Flying Eagles battle for survival
The national women’s cricket team at the weekend defied all odds to berth into the semifinal of the event at the ongoing Ghana 2023 African Games.
Pitted against better-rated South Africa, Tanzania and Namibia, the Women Yellow-Greens rose above the rankings to finish second behind South Africa in Group A. They made the final four of the competition despite a four-wicket loss to South Africa in Achimota.
Nigeria had earlier on Friday caused an upset at the Games when they defeated Namibia, one of the highly rated women’s cricket teams on the continent, with a 55-run victory and momentarily topped Group A. In the opening match, Nigeria had shared points with Tanzania in a rain-washed, inconclusive match on Thursday, which brought their tally to 3 points, before yesterday’s encounter.
The match against South Africa at the Achimota Senior Secondary School B Field in Accra, was highly anticipated, as it held the fate of not only Nigeria, but also Tanzania, who needed more than a win over Namibia to make it to the semifinals. They also needed Nigeria to lose by a wide margin to wipe off their Net Run Rate, as their win will only tie them on points.
Nigeria’s 74-run total in 18.4 wasn’t commanding enough to sway South Africa, the best-ranked team in the event, and so the Yellow Greens resorted to relying on their bowling prowess to limit the damage the Protea Women would have done to their NRR in defeat.
Seshnie Naidu did much of the damage to the Yellow-Greens by taking four wickets (Esther Sandy, 6.3, Salome Sunday, 14.2, Sarah Etim, 16.3 and Lilian Ude, 16.5), but that was not without the batting brilliance of Faye Tinniclife, who left 45 runs on the cards before being bowled by Usen Peace.
Nigeria lost but qualified ahead of Tanzania, who also won their game against Namibia by one wicket.
Speaking after the game against South Africa, Women Yellow Greens’ captain, Blessing Etim, said all that mattered was the qualification to the next round of the event.
She said: “I must commend my teammates for the commitment they have put in here. I thank Lilian (Ude) for the five wickets she contributed in this game, it is one of the major things that has kept us in the games so far,” Etim said.
Nigeria Cricket Federation (NCF) President, Uyi Akpata, who arrived in Achimota before yesterday’s game, attributed the Yellow-Greens’ performance to hard work and commitment.
“We are pleased to see the girls play to near their full potential. I can assure you that more is still coming, but honestly all this validates the work and the vision of the current leadership of the federation,” Akpata said.
Meanwhile, Nigeria’s U-20 men’s football team, Flying Eagles, will, today, meet their South Sudanese counterparts in a game they must win to remain in contention in the competition.
Nigeria lost its first game of the competition 1-2 to Uganda on Friday and needs a win to rekindle hope of a semifinal slot from Group A.
They will meet a South Sudan team that also lost their opening game to Senegal and so, needs to win to retain hopes of a last-four berth.
The other game of the group will see Uganda and Senegal in a battle for the top spot in Group A. Uganda met Tunisia in the late game yesterday and needs a win to climb to the summit of the group.
Yesterday’s match was Tunisia’s first game in the five-team group.
