Mitchell Starc

Mitchell Starc, Alyssa Healy and Dean Jones are in the country for various cricket and promotional activities.

Mitchell Starc is the current Australian left-arm fast bowler, Alyssa Healy is the current Australian women’s batswoman/wicket-keeper while Dean Jones is a former Australian Test Legend.

The trio will be in Port Moresby for a couple of days, where it is hoped that their presence will help boost the sport of cricket further.

Yesterday’s dinner was attended by sponsors of Cricket PNG as well as the Hebou PNG Barramundis and the City Pharmacy Lewas.

Despite appearing in Australia's disappointing ICC Champions Trophy campaign in June, Starc was left out after scans indicated his previous foot fracture, suffered in March, had not properly healed.

He will be rested to ensure he is ready for September's one-day series in India and the home Ashes series against England later in the year.

In 2015, the original tour in Bangladesh was cancelled after a spate of attacks by Islamic extremists in the Muslim-majority nation made the country unsafe.

Australia's spinners took 17 out of the 20 wickets in Pune as the tourists rolled to a stunning win over India inside three days, but expectations are for far less turn in the second match in the series which starts on Saturday.

Starc bowled well without as much reward as Steven O'Keefe and Nathan Lyon in Pune, and Marsh was asked whether he thought the paceman had got into the Indian batsmen's heads.

"He's probably one of the best bowlers in the world if not the best bowler in the world," Marsh said.