Cricket: Nigeria poised for bigger exploits at U-19 Women’s World Cup- Akpata

President of the Nigeria Cricket Federation Uyi Akpata says the participation of Nigeria at the 2025 ICC U-19 Women’s T20 World Cup in Malaysia will surpass expectations as a result of the investment of the board in recent years.

Nigeria is among the 16 countries currently vying for honours at the second edition of the tournament which got underway in Malaysia on Saturday and will end on 2 February.

The Junior Female Yellow Greens are flying the country’s flag in Group C alongside Samoa, New Zealand and South Africa.

Led by the former NCF National U-17 Championships prodigy, Lucky Piety, the Nigerian 15-player team is made up of other players who were discovered in different age-grade competitions while seven of them have already featured for the women’s senior national team, winning a historic bronze medal at the 2023 African Games in Ghana.

“We are here to announce ourselves to the world and make Nigeria proud,” Akpata told NCF Media.

“Our participation is on the back six to seven years of hardwork and deep grassroots developmental work. Some of the efforts even earned us global awards.”

To reach the tournament, Nigeria pipped test nation Zimbabwe to Africa’s sole ticket during the qualifying series in Rwanda last September.

Building up to the tournament, Nigeria, despite being one of the four debutants, put the world on notice with impressive displays in their test games, almost beating World No. 8 Pakistan before recording a seven-wicket win over the 14th-ranked Scotland.

These eye-catching performances have drawn attention to the Junior Female Yellow Greens, and Akpata believes there is more to come from them at the World Cup.

“The girls know what is expected, and the support from everyone back home will see us go far. I am confident in our abilities.”

Nigeria’s first game against fellow debutants Samoa was abandoned due to a wet outfield at the Borneo Cricket Ground in Sarawak, forcing a share of the points.

READ ALSO: Cricket: Wet outfield delays Nigeria’s U-19 Women’s World Cup debut

The team has since shifted their focus to the next game against New Zealand, which will be held in the early hours of Monday (3:30 am Nigerian time), hoping to mark a memorable debut at the World Cup.

The top three teams from the four groups will proceed into the Super 6 stage, where they will be drawn into two groups of six teams, and the top two from each group will play the semi-finals.

The Junior Female Yellow Greens outing in Malaysia is marking Nigeria’s second-ever World Cup appearance, with the men’s U-19 team also reaching the global stage in 2019.