Liam O’Connor, Adelaide Strikers spinner is helping Papua New Guinea (PNG) cricketers. Notably, PNG cricketers are preparing for the ICC World Cup Qualifiers in Zimbabwe.
Meanwhile, Strikers had won their maiden BBL title this season beating Hobart Hurricanes by 25 runs. In addition to, Connor returned with 0 for 27 in his four overs.
Liam O’Connor helping PNG Cricketers:
PNG recently appointed Joe Dawes as their mentor. Furthermore, Dawes is also the assistant coach of Adelaide Strikers. It provided Connor with the opportunity to go and work with different players.
“Obviously Joe Dawes being the new coach and assistant coach for the Adelaide Strikers posed the idea to me, and I thought that it would be a great opportunity to go somewhere different and work with different players,” Connor said.
Connor played against the Barramundis as a rookie for Western Australia. The 24-year old admitted he had no idea about PNG cricket.
“I didn’t know a whole heap (about PNG), but I did, in fact, played PNG in a Matador Cup trial game in Maroochydore a couple of years ago. That was all the extent I know about PNG,” Connor recalled.
“I remember the PNG boys going hard in a rugby game in their warm-up over there, but I did a few Google searches and spoke to Joe about PNG before coming up. I didn’t know too much, I was all new, but I guess that adds to the excitement I guess,” he added.
Connor impressed with PNG cricketers:
Connor got impressed with the tight-knit culture after spending a week with the cricketers.
“The team cohesion and how everyone is like a family has been very impressive. They have this real eagerness to learn which is very genuine,” he said.
“That makes it very easy to teach and give advice when they are all willing to learn. It has been really good,” Connor concluded.
The PNG squad along with Connor will train for a week in Brisbane and play a couple of practice matches before flying out to Zimbabwe.
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