The PNG Barramundis have arrived in West Indies for the ICC T20 World Cup Tournament.

· PNG BARRAMUNDIS ARRIVE IN THE WEST INDIES FOR THE ICC T20 WORLD CUP TOURNAMENT

· FIRST WEEK OF TRAINING SESSIONS AND PRACTICE SESSIONS COMMENCE

· SPECIALIST COACH PHIL SIMMONS BRINGS WEALTH OF EXPERIENCE TO THE TEAM

The PNG Barramundis have arrived in the West Indies for the ICC T20 World Cup Tournament.

Following the exhausting four-day travel, the team have now settled into St Kitts where they will be based for the initial round of training sessions and practice matches. The first practice match was played against Canada over the weekend with additional practice matches scheduled throughout the week as the team acclimatize. Conditions in the Caribbean are extremely hot and humid with a rain squall causing a small delay in the first match.

Included in the support team to this ICC T20 World Cup tournament, the PNG Barramundis have the invaluable expertise of specialist Coach, Phil Simmons, former West Indies cricketer and Trinidadian allrounder with an impressive forty plus years of cricketing experience. It is for this very reason that Simmons holds this role with our Barramundis now back on his home territory where he had played as a youngster for the West Indies, now returning as a specialist coach.

The towering sportsman’s impeccable career has included domestic representation with county teams like Border and Easterns, in South Africa, and Durham, Leicestershire and Wales Minor county clubs in England and Wales, along with his home country of Trinidad and Tobago and of course the West Indies Cricket team. Simmons has coached the national teams of Zimbabwe, India, West Indies and more recently Afghanistan.

Specialist Coach, Phil Simmons, now based in London, said, “My role here is as a consultant coach and how I put across my experience, not just playing in world cups but playing in the Caribbean and the things that we should be looking at to make sure we do it right in the Caribbean and especially the venues that we play at.

“As a player internationally, for fourteen years and then as an international coach for eighteen years it’s been a long time in the game. It’s always brilliant to come home, always brilliant to come back to any part of the West Indies you know how beautiful it is here. I’m looking forward to getting home, home which is Trinidad. Having people come here, me getting back here, its always a great thing, it’s always something to look forward to.”

Commenting on the PNG Barramundis and their arriving and going straight into their training, Simmons added, “Their energy is unbelievable! Their warm ups alone yesterday, got me tired. The guys look like they have settled in really well. Yesterday in training we started to get out in the middle of their game so they started on some of the things they have to do here in the Caribbean and its nice to see the energy that’s among this squad. I’ve known the head coach (Tatenda Taibu) for a long time and he’s always energetic, there is always a lot of energy but the players seem to be pushing him where that is not so and I like that atmosphere in the team, I like the liveliness in the team.”

20/05/24-Ends

Further Information: Hennah Joku hjoku@cricketpng.org or WhatsApp +675 7389 4781