President of the Nigeria Cricket Federation, Uyi Akpata, has opened up on the role the body played to help the Junior Female Yellow Greens impress at the ICC U-19 Women’s T20 World Cup in Malaysia.
The team made history in their debut world cup with a stunning win over New Zealand, a top ranked team, adding it to the one point against Samoa to qualify for the Super 6.
In the Super six opener against England, the tie ended in a draw as both sides shared one point apiece because the game was abandoned due to a heavy downpour.
Nigeria crashed out of the competition despite another historic win over Ireland In their last match of the Supe 6.
The Junior Female Yellow Greens earned a dramatic six-run victory over Ireland, finishing just one point behind England in the Super Six stage in Bangi, Malaysia.
Akpata revealed that the Federation’s target was to see a Nigerian female team play at the World Cup by 2028 at least, but the Junior Yellow Greens have achieved the feat in record time.
He also confirmed that the federation put plans in place to get quality players for the team, which has yielded immediate benefits for Nigeria.
Akpata said: “Our development plan was showing that we should have been here by 2028, but these girls just keep redefining the standards.
“It shows that when you invest a lot, the results come through, even faster than expected.
“Two years ago we started high-performance contracts for male and female players, then those who are in schools on scholarships, building a whole ecosystem and getting people to buy into the vision. It certainly helps when you see what the girls are doing in Malaysia, that’s just going to enhance our brand.”
Akpata hailed the team for making Nigeria proud despite bowing out of the competition on Wednesday.
He said: “Everyone is really excited. We’ve been seeing the buzz on digital platforms and social media, people are setting their alarms and waking up at 3 am to watch this.
“We’ve kept a lot of people awake, but we’re getting a lot of interest and ultimately, our expectations are just accelerated. It’s three years quicker than we expected.
“We have 15 wonderful girls who are representative of potentially about 50 others who believe that one way or another, they should also be here.”
The star of the match Lillian Ude, delivered a sensational spell, taking 3 wickets for just 11 runs in her four overs.
Her performance was instrumental in defending Nigeria’s modest total of 94 for 7, ensuring a narrow but significant win as Ireland was bowled out for 88 with eight balls to spare.
