NCF U17 cricket: Niger wins North Central zonal qualifiers

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By Ijeoma Okigbo

Team Niger on Tuesday won the Under 17 Nigeria Cricket Federation (NCF) North Central zonal qualifiers, sponsored by PricewaterhouseCoopers (PwC).

Niger defeated Benue to emerge winners in the male category, finishing unscathed in five games of the tournament played at the Moshood Abiola National Stadium, Abuja.

The game, on Tuesday, saw Niger won the toss and opted to bowl first in the 15 overs game.

Niger began with bowling clinically with the first wicket of Hamisu Abdulrahman sent back to the stands in the first four balls of the innings, but Niger soon lost the momentum, giving out a staggering 36 extras.

Benue batting line up could not capitalise on the opportunity, scoring just 17 off the bat and managing 53/8 in 15 overs.

In the chase, the opening duo of Isaac Oyewole and Usman Ibrahim needed only 9.0 overs to score 55/0 to seal victory for Niger.

At the end of the game, Aliyu Abubakar, the coach of Niger team, said he was happy with the team’s performance, while anticipating that they carry the momentum to the finals of the tournament.

“The boys played well, although there are lots of areas to work on, but ordinarily, they gave their best.

“Our focus is now on the finals scheduled to begin next week in Abuja. We hope to make our zone proud in the tournament,” he said.

The News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) reports that Benue emerged second place, while Kwara and Kogi finished on the third and fourth spot respectively.

Plateau state finished on the fifth spot, while FCT occupied the bottom of the log.

Salisu Ishaq from Kogi, emerged best batter with 70 runs, while the best bowler award went to Mohammed Yahaya of Benue.

The best fielder went to Samuel Ayomide from Kwara, while the Most Valuable Player award was pocketed by Marvelous Olusegun, also from Kwara.

In the women’s category, only three teams participated with Kogi emerging champions, while Kwara and FCT finished on the second and third spot respectively.

Sofia Waheed from Kwara was the best female batter with 44 runs, while Hassana Salihu of Kogi was best bowler with 5 wickets to her credit.

The best fielder award was given to Husseina Salihu also of Kogi, while teammate Fatima Musa was awarded the Most Valuable Player of the tournament. (NAN) (www.nannews.ng)

Edited by Emmanuel Afonne

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