Cricket was introduced in Papua New Guinea (PNG) by missionaries from the London Missionaries Society in the early 1900s. Initially matches were not always played with strict rules, with teams fielding over fifty players a common occurrence.

The game became very popular among the Papuan coastal villages where these missionaries and early British explorers first landed. There is still conjecture where the first game of cricket was played, with Milne Bay, Oro and Hanuabada the three (3) most likely areas where the first cricket match was played on the shores of PNG.

The Australian Dictionary of Biography makes a case for Charles William Abel (1862-1930), missionary, who was born on 25 September 1862 in London, son of William Abel, a Congregationalist librarian. A fervent political liberal, Abel migrated when young to New Zealand as a farmworker and lived for a time among the Maoris, winning trust by helping them trade with Europeans. Deciding to become a missionary, he returned to England, entered Cheshunt College and in 1889 applied to the London Missionary Society for appointment to New Guinea.

He was ordained in 1890. Abel began work at Port Moresby on 23 October 1890 and in August 1891 he joined F. W. Walker, who had just moved the head station for the east end of New Guinea from Suau to Kwato Island in China Strait. Mainly because of hard physical labour by the two men, Kwato was reasonably habitable by late 1892 and some buildings had been erected. In 1892, he married Elizabeth Moxon (1869-1939) in Sydney, and when he returned to Kwato the Abels and Walker began their teaching programme which, besides elementary subjects and Bible study, included carpentry for boys, sewing and fine lacework for girls, and sport, especially cricket.

PNG became an Associate Member of the International Cricket Council (ICC) in 1973, before competing in ICC Trophy in 1979. Since that initial tournament, PNG has competed in a total of 33 ICC Sanctioned/Pacific Games competitions across a number of formats.

George Wolstenhome (1975-79) was the first ever Senior PNG Men’s (The Barramundis) Captain, while Assadollah Vala (2017-current) is the thirteenth and current captain.

Kune Amini (2006-09) was the first ever Senior PNG Women’s Captain (The Lewas), while Pauke Siaka (2014 and current) is the fifth and current captain.

The PNG Under 19 National Team (The Garamuts) have competed in seven (7) ICC Under 19 World Cups since 1998.

Cricket PNG (CPNG) the Governing Body of Cricket in PNG currently have over 80 staff across ten (10) regions across PNG of which a majority of them drive the entry-level participation program, BSP Schools Kriket Programme and the new Gold Nuggets School Kriket Trophy (School Hard-ball Competition). In 2013, the ICC Global Award Winning programme, the BSP School Kriket Programme reached a record of over 171,000 students across PNG. Since then, over 150,000 students have participated in the program over the next coupl of years.

CPNG launched the Kriket Blo Olgeta (KBO) Program in 2014 which is an all inclusive cricket program, opening up the game to people with all abilities, women, village, multi- cultural and traditional cricketers. This program aims to open up the game to all in the country.

At the elite level, CPNG have three (3) main national teams- The Barramundis (Men’s), the Lewas (Women’s) and the Garamuts (Under 19). The Barramundis are currently ranked 15th in the world, after gaining One Day International (ODI) in 2014. The Lewas are ranked 13th in the world, while the Garamuts have qualified for seven (7) ICC Under 19 World Cups.

Vavine Pala – Papua New Guinea

Papua New Guinea batsman Vavine Pala who featured in the inaugural International Cricket Council Trophy tournament for Associate member Countries, in England, June 1979.

The ICC Trophy matches were played on picturesque club grounds in the Midlands, but unfortunately the tournament was badly affected by poor weather.

The friendly spirit in which the tournament was contested was captured in the attacking style of Vavine Pala, who excelled in hitting sixes – and enjoying the English beer.

(Photo by Ken Kelly/Popperfoto via Getty Images/Getty Images).