South West representative on the board of the Nigeria Cricket Federation, Okon Ukpong has hailed the Oyo State team at the just concluded Jide Bademosi U-19 Cricket tournament held at the Liberty Stadium Cricket Oval, Ibadan.
Team Oyo were in devastating form at the tournament as the Runsewe Sulaimon captained team defeated all comers to the trophy. Lagos, Ogun and Osun were the other teams at the competition.
Reacting to the outcome, Okon who was tournament co-ordinator said he was not surprised at the exploits of the Oyo state team.
“We have a very healthy cricket culture in the state and Ibadan in particular. You see these kids, they train with the Indians here and we have a developmental programme which engages them at very early age. We monitor their growth and development”, he said
Ukpong said he was looking forward to the second edition which he projected would be tougher because other states would be better prepared, as“From what we saw, they now know it is no child’s play.â€
Chairman of the Energy and Mineral Resources, EMR, Seye Fadahunsi said the competition provided a good stead for young cricketers in the South West to express themselves as competitions had become rare. “I congratulate Oyo for their feat. The essence of the tournament was achieved as we saw young cricketers who with proper attention could make this country proud in futureâ€, he satd.
