Willie Gavera lit up the Commonwealth Bank Australian Country Cricket Championships with his pace
Photo: Rob Giese
Papua New Guinea paceman Willie Gavera is a quiet young man but once he gets the ball in his hand he likes to make his presence felt.
The recently completed Commonwealth Bank Australian Country Cricket Championships pitted opposition batsmen against his blindingly fast missiles.
The quietly spoken tearaway cut a swathe through the Northern Territory batsmen at Geelong’s Richmond Crescent Oval in round one of the tournament, claiming 6/47 to help East Asia Pacific blast out the Territory for 100 in its first innings to secure a 136-run victory for the combined nations.
Gavera, who started playing cricket five years ago, was pleased with his work and even happier to help his mates to a first up win.
“I bowled at off stump and good line and length, which helped get wickets,” he said.
“Playing back home, it’s a good level but it’s good to get some good skills here and face the good players from other states in Australia.”
East Asia Pacific coach Tom Evans offered a few more words. He was delighted with Gavera’s performance, which was modelled on unwavering accuracy and extreme pace.
“Willie bowled well. He bowled really well last night and was able to get a couple of poles to have them 3/60, which at that stage the game was probably line ball at stumps (on day one) but he came out and bowled with a bit of fire in the belly, switched ends when the wind swirled around and to get six for was fantastic,” Evans said.
“He’s quick and he’s improved a lot in the last 12 months. Even last year, he was quick but he didn’t bowl that length that really threatens batsmen. He was a bit inconsistent but he’s improved his consistency and it’s paid dividends.”
Evans is in charge of a diverse group of cricketers, who have been drawn from Papua New Guinea, Vanuatu, Samoa and Fiji as part of an ICC push to develop cricket in the pacific.
He said the players had united quickly and enjoyed each other’s company as well as the opportunity to hone their skills against top class opposition.
“PNG’s cricket program is pretty advanced and the other countries are still developing. It’s really pleasing to see some guys from Samoa in the team as the cricket has really improved there in the last 12 months,” he said.
“These countries are all part of the ICC development program. There are 10 countries in the East Asia Pacific region that we support to grow the game.
“Papua New Guinea is probably the biggest in terms of player numbers and then there are some small programs in South Korea and the Philippines and then the other bigger associates are Vanuatu, Fiji and Japan, which have slightly bigger structures.”
Gavera's tournament was regrettably cut short by injury but his unadulterated pace left a quick impression in his few games.
