John Ovia

Personal information
Full name	John Ovia
Born	(1976-07-16) 16 July 1976 (age 47) Port Moresby, Papua New Guinea
Batting	Right-handed
Bowling	Right-arm off spin
Role	Batsman
Domestic team information
Years	Team
1997–2005	Papua New Guinea
List A debut	1 July 2005 PNG v Netherlands
Last List A	11 July 2005 PNG v Uganda
ICC Trophy debut	26 March 1997 PNG v Italy
Last ICC Trophy	11 July 2005 PNG v Uganda
Career statistics
Competition List A ICC Trophy Matches 7 17 Runs scored 114 340 Batting average 16.28 20.00 100s/50s 0/0 0/2 Top score 28 94 Balls bowled 48 197 Wickets 0 2 Bowling average – 99.00 5 wickets in innings – 0 10 wickets in match – 0 Best bowling – 2/31 Catches/stumpings 0/– 4/–
Source: Cricket Archive, 14 October 2007
Medal record Representing  Papua New Guinea Men's Cricket South Pacific Games 2003 Suva 50 over cricket

John Ovia (born 16 July 1976) is a Papua New Guinean cricketer.^[1] A right-handed batsman and right-arm off spin bowler,^[2] he has played for the Papua New Guinea national cricket team since the 1997 ICC Trophy.^[3] His wife Hebou Morea has played for the Papua New Guinea women's team.^[4]

Career

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]