TheCable

The national male cricket team, Yellow-Greens, arrived in Windhoek, Namibia on Monday to begin their campaign in the International Cricket Council (ICC) men’s T20 World Cup qualifiers.

The Steve Tikolo-coached side had camped in Zimbabwe last week for the final phase of their preparation for the qualifiers.

Other countries vying for the two spots at the event include host Namibia, Kenya, Tanzania, Zimbabwe, Uganda and Rwanda.

Tayo Atoloye, south-west representative on the Nigeria cricket federation board, said the event would provide a good test for the national team.

“While we have done our best to prepare the team, I believe our expectations should be measured,” he said.

“Although the team has not lost a competitive match since 2022 and we recently came through the West Africa Trophy win a ten-game unbeaten record, we still expect a tough time here in Namibia.

“At this point, the team’s future is what matters.”

Captained by Sylvester Okpe, the Nigerian team also comprises Peter Aho, Ademola Onikoyi, Sesan Adedeji, Sulaimon Runsewe, Prosper Useni, Chiemelie Udekwe, Ridwan Kareem, Isaac Okpe, Daniel Ajekun, Isaac Danladi, Taiwo Mohammed, Joshua Asia, Akhere Isesele and Ashmit Shrestha.

Nigeria would open its account in the qualifier against Kenya on Thursday after which it would meet Rwanda on Friday.

They will take a break on Saturday and then return on Sunday to take on Tanzania.

Next week, the Yellow-Greens will face Uganda, Zimbabwe and Namibia as they hope to make the best of their first major outing since 2021.