Cricket: Rwanda, Ghana to Kickoff 5th Nigeria Invitational WT20i in Lagos Today

Duro Ikhazuagbe 

The 5th edition of the Nigeria Women’s Invitational T20 International (WT20i) will kickoff today at the Tafawa Balewa Square Cricket Oval, Lagos, with hosts Nigeria taking on Zimbabwe in the second match of the day.

The invitational tournament now renamed Patricia Kambarami Cup in honour of the late cricket development pioneer in Africa, will run from today till March 29, 2026.

Before the Nigeria versus Zimbabwe clash, Rwandan ladies will take on Ghana 

in what promises to be a mouth-watery opening fixture in this U19 women’s tournament.

Captain of the host team , Piety Lucky, admitted Nigeria was not under any pressure because of the presence of South Africa and Zimbabwe in the invitational tournament in Lagos.

“Yes, when we played South Africa at the U17 Wold Cup, we lost to them. We have since moved on and are better prepared now,” observed Piety who emerged the MVP of that U17 World Cup despite Nigeria finishing in sixth position in Malaysia.

She also hinted that it was not the same team that lost to South Africa that is playing at this tournament as some changes have been made.

The captain of the Nigerian ladies stressed that the essence of the invitational tournament is to help prepare  the teams for the World Cup qualifiers. “We are looking forward to playing our game  and win. We respect all the teams participating in the tournament but not afraid of any team.”

Captain of the South African team, Mieke Van Voorst, was excited about the trip to play in Nigeria. She hinted that the team prepare well and expect to meet challenges because of the quality of the teams in the Lagos tournament.

In the words of the Captain of the Ghana team, Kokam Jacquline, “Ghana is in Nigeria to improve on our game and learn from the other teams present at the tournament.”

Speaking at the unveiling of the captains of the teams and coaches, President of the Nigeria Cricket Federation, Dr. Uyi Akpata, expressed his excitement, especially with the appearance of top cricket nations like South Africa and Zimbabwe in Lagos.

Teams taking part at the tournament include hosts Nigeria, Ghana, Rwanda, South Africa and Zimbabwe. The last two nations  are presenting their U-19 teams, as they will be competing against the senior teams of the other three countries.