinea lost theirs to Ireland and Malaysia because oftheir inability to sustain their performance through the course of thematch.”Our first 16 overs in the field against Malaysia were exceptional,”Williams said. “They were sliding, there were assists with flick throws,and two people were chasing every ball. But when we got to the drinksbreak, they fell apart and it went back to club stuff.”It’s about mental concentration and the ability to keep that [intensityand concentration] going over a long period of time. It’s a big learningcurve, to learn how to put together three sessions in the field and then three sessions with the bat. We should have won againstIreland. We were about 30-40 runs short with the bat because we lost ourlast six wickets for 12. Ireland got there with eight wickets down.”The problems with the Papua New Guinea batting are as simple as playingstraight when the ball is directed at the stumps. “They’re like the West Indianswhen they bat: they like to hit the ball and are a bit cavalier in theirapproach,” Williams said. “Against Malaysia, the biggest downfall was theshot selection. About six guys were out playing across the line. It’s apatience thing because they can get away with that in club cricket.””They’re like the West Indianswhen they bat: they like to hit the ball and are a bit cavalier in theirapproach”Undoubtedly the problems are due to the lack of facilities at home. Onconcrete strips the bounce is true, so the players can hit across the line. They also get used to playing lofted shots simply because the grass on the outfields at Amini Park is often left uncut, which means batsmen don’t get value forwell-timed shots along the ground.A big positive, though, is Papua New Guinea’s bowling attack. In WillieGavera, Loa Nou and Jacob Mado, a left-arm bowler, they have threestrapping fast bowlers who hit the pitch hard at a sharp pace. ColinAmini, their captain, bowls offspin and has a doosra in his armoury.”For them it’s about learning how to wins games,” Williams said. “They’vegot self belief but they have to get across the line.” The odds of PapuaNew Guinea getting there against India might be negligible, but if they canbegin strongly and sustain themselves for the majority of the game, theymight just catch one off the tournament favourites by surprise.
