John Ovia

born 16 July 1976 in Port Moresby, Papua New Guinea, Ovia first played for Papua New Guinea in the 1997 ICC Trophy. In his debut against Italy,^[5] he scored 94 runs and won the man of the match as Papua New Guinea won the match by 101 runs.^[6] He played in four more matches in the tournament,^[5] including the 13th place play-off against Singapore, which Papua New Guinea won.^[7] The following year, he played in the ACC Trophy against Singapore and Malaysia.^[8]

In 2001, he represented his country in the Pacifica Cup, taking 3/31 in the third place play-off against Tonga to secure the third place spot in the tournament. This was followed by his second ICC Trophy, the 2001 tournament in Canada.^[5] In 2002, he played in the second Pacifica Cup, top scoring in the final against Tonga to help Papua New Guinea win the tournament.^[9] The following year, he played in the cricket tournament at the 2003 South Pacific Games, top-scoring in the final against Fiji to pick up a gold medal.^[10] The following year, he represented a combined East Asia/Pacific team in the Australian national country championships, and has played in the tournament every year since.^[8]

In 2005, he played for Papua New Guinea at the repêchage tournament for the 2005 ICC Trophy.^[8] Papua New Guinea beat Fiji in the final,^[11] to qualify for the 2005 ICC Trophy in Ireland, where Ovia made his List A debut against the Netherlands.^[12]

In 2007, Ovia played for Papua New Guinea at Division Three of the World Cricket League in Darwin, Australia.^[13] He most recently played for them in the cricket tournament at the 2007 South Pacific Games,^[8] though he missed Papua New Guinea's record-breaking win^[14] over New Caledonia,^[8] picking up a second South Pacific Games gold medal.^[15]