Cricket: Nigeria lose to Namibia in WCQ opener

December 11, 2023 8:50 am

T20i cricket: Nigeria to face Rwanda in final after beating Ghana

Nigeria’s female Yellow-Greens lost to the Capricorn Eagles of Namibia in the opener of the International Cricket Council’s Women T20 World Cup Africa Qualifier 2023.

The Nigerians were defeated by nine runs at the Entebbe Cricket Oval, Uganda, on Sunday.

The female Yellow-Greens had won the toss and elected to field against the Namibians. The opponent snuck 122/2 in the first inning.

Lucky Piety’s bowling brilliance helped tame the Namibian batting force. She took Jurriene Diergaardt at 10.6 and provided the salvo that gave Yasmeen Khah’s wicket away to Adekunle Adeshola to catch.

In Nigeria’s inning, Peculiar Agboya, batting at number three, brought in an early spark that steadied the two early wicket dismissals and put some respectable runs on board to cut down the run rate before she was bowled at 8.6 by Naomi Benjamin. She had contributed 24 runs from 27 balls, which included three boundaries.

Piety again stood in the crease for 17 overs with 43 runs that included five boundaries to increase her brilliant contribution to Nigeria’s total of 113, ten short of snapping up the required victory.

For failing to chase a 122-run, the defeat has piled pressure on the Nigerians ahead of their next encounters with Rwanda and host Uganda.

However, Leke Oyede, the Yellow-Greens head coach, was upbeat about his team’s performance and Nigeria’s chance of progressing beyond the preliminary stage.

“I think it is too early to judge our chances by this game. We have ringed some changes in the team since the last time we played in Lagos and although we played a tough side today, we gave a good account of ourselves,” Oyede said.

Nigeria will be up against Rwanda on Tuesday. The Yellow-Greens must win to have a chance in the semi-finals of the African qualifiers.

The team will then take on the host country in their last group encounter on Thursday.

Nigeria is in Group B alongside Namibia, Rwanda and Uganda, while Group A consists of Tanzania, Kenya, Zimbabwe and Tanzania, with Zimbabwe and Tanzania leading the charge in the group.