Papua New Guinea face another long wait until their next meaningful cricket match.
The Barramundis completed a brief series against Ireland this week, losing the four-day Intercontinental Cup match and beaten 2-1 in the T20 matches in Townsville.
That was their first international hit-out since the end of November and they aren't scheduled to play again in any format until April or May.
Head coach Dipak Patel said they went into the Irish series under-prepared and he admitted it was an ongoing problem.
"We just don't play often enough so that we can put into practice the experiences they've learnt from. We don't play again in another four-day game for another probably eight months against Namibia at home and we're probably looking at November/December later this year. It's something the ICC and the playing countries have to negotiate the dates - it's just the way it pans out. I suppose we should be more proactive in trying to organise more games for our players so that we're ready for these competitions, and that's something that we need to address very very quickly if we want to continue competing at this level."
PNG came up one game short of qualifying for next month's Twenty20 World Cup in India and aren't expected to play again in the shorter format until next year.
PNG take on Ireland in a T20 International in Townsville. Photo: Cricket PNG
