The new season of the Edo cricket league commenced on November 27 on the grass wicket in Benin City with some of the national team players listed for action in the 10-week play.
Uyi Akpata, chairman of Edo State Cricket Association, said more teams are competing in the new season due to growth witnessed in the sport in recent times.
“Beside the new teams, each of the sides now has a feeder team as a pre-requisite for being part of the league. We are developing on all fronts,” said Akpata, who doubles as president of the Nigeria Cricket Federation (NCF).
The U-17 Cricket Club had an easy win in the opening encounter as UNIBEN Cricket Club, their opponent, failed to show up for the encounter due to what officials said was “an academic demand on their key players.”
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The game’s officials, however, ruled out a re-match and awarded the points to U-17 Cricket Club.
In the second match, Vincent Adewoye, one of the top bowlers for the senior national team, led Integrity Force to a smooth victory over Ambrose Alli University Cricket Club.
Integrity Force won by 5 wickets while Adewoye was named the man of the match following his 29 runs’ contribution.
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On match day 2, Ambrose Alli University Cricket Club extended the woes of UNIBEN Cricket Club by claiming another walkover when they again failed to meet up with the minimum requirement for a re-match, according to league officials.
In the second match, No-Limit Cricket Club rose above Invictus Cricket Club after the latter failed to match up their 97 runs stake in the first innings.
Victor Ikpoli, the national under-17 bowling star, with 4 wickets in 4 overs for 10 runs, was named the man of the match.
All the matches were played at the Edo Boys High School High Performance Center in Benin City.
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Hostilities are expected to resume next weekend.
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