The majority of the team taking the field hail from a single village located on the southern Papuan coast near the capital, Port Moresby.
Hanuabada, which means "big village", has been considered cricket's spiritual home in the former British protectorate since it was first played there in the early 1900s.
"The game was introduced to the villagers by the missionaries. The people fell in love with the sport and embraced it because of the Christian influence," international umpire Lakani Oala told Reuters.
