By Jacob Ajom
After the fireworks that characterized the opening day hostilities, the 5th Nigeria Invitational WT20i tournament, action continues Saturday at the Tafawa Balewa Square Cricket Oval as South Africa square off against Ghana in their quest to lift the Patricia Kambarami Cup.
As representatives of the best cricket-playing nation on the African continent, the South Africa U19 women have all it takes to beat their West African counterparts.
South Africa captain Mieke van Voorst said they have their eyes set on the 2027 World Cup and they want to win it. She added that this tournament in Nigeria, their first time here, would be used to assess the abilities of the new additions to the team and ensure the team was in good shape before the World Cup.
‘Winning this tournament is not our priority. But we will put in our best to ensure we do well.”
As reported yesterday, Ghana Captain Kokam Jacqueline said they will approach every game with determination and would not succumb to any intimidation by their more accomplished opponents.
“We will face each game as it comes and strive not to be the last in this tournament. We are here to win.”
The second match today features two of the best in the tournament as first time entrants Zimbabwe take on Rwanda. This is a match that will offer spectators a lot to cheer as Rwanda, former champions. Rwanda as a growing cricket nation will give Zimbabwe a run for their money. Zimbabwe on the other hand are Africa’s second best cricket-playing nation. It’s going to be a matter of pride and status.
Nigeria returns to the pitch tomorrow when they play against Ghana. It’s going to be another jollof war between Ghana and Nigeria.
Head coach of the Nigerian team, Theophilus Ibodeme admitted, “For us the board of the Nigeria Cricket Federation has given us a standard, I have been an assistant for some years now and I don’t see anything new, as far as I am concerned. It is just to add value to what is on ground already. We want to compete, we want to play fairly and we want to enjoy ourselves.”
