NIGERIAN women took part in their first international championship when they engaged Uganda, Tanzania, Kenya, Namibia and Sierra Leone in the Pepsi ICC-Africa T20 Women Championship in Kampala, which ended yesterday.Not much was expected of the ladies due to their relative inexperience in international game, but at the end of the fiesta, the team tutored by Joseph Eshua did enough to end the competition as the fifth-best team.It would have even done better but for inexperience, which cost it the game against Kenya on Friday. In the game played at the Lugogo Cricket Oval, Nigeria won the toss and elected to bat first. But the team scored a paltry 35 runs for nine in the allotted 20 0vers.Kenya surpassed the target in five overs, with Margaret Banja scoring 17 runs not out, supported by Emily Ruto with 13 runs not out. Kenya won by 10 wickets. The Nigerians recovered at the weekend to beat Sierra Leone at the Kyambogo Oval. It was the team's first international victory, a feat achieved by six wickets in a 10-over revised innings due to late start caused by rainfall in the morning.Sierra Leone won the toss and decided to bat first, scoring 55 runs for five wickets in 10 overs. Nigeria surpassed the target in 9.1 overs. Only Ann Marie Kamara of Sierra Leone scored double figures (16), with Hannah Ayoka of Nigeria taking two wickets for 10 in two overs.On Sunday, Nigeria lost again when she was bowled all out for 48 runs by Namibia at the Kyambogo Oval. Namibia won the toss and decided to bat first. The Southern Africans put up a total of 127 runs for eight in 20 overs. Namibia's Anneri Van Schoor scored 25 runs off 27 balls before she was bowled by Seun Awonusi, while Sune Wittmann knocked an impressive27 off 18 balls before she was run out by Victoria Eyo.Namibia won by 79 runs.When the team met Tanzania at the Lugogo Oval on Monday, not many people gave it any chance of surviving going by the pedigree of the opponent. And true to popular prediction, the Nigerian girls fell to Tanzania by an emphatic nine wickets victory.In that game, Team Nigeria won the toss and decided to bat first, and managed to put up a total of 58 runs, which was not enough to defeat the Tanzanians. Tanzania surpassed the target by one run in 6.5 overs, with Ibrahim Shakim Mwanaidi scoring 19 off 22 balls while Monica Pascal Iddi scored 17 runs off 13 balls.In Nigeria's last game played yesterday at the Kyambogo Oval against the host, Uganda won by nine wickets. Nigeria scored 33 for eight wickets in 20 overs, while Uganda scored 34 in seven overs to clinch victory. Ruth Ayannaike top scored for Nigeria, scoring 12 runs in 52 balls.At the end of the tourney, Nigeria was ranked fifth in Women's T20 in Africa behind Uganda (first), Tanzania (second), Kenya (third) and Namibia. Sierra Leone took the sixth position.
Click here to read full news..
