Former Test cricket star Taibu wants World Cup expansion, ICC to give more elite chances to sides like Hong Kong
- Tatenda Taibu is head coach of Papua New Guinea, who won a tri-series in Hong Kong last week
- PNG are in this year’s T20 World Cup, and will face Test nations West Indies, New Zealand, and Afghanistan, in addition to Uganda
Former Zimbabwe captain and current Papua New Guinea head coach Tatenda Taibu wants sides like Hong Kong to have more playing opportunities against Test match countries.
Taibu also wants an expansion of the 50-over World Cup, from its current 10 teams, and supports the growth of this year’s T20 World Cup, which will feature PNG, from 16 to 20 nations.
PNG won a tri-series tournament in Hong Kong last week, recovering from a whacking by Nepal, to comfortably defeat the hosts, then emphatically avenge their early loss by hammering the Nepalese in the final.
Taibu’s team subsequently tied a two-match series in Malaysia, as preparations accelerate for June’s T20 World Cup, where PNG’S group opponents include joint-hosts and two-times winners West Indies, and perennial trophy challengers New Zealand.
Hong Kong reached the 2014 and 2016 T20 World Cups, but failed to qualify for 2024.
Taibu, who captained Zimbabwe, aged 20, and played 28 Test matches, 150 ODIs, and 17 T20 internationals, told the Post: “I support the increase for the World T20, and I think it is important the [50-over] World Cup is expanded. If you are talking about a World Cup, it must be for many countries.
“Associates do not have the money, nor, in most cases, the playing numbers of the Test nations, but it is important to play the best teams.
“When I began playing against Bangladesh, we would pretty much always beat them. But, the more we played, they began to improve. By playing strong opposition, you become acquainted with the level.
“It is important more games are played between associates and Test nations. I do not know how it can be done, but it is something the ICC [International Cricket Council, the sport’s global administrators] needs to look at.”
Taibu, who came to the PNG post last year, via spells coaching Pakistan’s Under-19 and women’s sides, is confident his team is capable of springing an upset in the global competition this summer.
Last week, he witnessed a Hong Kong performance labelled “sloppy” by head coach Simon Willis, after seeing a better version of the city’s team in two matches last September.
“They have exciting players, and I had a taste of the level of cricket they can play [last year],” Taibu said. “Considering their [playing] numbers, they really do well.”
PNG scored 178 runs in their final against Nepal, at Tin Kwong Road Recreation Ground, after conceding 198 against the same opponents a day earlier. Against Hong Kong, they sailed to a target of 122 for no loss.
“The ground is small, and encourages players to hit out,” Taibu said. “The downside is you become used to mis-hitting balls for six, then you go to a bigger ground, and the same shot gets you out. But you have to work with what you have, and I am sure the [Hong Kong] coaches will be looking at that.”
Taibu’s ferociously competitive team played in Hong Kong like their lives depended on the outcome.
“The danger of that is you are tempted to always play your best team, and not produce more players,” he said. “I was fearless when I played, and have taken that into my coaching. I rotate players, whatever the game, and, in the final, we played a youngster who has not had much cricket.
“There is pressure in the middle that you cannot simulate in the nets. Someone playing matches will improve more than a player who is practising a lot.”
