INTERVIEW
Follow UsIn a 20-team World Cup, you will surely see some upsets, one-sided games, and nail-biting finishes. Moreover, T20s is such an unpredictable format that it makes the contests even more intriguing.
Amid such a setting, it would be naïve to think that the well-established sides will walk all over the lesser fancy teams. The likes of Scotland, Netherlands and Namibia have put that notion to rest in the last couple of World Cups, and the upcoming edition promises to be even more open, thereby creating more opportunities for such sides to make inroads.
Amid this, we have a Papua New Guinea (PNG) side fighting for their identity. They made it to the 2021 T20 World Cup against all odds despite being reduced to 19/6 in a game against Kenya in the Qualifiers.
But five years on from that qualifier, they may have made it to the marquee event this time around, breezing past their East-Pacific Qualifier, but the question is – like Namibia, Scotland and the Netherlands – can they too take their game to the next level?
They crashed and burned in all three matches in the T20 World Cup in 2021, but three years later, while their expectations continue to remain low, the experience the squad has gained in this period could very well prove pivotal.
Speaking of experience, PNG hired former Zimbabwe captain, wicketkeeper, and selector Tatenda Taibu as its head coach last August. Since then, PNG have certainly had some positive results, including beating Oman for the first time and winning a tri-series by beating Nepal in the final in Hong Kong. Before that, PNG also won a tri-series featuring Malaysia and Hong Kong in Kuala Lumpur.
“That gave them a lot of confidence. I don't think we have beaten Oman before, and the way we played those games...even going to Hong Kong we did not play our best XI in all the matches. We were just rotating the bowlers and inter-changing a few batters in the line-up. So, to be able to win whilst you are trying out things is a great effort from the guys,” Taibu said in a chat with Cricket.com.
“But the one thing that stood out on those tours was the changing room was the happiest changing room that I have ever been to in all my career - both as a player and as a coach. That really stood out and I'm sure if we are able to have that same atmosphere in the changing room we'll be able to do magnificent things,” he added.
Taibu realised that the atmosphere was going to be different from that of any other team from the time he was asked to come in for a job interview.
“It was a different kind of interview, which was quite practical. Rather than sitting across the table and answering questions but just being on the ground and seeing how I coach as well as, also seeing the place and seeing the talent we have in the country. So, it works really well both ways,” he recalled.
Even when communicating and having honest conversations with the players, Taibu did not have any issues.
“It was quite easy to talk about the game plans and have honest conversations. It was easy to do that because the atmosphere was so welcoming. So, that has been an added advantage, and it has allowed me to be myself because I'd like to say things without sugar-coating them. That atmosphere has really helped out for communication purposes,” Taibu, who retired at 29, said.
It also helps that Taibu resides in PNG, as previously shown by their previous head coach, Joe Dawes, under whom the Barramundis qualified for the 2021 T20 World Cup.
“If you are staying in a country where the players come from... the real work of the coach is done away from camps. The real work happens during off-season,” Taibu reckons.
“So, if you're in the country, that's when some players change their techniques or if they are trying something new, that's when you work all those things out. So, that's the time when you actually do your work. So, it is important to have someone who is in the country. Joe Dawes spent a lot of time in the country and that's why they were managing to qualify for tournaments.”
In a way, Taibu’s task is a tad easier, given that the core of the team has not changed much in the last three years. Assad Vala continues to lead the side with distinction, while his supporting cast, including Charles Amini, Tony Ura, Norman Vanua, Lega Siaka, and others, have continued to hone their skills further.
More importantly, they know what is in store at such massive events.
Taibu reckons their experience will come in handy as PNG prepare to take on the West Indies in their first match of the competition on June 2 in Guyana.
“You don't buy experience in a shop. So, they are players who have been there. They have been in the team for a long time. They have gone through situations. Yes, the younger players are always looking towards them for guidance in tough situations,” Taibu said.
“There will be tough situations when you're playing against some of the best players in the world. Their experience will be coming to play when those situations come. Not so much when things are easy but when things are tough.”
Taibu himself has tasted success at the T20 World Cup, when he was part of the Zimbabwe side that pipped Australia in the inaugural edition back in 2007 held in South Africa.
“What T20 does is because it is quite short, it brings the gap between teams closer. We [Zimbabwe] played against Australia, we beat Australia in that one. We never beat Australia in a Test match, of course,” Taibu reminisces.
“The quality and the gap between the team is short. T20 is that, and being with Papua New Guinea, I feel it's kind of the same set-up, where we are looked at as a minor. But like I say the gap is short and that is exciting for me.”
Five years after that win, though, Taibu shocked the world when he decided to retire to work at the church. His love for the game, however, brought him back, but this time as a selector in 2016 before he resumed playing first-class cricket in Sri Lanka in December 2018. Then, in May 2019, he moved to Liverpool, UK, to play one-day single-inning format matches for Formby at the Liverpool and District Cricket Competition 2019.
However, before he took over as the head coach of PNG, he also assisted the Pakistan Under-19 side ahead of the World Cup earlier this year. The Men in Green reached the semis, but they lost to eventual champions Australia.
“If I start to tell you that story, we won't finish tonight. It is a long journey,” Taibu says of his journey post-retirement.
“Working in the church has helped me with a lot of things. Working as a selector was a different role altogether. I went to ICC meetings as a Zimbabwe representative and learnt a lot from that as well. I was head of their academy. I learnt heaps as well. So, being able to get a different role and understand how an organisation works from a different standpoint has helped me to become the coach that I am today.”
While Taibu will be part of the T20 World Cup, his country of birth, Zimbabwe, with whom, in his own words, he has a love-hate relationship, will not be part of it, having finished third in the African Qualifiers, behind Namibia and Uganda.
“It was disappointing to see them not qualify. It's still a country of my birth, so, I love them so, I'd have loved to see them being part of the World Cup. Unfortunately, they couldn't string the important wins they needed to qualify. I still watch every now and again, their progress, and I do that with a lot of teams,” Taibu said.
Coming back to his PNG side, the former Zimbabwe captain is in it for the long haul. The upcoming World Cup is just a stepping stone for PNG to achieve its ultimate goal of attaining Test status. Taibu has already put the wheels in motion.
However, the first target, besides qualifying and faring well in the T20 World Cups, is to get to the 2027 ODI World Cup.
“I have already started thinking about that [ODI World Cup]. The schedule for that has already been announced. We have not been given the final dates, but we have been given a framework, which I have already started planning for,” an optimistic Taibu said.
“Yes, the next thing after the World Cup is to begin working towards getting back our ODI status. I'm not stopping there. From there, we want to start pushing and getting them [ready ]for the longer version of the game. I believe, if all goes to plan and if we are able to tick certain other boxes that we need to tick, I want them to start planning to get Test status.”
In 2019, Taibu’s autobiography, ‘Keeper of Faith,’ came out, and it was received quite well. In it, he talks about his time in Zimbabwe, which also includes many instances of discrimination. However, he still rose up the ranks to become the first black captain to lead Zimbabwe and also became the youngest captain in Test history.
His faith in God kept him and gave him much-needed peace of mind.
Years later, will the faith in himself and this PNG team pave the way for a bright future together? Ruffling a few feathers at the T20 World Cup could be just the start of that.
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