By Matt Somerford
New Gloucestershire captain Geraint Jones will make a momentous return to the international stage tomorrow when he plays in Papua New Guinea’s first-ever one-day international.
The ‘Hebou Barramundis’ will meet Hong Kong in back-to-back matches over the next two days in Townsville, Australia, after both secured ODI status for first time earlier this year.
“It’s a big thing. I’m quite proud and looking forward to being involved in it,” Jones told ecb.co.uk.
“They’ve got some special kits made to mark the occasion and it is being streamed live on the ICC’s website.
“It is exciting times for two nations who have recently got their status, taking on each other in quite an historic moment for everyone.”
Only three years ago both countries were playing in Division Three of the World Cricket League – alongside the likes of the Caymen Islands, Uganda and Argentina.
The progress made by both since has been significant.
Both narrowly failed to reach the World Cup, during last January’s qualifiers in New Zealand, but earned the major reward of official ODI status and the funding associated with it.
Since then Papua New Guinea – who once plundered a record 572 for seven in a 50-over match against New Caledonia – have named a first-ever full-time professional squad of 16 players with former New Zealand spinner Dipak Patel leading them as coach.
“The emergence of the national team over the past four years, to move up the rankings and now to get full ODI status, has been very rewarding,” said Jones, who was born in the small mountain town of Kundiawa, 280 miles north of the capital Port Moresby.
“They are also now making big decisions to improve cricket in the country and it is definitely helping. They are doing all the right things.”
The international pedigree of Jones has been critical too with the 38-year-old being used as a middle-order batsman in their World Cup and World Twenty20 qualifiers.
While he does not captain the side, as he is set to at Gloucestershire next summer after signing a two-year deal last month, his experience of 34 Tests and 49 ODIs is invariably leaned upon.
“I’m not skipper, I’m just one of the troops – I go where I’m told,” he said.
“But I still have quite a bit of a leadership role from four or five in 50-over cricket, looking to steer the ship and set-up decent totals.
“I still see myself as having a leadership role in that group.”
Jones speaks passionately about the progress of cricket in his native country – the national team is made up almost exclusively of Papua New Guinean-born players – and is determined to help ensure that a game becomes entrenched as a major sport.
“This current squad that we’ve got have been together for quite a few years so they have developed quite a good understanding,” he said.
“For me the big challenge is to get the future years coming through with the same quality – so the under-17s and under-19s as well as school-age cricket.
“That’s the challenge that this just isn’t a one-off group that can compete on the international stage – that this is the first of a long line of PNG sides that can play international cricket.”
Jones sees plenty of reason to believe that can happen.
He has been impressed with decisions made by the governing body – already cricket is being played in schools across the country – but they face unique obstacles such as monsoonal weather, restrictive travel and competition with other sports such as rugby league.
“One small, but important, decision they have made was to move when the season is played,” he said.
“They used to play the Australia season from September to March but now they use the English playing months because it is drier conditions rather than the monsoons.
“The game is also played by huge numbers of kids – there is big participation in cricket in schools, they play the equivalent of Kwik Cricket.
“But where it is lacking a bit is age-group club cricket and provincial cricket moving up. At the moment the national side is selected from quite a small area compared to the whole population of Papua New Guinea.
“For me the challenge is to try and tap into the full resource of players country-wide. Geography is one thing that is up against them in terms of travel between the main cities and towns.
“The roads aren’t great and the internal travel by plane is expensive so that’s the challenge to broaden the area they can select players from.
“At the moment there is a good talent base, they’re naturally good athletes and that’s a big advantage.
“They do lean a bit on Twenty20 cricket more at this stage, so there is a challenge to promote 50-over cricket and three- and four-day cricket. That is an area that needs big improvement but they are working hard on that. “
For now Jones is looking forward to returning to play with his home country – in what will be his 50th ODI.
As he enters the winter of his long career – that at its height saw him in the thick of the nation-wide frenzy that followed the 2005 Ashes – he admits returning to the more sedate surrounds of Papua New Guinea cricket has offered a comforting, full-circle retrospection of all that he has done in his career.
“I just love playing for PNG – I find it very rewarding,” he said.
“The guys play cricket for the right reasons. They just love the game and they feel very lucky to travel the world doing it.
“It takes me right back to the start of everything. It is a real refresher course in the reasons why we play cricket and despite the fact that I got to the top level it still makes me think about the way I go about the game.”