Nosaina Pokana

Undoubtedly one of the best from Papua New Guinea, Nasaina Pokana is one of the fastest seamers from his country. The pacer introduced himself with a bang, at the international stage, when he outclassed William Porterfield with his sheer pace, on debut. But when things were heading north, the PNG cricketer got his action suspended by ICC. However, Pokana surpassed that hurdle to become a force again. 

Pokana took long frog leaps in the Papua New Guinean domestic circuit, as a result, he made his international debut within a year of making his List-A and first-class debut. He made his T20I debut, against Ireland, in Australia in 2016. The following year, the seamer received his ODI cap ​​against the United Arab Emirates in the 2015–17 ICC World Cricket League Championship. 

In 2018, Pokana was reported during an ODI between PNG and Hong Kong in Dubai, in December 2017. The international cricketing body found his bowling action to be illegal, suspending him at the international level as a result. 

He underwent an independent assessment of his bowling action on 6 January 2018 at the National Cricket Centre, Brisbane. The independent assessment found his bowling action to be illegal.

The seamer resumed bowling and was a pivotal part of PNG’s campaign in the 2019 WCL Division Two tournament where they reclaimed ODI status. Pokana was the leading wicket-taker for his team and provided a potent new-ball option for his side. And since then, he has been the leader of the pact for PNG’s pace battery.

In 2021, Pokana was named in Papua New Guinea's squad for the T20 World Cup, where he would be willing to stamp his prowess in front of the global audience. 

(As of October 2021)