 | ||||||||||
| Nickname | Barramundis | |||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Association | Cricket PNG | |||||||||
| Personnel | ||||||||||
| Captain | Assad Vala | |||||||||
| Coach | Tatenda Taibu | |||||||||
| International Cricket Council | ||||||||||
| ICC status | Associate Member (1973) | |||||||||
| ICC region | East Asia-Pacific | |||||||||
| ||||||||||
| One Day Internationals | ||||||||||
| First ODI | v. Hong Kong atTony Ireland Stadium,Townsville; 8 November 2014 | |||||||||
| Last ODI | v. Canada atUnited Ground,Windhoek; 5 April 2023 | |||||||||
| ||||||||||
| World Cup Qualifier appearances | 10 (first in1979) | |||||||||
| Best result | 3rd (1982) | |||||||||
| T20 Internationals | ||||||||||
| First T20I | v. Ireland atStormont,Belfast; 15 July 2015 | |||||||||
| Last T20I | v. Oman atOman Cricket Academy Ground Turf 1,Al Amarat; 10 October 2025 | |||||||||
| ||||||||||
| T20 World Cup appearances | 2 (first in2021) | |||||||||
| Best result | First round (2021,2024) | |||||||||
| T20 World Cup Qualifier appearances | 5[a] (first in2012) | |||||||||
| Best result | Champions (2023) | |||||||||
| ||||||||||
| As of 10 October 2025 | ||||||||||
ThePapua New Guinea men's national cricket team, nicknamed theBarramundis, is the team that represents the country ofPapua New Guinea ininternational cricket. The team is organised byCricket PNG, which has been an associate member of theInternational Cricket Council (ICC) since 1973.[6][7] Papua New Guinea first gainedOne-Day International (ODI) status by finishing fourth in the2014 World Cup Qualifier.[8] Papua New Guinea lost both their ODI and T20I status in March 2018 after losing a playoff match againstNepal during the2018 Cricket World Cup Qualifier, a result that earned ODI and T20I status for their opponents. On 26 April 2019, Papua New Guinea defeatedOman to secure a top-four finish in the2019 ICC World Cricket League Division Two and reclaim theirODI status.[9]
Papua New Guinea again lost the ODI status in 2023 after a 117-run defeat againstUSA.
In April 2018, the ICC decided to grant fullTwenty20 International (T20I) status to all its Members. Therefore, allTwenty20 matches played between Papua New Guinea and otherICC members since 1 January 2019 have the full T20I status.[10]
Cricket was introduced to theTerritory of Papua by missionaries in the 1890s, and the local population soon took up the game. Matches were not always played to strict rules, with teams of more than fifty players a common occurrence. Cricket did not arrive in theTerritory of New Guinea until Australia took over the administration of the territory under a United Nations mandate.[7]
Cricket in rural areas tended to be played mostly by the indigenous population, whilst in urban areas such asPort Moresby the game was played mostly by the British and Australianexpatriate population, and a competition for clubs in the city was started in 1937. A team of nine expatriate and two indigenous players played in Papua New Guinea's first international, against Australia[7] in 1972.[11]
Since its beginnings cricket was picked up naturally in theMotuan areas ofPapua New Guinea, most recognisably the village ofHanuabada. Hanuabada village is located on the outer suburbs of Port Moresby, here cricket is played everyday from small children to their national stars, every afternoon the streets are flooded with boys playing cricket, this was also where the Liklik Kricket Competition was started in PNG. It may be for these reasons more than half of the PNG national cricket team is from Hanuabada village.
Papua New Guinea became an associate member of the ICC in 1973,[12] shortly before the country gained independence in 1975.[7] TheWest Indies cricket team visited the country that year, beating the national side by four wickets.[13] The team for that match contained six indigenous players, and from this point on, indigenous players began to dominate the national team.[7]
They played in the firstICC Trophy in 1979, though they failed to progress beyond the first round.[14] They won the gold medal at the first South Pacific Games cricket tournament later in the year and have won the gold medal every time since.[7][15] After a tour of Australia in 1981,[16] Papua New Guinea had their best international performance in the1982 ICC Trophy where they finished third after beatingBangladesh in a play-off.[17]
Papua New Guinea again failed to progress beyond the first round at the1986 ICC Trophy,[18] though they did record the highest total in the tournament's history in their match againstGibraltar.[19] They bounced back to win the gold medal at the South Pacific Games inNew Caledonia the following year.[7] They reached the second round of the1990 ICC Trophy in theNetherlands[20] and the gold medal when they hosted the South Pacific Games in 1991.[7]
They reached the plate final of the1994 ICC Trophy, but did not play the match as they had already booked a flight home, not expecting to qualify.[21] This has been an occasional problem for Papua New Guinea, as flights to and from the country are infrequent. They also left the 1998ACC Trophy in Nepal early after losing their first two games, forfeiting their match against theMaldives as otherwise they would have had to have waited more than a week for the next flight. This has also meant they have rarely played overseas outside of official tournaments, the only exceptions being a visit toFiji in 1977, a tour of Hong Kong in the early 1980s and the aforementioned tour of Australia.[7]
Another international outlet for Papua New Guinea team opened up in 1996 when they participated in the firstACC Trophy inKuala Lumpur. They reached the semi-final, where they lost to Bangladesh.[22] They played in the tournament again in 1998, but left the tournament early. They have not played in the tournament since due to the establishment of the ICC's East Asia/Pacific development region.[7] Between the two ACC Trophy tournaments, Papua New Guinea finished 13th in the1997 ICC Trophy.[23] They failed to progress beyond the first round of the2001 tournament in Ontario.[24] They finished third in the 2001Pacifica Cup[25] and won the same event in 2002, beatingTonga in the final.[26]
They again won the gold medal atcricket tournament of the2003 South Pacific Games,[27] and in 2005 played in therepêchage tournament of the2005 ICC Trophy. They won the tournament, beating regional rivalsFiji in the final.[28] This qualified them for the2005 ICC Trophy, where they finished 11th.[29] In 2007, Papua New Guinea played inDivision Three of theWorld Cricket League inDarwin where they finished third.[30] They played in thecricket tournament of the2007 South Pacific Games, where they again won the gold medal.[15]
In late January 2009, Papua New Guinea travelled toBuenos Aires to take part inDivision Three of the World Cricket League where they playedArgentina, theCayman Islands,Uganda and the top two teams fromDivision Four in 2008. A top-two finish in this tournament would have qualified them for the2009 ICC World Cup Qualifier in South Africa later in 2009, from which they could have qualified for the2011 World Cup.[31] Papua New Guinea narrowly missed qualification, ending up in third place behind Afghanistan and Uganda.
It was third time lucky for Papua New Guinea when they contested Division Three of the World Cricket League in January 2011. Winning their first 4 matches of the tournament, they had assured themselves a top-two finish, before losing the final round robin match and then the final, both against Hong Kong.
In April 2011, Papua New Guinea took part inDivision Two of theWorld Cricket League, held in theUnited Arab Emirates and came third, thus qualifying for the2014 Cricket World Cup Qualifier in New Zealand.
In February 2013, Papua New Guinea travelled to Auckland, New Zealand, for theEAP Championship and went through the group stages unbeaten before defeating Vanuatu in the final.[32] As a result, they participated in the2013 ICC World Twenty20 Qualifier in theUAE in October.
Papua New Guinea finished 4th in thefinal qualifying tournament for the2015 ICC Cricket World Cup, inNew Zealand in 2014. While missing out on qualification for the World Cup, their final position allowed them to gainOne Day International (ODI) status for the first time.[33] By having ODI status, theInternational Cricket Council (ICC) also granted Papua New GuineaTwenty20 International (T20I) status.[34]
The team played their first ODI match in a two-match seriesagainst Hong Kong in Australia in November 2014.[35]
8 November 2014 Scorecard |
v | ||
Papua New Guinea won by 4 wickets Tony Ireland Stadium,Townsville Umpires:Phil Jones (NZ) andPaul Wilson (Aus) |
They won the first by 4 wickets, the second by 3 wickets. As on date (November-2016), they are the only country that has won its first two ODIs.[36]
Papua New Guinea's first scheduled T20I match was against Hong Kong on 13 July 2015 at the2015 ICC World Twenty20 Qualifier. However the match was abandoned without a ball bowled due to rain, with no toss taking place.[37] They played their first full match two days later, against Ireland, beating them by 2 wickets.[38] With their victory against Nepal on 17 July, they became the first team to qualify for the play-off section of the tournament.[39]
In April 2018, the ICC decided to grant fullTwenty20 International (T20I) status to all its members. Therefore, allTwenty20 matches played between Papua New Guinea and otherICC members since 1 January 2019 have the full T20I status.[40]
Papua New Guinea crashed out early from the race of qualification for the2016 ICC World Twenty20 slated to be held in India. They finished eighth during the ICC World Twenty20 Qualifier in Ireland and Scotland.
In September 2017, then team coachJason Gillespie suggested that Papua New Guinea should be added to theAustralian domestic limited-overs cricket tournament.[41][42]
Papua New Guinea qualified for2021 ICC Men's T20 World Cup to be held in India.
On the 30th of March 2021, it was announced thatCarl Sandri was to be the new national coach and high performance manager for all three national squads and will oversee the high performance department and the development of talent in PNG.[43]
Papua New Guinea won the2022–23 ICC Men's T20 World Cup East Asia-Pacific Qualifier, defeating theJapan national cricket team in the final. Subsequently, Papua New Guinea qualified for the2024 ICC Men's T20 World Cup that was co-hosted by the United States and the West Indies. They were drawn in group C, along with Uganda, New Zealand, Afghanistan and West Indies. They crashed out after losing every game, ending the tournament with a net run rate of -1.268.
Papua New Guinea Cricket Board is the officialgoverning body of the sport ofcricket inPapua New Guinea. Its current headquarters is inPort Moresby,Papua New Guinea. Papua New Guinea Cricket Board is Papua New Guinea's representative at theInternational Cricket Council and is an associate member and has been a member of that body since 1973. It is also a member of theEast Asia-Pacific Cricket Council.
Amini Park is acricket ground inPort Moresby,Papua New Guinea.[44][45] The ground -- named after the Amini family, several of whose members have played cricket for Papua New Guinea[46] -- has seen the men's team playAustralia, theWest Indies andVictoria.
The women's team playedJapan in a three match series at the ground in September 2006.[47]
This lists all the players who have played for Papua New Guinea in the past 12 months or has been part of the latest ODI or T20I squad. Updated as of 5 April 2023.
| Name | Age | Batting style | Bowling style | Forms | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Batters | |||||
| Sese Bau | 33 | Left-handed | Right-armmedium | ODI & T20I | |
| Tony Ura | 36 | Right-handed | ODI & T20I | ||
| Lega Siaka | 32 | Right-handed | Right-armleg break | ODI & T20I | |
| Hiri Hiri | 30 | Right-handed | Right-armoff break | ODI | |
| Gaudi Toka | 31 | Left-handed | Right-armmedium | ODI | |
| All-rounders | |||||
| Assad Vala | 38 | Right-handed | Right-armoff break | ODI & T20I | Captain |
| Norman Vanua | 31 | Right-handed | Right-armmedium | ODI & T20I | |
| Charles Amini | 33 | Left-handed | Right-armleg break | ODI & T20I | Vice-captain |
| Chad Soper | 34 | Right-handed | Right-armmedium | ODI & T20I | |
| Simon Atai | 26 | Left-handed | Slow left-arm orthodox | T20I | Also wicket-keeper |
| Wicket-keepers | |||||
| Kiplin Doriga | 30 | Right-handed | ODI | ||
| Hila Vare | 24 | Left-handed | T20I | ||
| Spin Bowler | |||||
| John Kariko | 21 | Left-handed | Slow left-arm orthodox | ODI | |
| Pace Bowlers | |||||
| Riley Hekure | 30 | Right-handed | Right-armmedium | ODI & T20I | |
| Semo Kamea | 24 | Left-handed | Left-armfast | ODI & T20I | |
| Kabua Morea | 32 | Right-handed | Left-armmedium | ODI & T20I | |
| Alei Nao | 31 | Right-handed | Right-armmedium | ODI & T20I | |
| Damien Ravu | 31 | Right-handed | Right-armmedium | T20I | |
| Position | Name |
|---|---|
| Team manager | |
| Head coach | Tatenda Taibu |
| Batting coach | Mahuru Dai |
| Bowling coach | Willie Gavera |
| Fielding coach | Vani Morea |
| Physiotherapist | Loa Nou |
| Strength and conditioning coach | John Reva |
| Analyst | Jack Vare |
| Specialist coach / Consultant | Phil Simmons |
Api Leka
Martin GleesonAndy BichelRarua Dikana (interim)Brad HoggPeter AndersonRarua Dikana (interim)
Dipak PatelJason Gillespie (interim)Joe Dawes
Carl SandriMark Coles (interim)Nathan Reardon
Tatenda Taibu| World Cup record | |||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Year | Round | Position | GP | W | L | T | NR |
 1975 | did not participate | ||||||
| 1979 | did not qualify | ||||||
| 1983 | |||||||
  1987 | |||||||
| 1992 | |||||||
 1996 | |||||||
| 1999 | |||||||
 2003 | |||||||
 2007 | |||||||
 2011 | Not eligible | ||||||
| 2015 | did not qualify | ||||||
| 2019 | |||||||
| 2023 | |||||||
| Total | 0 Titles | 0/10 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| ICC T20 World Cup | |||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Year | Round | Position | GP | W | L | T | NR |
| 2007 | did not qualify | ||||||
| 2009 | |||||||
| 2010 | |||||||
| 2012 | |||||||
| 2014 | |||||||
| 2016 | |||||||
 2021 | First round | 16/16 | 3 | 0 | 3 | 0 | -2.655 |
| 2022 | did not qualify | ||||||
 2024 | First round | 19/20 | 4 | 0 | 4 | 0 | -1.268 |
| Total | 0 Titles | 2/9 | 7 | 0 | 7 | 0 | 0 |
| ICC Twenty20 World Cup Qualifiers records | ||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Host/Year | Round | Position | GP | W | L | T | NR | |
 2008 | Did not qualify | |||||||
| 2010 | ||||||||
| 2012 | [48]DNQ | 8/16 | 9 | 4 | 5 | 0 | 0 | |
| 2013 | [49]DNQ | 8/16 | 10 | 5 | 4 | 0 | 1 | |
 2015 | [50]DNQ | 8/14 | 7 | 3 | 3 | 0 | 1 | |
| 2019 | [51]Qualified to the 2021 T20 World Cup | 2/14 | 8 | 6 | 2 | 0 | 0 | |
| 2022 | [52]DNQ | 3/8 | 5 | 1 | 4 | 0 | 0 | |
| Total | 5/7 | 0 Title | 39 | 19 | 18 | 0 | 2 | |
| ICC Twenty20 World Cup East Asia Pacific Qualifiers records | ||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Year | Round | Position | GP | W | L | T | NR | |
| 2023 | Qualified to the 2024 T20 World Cup | 1/4 | 6 | 6 | 0 | 0 | 0 | |
| Total | 1/1 | 1 Title | 6 | 6 | 0 | 0 | 0 | |
| ICC Twenty20 World Cup Asia–EAP Regional Final records | ||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Year | Round | Position | GP | W | L | T | NR | |
| 2025 | DNQ | 2 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 0 | ||
| Total | 1/1 | 0 Title | 2 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 0 | |
International match summary – Papua New Guinea[59][60]
| Playing record | ||||||
| Format | M | W | L | T | NR | Inaugural match |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| One-Day Internationals | 66 | 14 | 51 | 1 | 0 | 8 November 2014 |
| Twenty20 Internationals | 68 | 36 | 31 | 0 | 1 | 15 July 2015 |
Last updated 10 October 2025
Most ODI runs for Papua New Guinea[64]
| Most ODI wickets for Papua New Guinea[65]
|
ODI record versus other nations[59]
| Opponent | M | W | L | T | NR | First match | First win |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| v. Full Members | |||||||
| Ireland | 1 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 6 March 2018 | |
| West Indies | 1 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 8 March 2018 | |
| v. Associate Members | |||||||
| Canada | 1 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 5 April 2023 | |
| Hong Kong | 8 | 4 | 4 | 0 | 0 | 8 November 2014 | 8 November 2014 |
 Jersey | 1 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 1 April 2023 | |
 Namibia | 7 | 0 | 7 | 0 | 0 | 22 September 2019 | |
 Nepal | 10 | 2 | 8 | 0 | 0 | 7 September 2021 | 25 March 2022 |
| Oman | 6 | 0 | 6 | 0 | 0 | 14 August 2019 | |
| Scotland | 10 | 1 | 9 | 0 | 0 | 6 October 2017 | 8 October 2017 |
| United Arab Emirates | 11 | 5 | 6 | 0 | 0 | 31 March 2017 | 2 April 2017 |
| United States | 10 | 2 | 7 | 1 | 0 | 27 April 2019 | 27 April 2019 |
Records complete to ODI #4567. Last updated 5 April 2023.
Most T20I runs for Papua New Guinea[69]
| Most T20I wickets for Papua New Guinea[70]
|
T20I record versus other nations[60]
| Opposition | M | W | L | T | NR | First Match | First Win |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| v. Full Members | |||||||
 Afghanistan | 2 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 23 July 2015 | |
| Bangladesh | 1 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 21 October 2021 | |
| Ireland | 4 | 2 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 15 July 2015 | 15 July 2015 |
| New Zealand | 1 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 17 June 2024 | |
| West Indies | 1 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 2 June 2024 | |
| Zimbabwe | 1 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 15 July 2022 | |
| v. Associate Members | |||||||
 Bermuda | 1 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 19 October 2019 | 19 October 2019 |
 Guernsey | 1 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 14 August 2025 | 14 August 2025 |
| Hong Kong | 4 | 3 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 14 July 2022 | 22 September 2023 |
 Japan | 2 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 25 July 2023 | 25 July 2023 |
 Kenya | 1 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 27 October 2019 | 27 October 2019 |
 Malaysia | 6 | 4 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 29 March 2022 | 1 April 2022 |
| Namibia | 3 | 2 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 20 October 2019 | 20 October 2019 |
| Nepal | 6 | 2 | 4 | 0 | 0 | 17 July 2015 | 17 July 2015 |
 Netherlands | 3 | 1 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 24 October 2019 | 24 October 2019 |
| Oman | 5 | 1 | 4 | 0 | 0 | 17 October 2021 | 7 March 2024 |
 Philippines | 4 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 22 March 2019 | 22 March 2019 |
 Samoa | 3 | 2 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 8 July 2019 | 8 July 2019 |
| Scotland | 3 | 0 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 21 October 2019 | |
 Singapore | 3 | 2 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 25 October 2019 | 25 October 2019 |
 Uganda | 2 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 12 July 2022 | 12 July 2022 |
| United Arab Emirates | 3 | 0 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 12 April 2017 | |
| United States | 1 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 17 July 2022 | 17 July 2022 |
 Vanuatu | 7 | 7 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 22 March 2019 | 22 March 2019 |
Records complete to T20I #3413. Last updated 10 October 2025.
