The much anticipated Nigeria Cricket Federation (NCF) Women’s T201 tournament began with all the thrills and excitement as the first ball of the competition was delivered.
After a swap in the timing of the earlier fixtures, the first match of the NCF Women T201 Tournament was rescheduled to have Ghana vs Rwanda The Trumpet gathered.
Day 1: Match 1: Ghana vs Rwanda
Ghana won the toss and elected to field first, sending Rwanda to bat. Early fall of wickets from opening in Rwanda Sarah Uwera’s bat, gave Ghana a much-expected start which scored no runs facing 13 balls. Giselle Ishimwe, however, stayed firm on the other end to hold her wicket to produce an impressive total of 37 runs in 29 deliveries.
Wickets fell now and then but the runs kept ticking making the game very exciting and unpredictable.
In the end, Rwanda finished with 135 runs for the loss of 9 wickets in 20 overs. Giselle Ishimwe scored 37 runs off 29 balls, supported by Marie Diane with 26 runs off 18 balls and Cathia Uwamahoro with 15 runs off 19 balls.
Miriam Eshun strongly supported by Emmanuella Nyaaba and Kate Awuah with 2 wickets each, got 3 wickets while conceding 20 runs in 2 overs.
In the second innings, Rwanda made light work of the runs’ defence, picking up wickets at will to ensure that the first 6 batters cumulatively scored just 7 runs between them. There was a late spark from Rhyda Ofori and Ellen Otu Asante with 9 and 12 runs respectively, but not sufficient to inspire their team to victory. In the end, Ghana could only manage 54 runs for the loss of 9 wickets in 14.2m overs.
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Vumilia Margueritte got 4 wickets conceding 7 runs in 4 overs, supported by Muhawenimana Immaculee with 2 wickets conceding 5 runs in 2 overs. Vumilia Margueritte was named the player of the match as Rwanda won by 81 runs.
Day 1: Match 2: Nigeria vs Sierra Leone
The two West African cricket giants clashed for the first time in this tournament but not without the history of the fierce rivalry at the back of their minds. National Anthems from both countries were sung before the game began which only escalated the excitement.
Sierra Leone won the toss and elected to field first, thereby sending Nigeria to Bat. Nigeria had a clear agenda in mind when Lucky Piety and Kehinde Abdulquadri were sent in to open the batting for Nigeria. Piety fell in the first over to send some shivers to the bench of Nigeria even though the scoring rate was high. Nigeria lost Kehinde in the 3rd over on 14 runs which brought in Omonye Asika at Number 3.
The pair of Omonye and Salome Sunday was able to see out the power play to leave Nigeria comfortably over 30 runs. Salome Sunday blasted away from the moment she mounted the crease, scoring boundaries at will to record the first half-century of the tournament. She was complemented by Blessing Etim to ensure that Nigeria finished the innings with just the loss of 3 wickets.
Salome led the batting score with an impressive 61 runs off 63 balls not out, supported by Blessing Etim with 31 runs off 29 balls, and finally, Omoye Asika with 20 runs off 26 balls. Janet Kowa got 2 wickets, conceding 37 runs in 4 overs as the best bowling performance for Sierra Leone.
In the second innings, Nigeria got 2 early breakthroughs just like Sierra Leone to dismiss Batters 2 and 3 in just 3.2 overs. Sierra Leone responded well through Mabinty King and Annmarie Monica who scored 30 runs off 49 balls and 28 runs off 43 balls respectively.
However, it was a case of too little too late as the late surge of Sierra Leone resulted in successive falls of wickets and an eventual score of 90 runs for the loss of 6 wickets in 20 overs.
Blessing Etim was also handy with the ball, leading the bowling figures for Nigeria with 2 wickets, conceding 16 runs in 4 overs. 16 years old Uds Lilian made her debut for the country today and also took a wicket to wrap up an impressive display from Nigeria. However, Blessing Etim was named the player of the match while Nigeria won by 41 runs.
