ICC chief eyes U-19 World Cup success

The International Cricket Council’s women’s cricket manager, Snehal Pradhan, says the roaring success of the maiden women’s U-19 World Cup in South Africa will serve as a springboard for the second edition, which will be hosted by Malaysia from January 18 to February 2, PUNCH Sports Extra reports.

Nigeria is one of the four debutants among the 16 countries that will be on parade at the tournament to showcase the next generation of women cricketers worldwide.

The first edition was also the largest women’s tournament ever organised by the ICC and Pradhan is confident that the impact of this event will be long-lasting.

“It was a fantastic success. It was very much a commitment to equity between the men’s tournament and the women’s tournament but also a leap of faith.

“Countries were still maturing in how developed their women’s and junior pathways were so it was a chance to see the work that the countries have been putting in over the last few years.

“The positioning of the tournament across men’s and women’s is future stars because this is a tournament that allows a number of players to make their name at U-19 level before going on to play high-level international senior cricket.”

“This tournament provided an opportunity to give a few players who had already made their name in international cricket, a platform to really step up as senior players in the team.”

Nigeria’s participation aligns with Pradhan’s words, as players like Captain Piety Lucky, Lillian Udeh, Peculiar Agboya, and Christabel Chukwuonye among others have been part of Nigeria’s senior team.

They were core members of the team that won a historic bronze medal at the African Games last year in Ghana and hoped to propel the U-19 team with their experience in Malaysia.

The Junior Female Yellow Greens who pipped Zimbabwe to Africa’s spot in Malaysia have rounded up their preparations in Nigeria and will hold their final 10-day camping ahead of the World Cup India.

In Malaysia, Nigeria will compete in Group C along with South Africa, New Zealand and Samoa.

Their first match will be against Samoa on January 18, 2025, before facing New Zealand two days later and South Africa on January 22, 2025.