Former Cricket PNG National Coach and High-Performance Manager, Joe Dawes, has been nominated for this year’s SP Sports Awards, Official of The Year. Dawes, who regrettably had to resign earlier this year for personal reasons has left quite the legacy for Cricket in PNG. Dawes joined Cricket PNG in 2017, taking over from interim coach Jason Gillespie. With a wealth of both playing and coaching experience at all levels behind him, he quickly built a response with the National Squads and put together a talented team of high-performance support staff. His successful tenure in this position was based on professionalism, strong work ethic and an ethos of being better today than you were yesterday. The players responded, with the support of the assistant coaches, strength & conditioning coaches, CPNG nutritionist and experienced consultant coaches. This combination of specialists created a road map to achieve success and sustainability. During Dawes rein, the Barramundis Qualified for their first ICC T20 World Cup, they regained their ODI status and now compete in the Cricket World Cup League Two division as a pathway to the ODI World Cup in 2023. They also won Gold at the Pacific Games with the Lewas picking up the silver medal in Samoa. The Lewas also went so close to achieving their first World Cup berth missing by one game in the Qualifiers in Scotland. Dawes speaking from Brisbane of his SP Sports Award nomination said “it’s a great honour to be nominated for this prestigious national award. It is nice to be recognised but as a coach credit must go to all the players, my support staff and the whole CPNG organisation who all contribute to the success we have had, it is a team effort”. “The success on field will help drive cricket development in PNG, hopefully seeing the Barras in the World Cup will encourage more young boys & girls to try cricket, we know the talent is here and with growth, we will remain as a top tier cricket nation. I’m proud of what has been achieved but we must continue to strive to be better every day and I’m confident the new National Coach, Carl Sandri, will continue this path and lead the national sides to continued success in the future”. Fellow SP Award Nominee, Norman Vanua, credits Dawes for his rise as a Barramundi “Joey has helped my cricket immensely, he brought a professional attitude into the squad and we all now know what it takes to be successful. He has helped us grow as cricketers and as individuals, personally he has helped me understand my role in the team and to become a leader within the group”. The SP Sports Awards will be held this Saturday the 29th of May, we wish all nominees the best of luck as we celebrate our nations proud history of sporting prowess.