Jones excited by PNG challenge

Kent wicketkeeper, Geraint Jones can’t wait to get started in his bid to help Papua New Guinea claim a place in the World Twenty20 Cup.

The 35 year oldhas headedoff to the country of his birth, before flying on to Canberra for a training camp. A quick stint back at home then follows, before meeting up with the PNG squad for the two week qualifying tournament in Dubai.

Two teams from the sixteen taking part will make it through to the World Twenty 20 over in Sri Lanka in September and October and Jones believes his side have a real chance of making it through; “I’m really excited about getting outside and putting into practice what I’ve been doing for the past few months. It will be nice to meet my new team-mates and get a bit of sun.

“I’ve got a few media commitments to do in PNG, but it is all about the work we do in Canberra for our pre-tournament camp.There are some really good sides in the tournament like Ireland, and I’ve played against some of the Hong Kong guys, but you just never know with Twenty20, anything can happen on the day and if we prepare well, we could be in with a chance.”

For Jones, the trip to Papua New Guinea is about using his experience gained playing 34 Tests for England, and he’s hoping to impart some of his knowledge on the team; but as to whether coaching is his career after hanging up the gloves, he’s not so sure; “I am doing a lot more coaching, and have been doing some work with the Kent CricketAcademy. It is something I enjoy, but whether or not there is a role for me after cricket, I’m not so sure. I do enjoy working with the young guys, but we’ll have to see.”

There is every chance that Geraint may well be adopting an unfamiliar role in the PNG side, and may not be donning the keeper’s gloves and could well be in the field, but that doesn’t faze Jones; “I’ve been practicing my catching without the gloves on, so it could be a novel experience for me out in the field.”

Kent’s new Head Coach Jimmy Adams has been in his new role for just a couple of weeks now, but already there is a buzz aboutthe squad,and Jones feels it is all positive under the West Indian; “He’s got some real values that he is instilling in us. We’ve had a few meetings and he’s told us what he expects from us as people and as players. He believes that we should practice as we play and that is baring fruit.”

Geraint Jones was speaking to Steve Wolfe of KSN

Photo Sarah Ansell SarahCanterbury.com

The 16 teams taking part are Afghanistan, Bermuda, Canada, Denmark, Hong Kong, Ireland, Italy, Kenya, Namibia, Nepal, Netherlands, Oman, Papua New Guinea, Scotland, Uganda and the United States.

Afghanistan – Nawroz Mangal (captain), Javed Ahmadi, Merwais Ashraf, Mohammad Nabi, Hamid Hassan, Mohammad Zamir Khan, Mohammad Shahzad, Gulbadin Naib, Shabir Ahmed Noori, Karim Khan Sadeq, Samiullah Shinwari, Dollat Zadran, Noor Ali Zadran, Shapoor Zadran

Bermuda – David Hemp (captain), Jason Anderson, Lional Cann, Fiqre Crockwell, Terryne Fray, Joshua Gilbert, Stefan Kelly, Kamau Leverock, Stephen Outerbridge, Josclyn Pitcher, Samuel Robinson, Curt Stovell, Rodney Trott, Janeiro Tucker

Canada – Jimmy Hansra (captain),Manninder Aulakh, Harvir Baidwan, Rustam Bhatti, Rizwan Cheema, Khurram Chohan, Tyson Gordon, Ruvindu Gunasekera, Zahid Hussain, Nitish Kumar, Henry Osinde, Hiral Patel, Raza Rehman, Junaid Siddiqi

Denmark – Michael Pedersen (captain), Aftab Ahmed, Shehzad Ahmed, Sair Anjum, Bobby Chawla, Basit Javed, Frederik Klokker, Jacob Larsen, Kamran Mahmood, Rizwan Mahmood, James Moniz, Martin Pedersen, Bashir Shah, Hamid Shah

Hong Kong – James Atkinson (captain), Irfan Ahmed, Muhammad Moner Ahmed, Nadeen Ahmed, Waqas Barkat, Babar Hayat, Asif Khan, Mohammad Aizaz Khan, Mohammad Nizakat Khan, Courtney Kruger, Roy Lamsam, Kinchit Shah, Daljeet Singh, Maxwell Tucker

Ireland – William Porterfield (captain), Alex Cusack, George Dockrell, Trent Johnston, Nigel Jones, Ed Joyce, Rory McCann, John Mooney, Kevin O’Brien, Boyd Rankin, Max Sorensen, Paul Stirling, Andrew White, Gary Wilson

Italy – Alessandro Bonora (captain), Gareth Berg, Damian Crowley, Gayashan Munasinghe, Luis Di Giglio, Michael Di Venuto, Dilan S. Fernando, Damian C. K. Fernando, Andrew Northcote, Hayden Patrizi, Dell’agnello, Vincenzo Pennazza, Peter Petricola, Stanly H. J. Samaraweera, Carl Sandri

Kenya – Collins Obuya (captain), Ragheb Aga, Duncan Allan, Tanmay Mishra, James Ngoche, Shem Ngoche, Alex Obanda, David Obuya, Nehemiah Odhiambo, Nelson Odhiambo, Elijah Otieno, Morris Ouma, Rakep Patel, Hiren Varaiya

Namibia – Craig Williams (captain), Sarel Burger, Merwe Erasmus, Hendrick Geldenhuys, Zhivago Groenwald, Louis Klazinga, Christiaan Opperman, Bernard Scholtz, Nicolaas Scholtz, Gerrie Snyman, Ewald Steenkamp, Louis Van Der Westhuizen, Raymond Van Schoor, Christoffel Viljoen

Nepal – Paras Khadka (captain), Pradeep Airee, Mahaboob Alam, Prithu Baskota, Amrit Bhattarai, Shakti Gauchan, Krishna Karki, Paresh Prasad Lohani, Gyanendra Malla, Anil Kumar Mandal, Basant Regmi, Sanjam Regmi, Chandra Sawad, Sharad Vesawkar

Netherlands – Peter Borren (captain), Wesley Barresi, Mudassar Bukhari, Atse Buurman, Tom Cooper, Tom De Grooth, Tim Gruijters, Timm Van Der Gugten, Tom Heggelman, Alexei Kervezee, Ahsan Malik, Stephan Myburgh, Pieter Seelaar, Michael Swart

Oman – Hemal Mehta (captain), Sultan Ahmed, Qais Bin Khalid Al Said, Syed Amir Ali, Adnan Ilyas,Syed Aamir Kaleem, Awal Khan, Farhan Afzal Khan, Ajay Lalcheta, Sufyan Mehmood, Rajeshkumar Ranpura, Zeeshan Ahmed Siddiqi, Jatinder Singh, Vaibhav Wategaonkar

Papua New Guinea – Rarua Dikana (captain), Geraint Jones, Jack Vare-Kevere, Jason Kila, Willie Gavera, Chris Amini, John Boge Reva, Tony Ura, Assadollah Vala, Chris Kent, Mahuru Dai, Vani Vagi Morea, Joel Tom, Hitolo Areni

Scotland – Gordon Drummond (captain), Richard Berrington, Kyle Coetzer, Joshua Davey, Ryan Flannigan, Gordon Goudie, Majid Haq, Calum Macleod, Preston Mommsen, Matthew Parker, Safayaan Sharif, Jan Stander, Craig Wallace, David Watts

Uganda – Davis Arinaitwe (captain), Arthur Kyobe, Brian Masaba, Deusdedit Muhumuza, Roger Mukasa, Benjamin Musoke, Frank Nsubuga, Jonathan Sebanja, Asadu Seiga, Ronald Semanda, Laurence Sematimba, Henry Ssenyondo, Charles Waiswa, Arthur Ziraba

United States of America – Sushil Nadkarni (captain), Orlando Baker, Adil Bhatti, Ryan Corns, Muhammad Ghous, Elmore Hutchinson, Asif Mehmood Khan, Aditya Mishra, Azrudeen Mohammed, Nauman Mustafa, Abhimanyu Rajp, Gowkaran Roopnarine, Usman Shuja, Steven Taylor