The organizing committee of the fifth edition of the Nigeria Cricket Federation Women’s T20 Invitational Tournament has unveiled Tanzania to participate in the Four-nation event scheduled to hold from February 23rd to March 3rd in Lagos.
Ranked 19th in the world, the Tanzania Women’s team would be making their first appearance at the event that has shared its winnings so far between Nigeria and Rwanda.
Chuma Anosike, the Chairman of the organising committee for the event said the Tanzanian Women’s team at the event is a major achievement, given that they are ranked better than any of the teams participating.
“Nigeria, the host and defending champion is ranked 29th in the World, Rwanda is three steps ahead of us at 26, while Sierra Leone is at 39. Their inclusion raises the bar for the event, and the potential for an increased number of eyeballs that will watch the matches globally.” He said.
The event will run for eight days at the Tafawa Balewa Cricket Oval in Lagos.
The Nigeria team, the Female Yellow-Greens, has been in camp since last week and hopes to put up a commanding performance at their ground to defend the event they won last year.
The coach of the team Leke Oyede, has asked for support from the home fans, saying his team would appreciate supporters coming out to cheer them on match days when the event begins.
“We are doing our best to prepare. I believe we have a better team now because most of the players have had ample playing time between last year and now. This includes international exposure and the recently concluded South-South Female League, most players took part. Our hard work and the support of home fans will go a long way.” He said.
The tournament’s first ball will be on Sunday, February 25th, with Tanzania squaring off with 2022 champion Rwanda, by 10 am, before Nigeria’s encounter with her West African rival Sierra Leone by 2:15 later in the afternoon.
Nigeria’s team will be led by its long-standing captain and the most-capped female cricket in the country, Blessing Etim.
