CRICKET: THE PNG Garamuts departed last Saturday for Japan to take part in the ICC Men’s Under 19 Cricket World Cup East Asia Pacific Division One Qualifiers. PNG will be competing against host nation, Japan and Fiji for a spot to qualify for the U19 Cup in Namibia and Zimbabwe in 2026. The Qualifiers is set to take place in Sano, Japan, from April 24-29. Coach Kila Pala said due to the weather lately they had quite a difficult time with preparations. “Preparations wise its quite hard because of the current weather that we’re facing at this stage. But we were fortunate enough to go down to Brisbane and through Pacific-Aus Sports support,” he said. “We had 10 days there and then came back to Moresby. “We’re also thankful to the High-Performance Centre for allowing us to use the indoor at this busy time.” Pala said they begin their campaign against host nation, Japan, on April 24 followed by a rest day, then play back-to-back and then rest and one last match. So, we play Japan, Fiji, Japan. And then, finish off with Fiji.” He said with the final 14 that have made the squad for the Japan Qualifiers with Gaba Frank as the captain and Dauncey Tom as vice-captain, the reserves and non-travelling reserves will doing extra training sessions with the Barramundis with assistant coach John Ovia. Pala said the Isuzu T20 Smash Tournament would have provided a great exposure for the players, but due to the rain it didn’t eventuate and had to be postponed. “The T20 smash would have been great to exposure, to work with the players on some of the areas that we needed to work on. We cannot control the weather and can only control what we can and that is getting up for training, and then going from there. Pala said its a big shoes to fill for Gaba Frank and Dauncey Tom as co-captains. “ But, a good opportunity to showcase their talents. What they have and how they will express coming or going over to Japan.” Pala said all they need is support from everyone back home and to keep them in prayers while they are in Japan representing the country.