T20 World Cup: Five Young Associate Talents to Keep an Eye On

Nosaina Pokana, Papua New Guinea – Age: 25

Nosaina Pokana is a key figure for the plucky Papua New Guineans; who reached the T20 World Cup on the back of a fairytale run at the 2019 Qualifiers. He played an instrumental part, finishing as the joint-highest wicket-taker for his team at a stellar economy rate of 7.31.

In a squad chock full of mediocre albeit serviceable all-rounders, the tall left-arm medium pacer stands out as one of the rare specialists. Still only 25 years old, Pokana has been playing for the Barramundis since his debut in 2016. He possesses an excellent T20I record with 19 wickets at an average of 17.26 and is unquestionably the leader of the pace attack.

If PNG stand any chance of making the second round, Pokana needs to be in top form. The Barramundis will be heavily reliant on his bowling nous to make inroads against opposition (Bangladesh, Oman and Scotland) and hopefully notch up a win or two.

Fun Fact: Unfortunately, due to the pandemic, PNG have not been able to play a single T20I since 2019 (up until the warm-up tournament). Furthermore, they come into the tournament on the back of wretched form in the 50 over format, having lost all their games in the Cricket World Cup League 2 competition.