Nigeria’s U-19 women’s cricket team has announced their arrival on the global stage with a historic over New Zealand at the ICC Women’s U-19 T20 World Cup. The stunning debut highlights the success of years of grassroots investment in the sport. As the tournament unfolds, will Nigeria’s Junior Female Yellow Greens sustain the momentum?
Bonface Orucho
Nigeria’s U-19 Women’s T20 cricket team has stunned the cricketing world with a two-run victory over New Zealand in their first-ever completed ICC Women’s U-19 T20 World Cup match.
According to the sport’s commentators, this triumph is a historic moment for ‘the Junior Female Yellow Greens cricket,’ proving that they are ready to compete on the world stage.
“We are here to announce ourselves to the world and make Nigeria proud,” Akpata said in an X post on the Nigeria Cricket Federation page, after the victory.
Nigeria’s journey to victory against the Kiwis has been exhilarating, despite limited match experience. Their earlier encounter with Samoa on Saturday was washed out due to rain, forcing them to wait patiently for an opportunity to showcase their talent.
While wet weather once again threatened to disrupt play against the Kiwis, the game was confirmed to proceed as a reduced 13-over contest and Nigeria made the most of the opportunity.
Batting first, Nigeria posted a modest total of 65/6. However, their energetic and relentless fielding performance continued to build pressure on New Zealand’s chase. By the final over, New Zealand were on 57/5, needing nine runs to win with just six balls left.
As Sarah Bakhita, the Nigerian team coach notes on X, “our team is a solid bowling attack,” which was evidenced by the tight bowling from Lilian Ude in the final over which ensured Nigeria held their nerve, as the Kiwis finished two runs short.
The historic win, on January 20, comes on the back of an impressive warm-up campaign that set the tone for their rise. Against Scotland, Lilian Ude starred with the ball, claiming 3/15, supported by sharp performances from Peace Usen and Muhibat Amusa, as they dismantled Scotland’s batting lineup. Though Pippa Sproul’s 25 offered some resistance, wickets fell at regular intervals, leaving the Scots with just 62 on the board.
Captain Piety Lucky responded heavily leading from the front in Nigeria’s chase, smashing an unbeaten 28 off just 16 balls, including three towering sixes.
As the competition’s group stages continues to heat up with seasoned participants such as South Africa already in the lead in Group C, Nigeria is hopeful to reap even bigger cricket exploits in Malaysia.
Notably, South Africa, leads Group C with a double victory over Samoa and New Zealand with 1 wicket and 22 runs respectively.
According to Uyi Akpata, the President of Nigeria Cricket Federation, Nigeria will surpass expectations as a result of the investment of the board in recent years.
“Our participation is on the back of six to seven years of hard work and deep grassroots developmental work. Some of the efforts even earned us global awards,” he is quoted in a news article on the federation’s website.
In April 2024, the federation was announced the winner of the International Cricket Council’s Cricket Initiative of the year 2023 in Africa.
According to a statement from ICC, the award “recognises the outstanding development initiative delivered during the year and regional winners include Nigeria Cricket Federation, whose U-17 Cricket Championship continues to provide competitive playing opportunities for boys and girls across the country.”
The sport’s popularity has been rapidly growing with estimates from the federation showing at least 200,000 school kids are actively playing the sport.
In-country competitions such as the annual national U-15 championships and the senior leagues in 6 provinces involving about 500 players per league have also accelerated the sport’s appeal among young people.
On Wednesday 22, there will be an African showdown with South Africa and Nigeria tussling before the competition moves on to the Super Six Stage.
