CRICKET
After drawing the first blood during the last group game of the inaugural Nigeria Cricket Federation Women’s T20 Invitational Tournament, Nigeria fell to the Rwandan’s bowling power in the closing game of the event yesterday.
Winning the toss, Rwanda women’s team chose to bat and left 129 runs on the board for the loss of five wickets in 20 overs.
In the second innings, the Nigerian team struggled to put runs on the board as their wicket fell in succession to loose with 53 runs.
President of Nigeria Cricket Federation, Uyi Akpata, said the matches between the host and Rwanda were topnotch and the players gave good accounts of themselves.
“Nigeria beat Rwanda in the group match and lost in the finals. For us, that is no issue, it shows a lot of improvement from our young team especially the rate at which the three 15 -year-olds performed for the country.
“Nigeria’s opening batter Lucky Piety, Lilian Ude (who won two Player of the Match Award in Nigeria’s five matches) and Peculiar Agboya, have justified their inclusion in the team,” he added.
He praised sponsors, Access Bank, Eko Electricity Distribution, PET Foundation, EMR, for believing in the youth and cricket to throw their weight behind the Federation. “We are grateful,” observed the NCF boss.
President of the Rwanda Cricket Association, Stephen Musaale, describes the event as a great show of the development in African women’s cricket and beyond Rwanda winning it. “It was nice seeing that a lot of development is going on with other teams,” he noted with satisfaction.
The NCF also confirmed that the tournament will become a yearly event where top female cricket teams would be invited to participate in the country.
