Papua New Guinea Cricket Team Guide
Nicknamed as the Barramundis, the Papua New Guinea cricket team is governed by the Cricket PNG Association. This East Pacific nation is an associate member of the ICC and has previously held ODI status.
History of Papua New Guinea Cricket Team
The late 1800s saw the game of cricket introduced to the former Papua territory by missionaries. The Cricket PNG governing body was founded in 1972, and in the same year, they played their first match against the Australia cricket team. A year after this, the Papua New Guinea cricket team gained ICC associate status and played their first ICC Trophy in 1979.
The Papua New Guinea cricket team have yet to qualify for an ICC ODI World Cup; however, by going through multiple qualification rounds, the nation managed to qualify for their first ICC T20 World Cup in 2021.
Where Does The Papua New Guinea Cricket Team Play?
The Papua New Guinea cricket team have played a wide number of their games at Aminin Park, which was first created back in 1956. It didn’t actually get its name until 1983 and saw its first List A cricket match in 2016 when the home nation played against the Kenya cricket team.
Former Captains Of The Papua New Guinea Cricket Team
Assad Vala has been one of the main captains of the Papua New Guinea cricket team since making his debut back in 2005, leading his nation out in over 60 ODI and T20I matches.
Top Run Scorers In Papua New Guinea Cricket Team History
Making his debut in 2005, Assad Vala can be considered one of the most prolific batters for the Papua New Guinea cricket team, being the first player to surpass 2,000 runs. He is one of the first players, alongside Tony Pala Ura, Charles Amini and Lega Siaka, to hit a century for his country.
Top Wicket Takers In Papua New Guinea Cricket Team History
Chad Soper and his Right arm Medium fast bowling style was the first to take 70 wickets for the Papua New Guinea cricket team. In his career for the national team, he managed to record a number of multi-wicket games.
Memorable Games For The Papua New Guinea Cricket Team
March 2018 saw two significant games in the history of the Papua New Guinea cricket team, facing off against the Ireland cricket team and West Indies cricket team. Although they lost both of these matches, these were the first instances of Papua New Guinea facing off against full ICC members, showcasing the rise this nation has had in the cricketing world.
Back in 2014, the Papua New Guinea cricket team narrowly missed out on qualifying for the 2015 ICC Cricket World Cup. However, by getting to the final round, this awarded the Papua New Guinea cricket team with ODI status for the first time in its history. Due to this, they also gained T20I status.
The team decided to play their first ODI match against the Hong Kong national cricket team in November 2014, in which they fielded first. Assad Vala managed to take 2 wickets from 17 balls as Hong Kong finished on 202 runs from just over 48 overs. The Papua New Guinea cricket team responded strongly upon stepping up to the crease, with Charles Amini making 61 runs not out. Papua New Guinea won the match by 4 wickets in just 40 overs, an assertive first ODI performance.
Rivals Of The Papua New Guinea Cricket Team
Despite their dramatic rise in the cricketing world, the Papua New Guinea cricket team doesn’t have any specific rivalries. They have, however, had a number of highly competitive matches against other nations, such as the Scotland cricket team and the USA cricket team.
