It was pump and Celebration on Friday at the Centre of Excellence for Women’s Cricket, Iyoba College, Ugbowo, Benin City as the Nigeria Cricket Federation and the Edo State Cricket Association marked the ICC Women’s Week celebration in Benin with mass participation secondary school girls.
The ICC women week celebration which heralds the commencement of the 5th edition of the Edo state women Cricket League drew secondary school girls from Iyoba College, Emotan college and other schools including schools from Ekpoma and other parts of Edo state.
The event came to a climax with lectures and distribution of cricket kits worth over $1500 dollars to five schools with a charge for the coaches to make good use of the items to encourage and produce young cricket athletes as directed by the President of the Nigeria Cricket Federation (NCF) Dr Uyi Akpata.
In a remark at the ICC women Cricket week celebration, the Permanent Secretary, Edo State Sports Commission Mrs. Patricia Efe-Amenze who represented the Commission Chairman Hon Amadin Desmond Enabulele said the Sports Commission is happy that the NCF chose Edo as the place for the celebration of the International Cricket Council Women week in the country.
”We appreciate the Nigeria Cricket Federation and Edo State Cricket Association for organising this event and choosing Edo state as the host state. You can see the large turnout of school children and the excitement. Kudos to the president of the Nigeria Cricket Federation Dr Uyi Akpata for the great job he is doing for our country. We are proud of him as he has continued to raise the bar in the field he has chosen. This is good for us and it shows that the taproots of Nigeria Cricket is in Edo State and Programmes like this will definitely speed up grassroots development,” she said.
The Executive Director, Sports Development and Operations, Edo State Sports Commission Mrs Sabina Chikere who oversees the affairs of Edo cricket also expressed appreciation to Dr Akpata and the cricket Federation for their immense contribution to the development of Cricket in Edo state.
”We have a sound reputation for Cricket development and all thanks to Dr Uyi Akpata. He is our own and we will continue to cooperate with him in taking his development programme to the next level.
“We have confidence in him and want to commend him for bringing this programme to us. The celebration comes with awareness and our school girls are the beneficiaries as they are exposed to some of the basic skills of the game,” she said.
Also speaking in their desperate remarks, the vice chairman, Edo State Cricket Association Abraham Oviawe Esq. and Leonard Onome Oghenkevbe, regional development officer of the NCF congratulated the women Cricketers as they celebrate.
They urged Edo school girls to take advantage of the opportunity brought to their door steps by the president of the NCF.
Oviawe said the programme will heavily impact the school girls in Edo and will bring expansion.
“Edo is blessed with talents and we currently have about ten girls from Edo in the national team and that goes to show that Edo is the hub for Cricket development,” he said.
According to Leonard Onome Oghenkevbe, “Charity has indeed begun at home. I am happy that our president who is from Edo brought the celebration here. I’m also from this region and I’m fulfilled with the level of participation.”
Meanwhile, the Edo Women Cricket League will begin on Saturday with Adolor Amazons CC and Ekpoma Supernova CC in the opening match face-off.
The match is scheduled for 12 noon at the Centre of Excellence for Women’s Cricket, Iyoba College, Ugbowo, Benin City.
