Sport: PNG Government signals funding boost for cricket

Transcript

Cricket in Papua New Guinea is set for a funding boost after the government committed to offering financial support.

The national team, the Barramundi's, has achieved major international success in recent years and there are calls for politicians to recognise its achievements.

Vinnie Wylie reports:

Last month the Barramundi's went within one game of reaching the Twenty20 World Cup, at a qualifying tournament in Dubai. Despite falling short they still recorded milestone victories over World Cup regulars Ireland and the Netherlands, and were on track to beat Afghanistan before rain intervened. PNG then responded to that disappointment by winning last week's South Australian Premier League Twenty20 title, beating top Australian State teams equipped with high profile internationals. The Barramundi's coach Peter Anderson says the government should support cricket the way it has done for other sports such as rugby league.

PETER ANDERSON: I just hope it gets realised back there - I know the sponsors will be absolutely rapped. I just hope people in higher places in goverment realised that it's about time they started putting some money into cricket.  We're the most professionally run and we're the most successful PNG international team ever, so hopefully we get mileage out of this.  I know everyone in Australia is talking about it.  A lot of people rung me and even internationally with Barry Richards and a lot of players are very happy how we're progressing so just needs to be a bit more support back home.

Papua New Guinea's Sports Minister Justin Tkatchenko says rugby league was in dire straits when the government was forced to intervene whereas cricket in PNG has benefited from a well run organisation. He says earlier this year the government acquired land to help Cricket PNG meet international requirements for a minimum of three top-level playing fields. But the Minister says it is time the government stepped up their commitment.

JUSTIN TKATCHENKO: The government will sit down with the board and management of PNG Cricket and work out a way how we can move forward with them and support them in as many ways as possible so that they are taken to the next level and have enough funding.  So I look forward to that meeting with PNG Cricket - they've already approached me - and we look forward to a new year of an exciting cricket season for Papua New Guinea.

The General Manager of Cricket PNG, Greg Campbell, says it's been a hectic year and will only get busier in 2014, starting next month with the 50 over World Cup qualifiers in New Zealand.

GREG CAMPBELL: It's probably a bigger event than the T20 Qualifier because that's where our rankings come in with the ICC.  This is where we've really got to play well - we've got to adjust from the T20 to the 50 over and finish as high in them rankings as we can because that's when we could be playing Ireland in 2015, we could be playing in Namibia, we could be playing anywhere if we finish high up the rankings and that's where our finance comes from.  Then of course we follow on ten days later the Under 19s in Dubai for the World Cup, which will be their seventh in a row.

Justin Tkatchenko says he expects talks with Cricket PNG to take place early in the new year.