Nigeria’s Piety Runs Riot as Rwanda Pick Sole U19 WC Ticket

Nigeria’s Lucky Piety’s 106-run off 42 balls has earned her the batman of the maiden African Under-19 Women Cricket World Cup Qualifiers concluded on Monday in Gaborone, Botswana.

The Nigerian girls crashed in their first two matches to Rwanda (by 9 runs) and Tanzania (by 115 runs) before finding brilliant forms in their last two encounters against Mozambique (won by 9 wickets) and Malawi (won by 115 runs).

According to the General Manager of the Nigeria Cricket Federation, Emeka Igwilo, “the event could have been better for the girls but you know that for teenagers, their emotions were running wild and it took them time to settle into the tournament.

“These are school kids that had limited exposure and a large chunk of them were getting that level of exposure for the first time. They were overwhelmed, by the time they settled into the tournament they had lost the chance to be in the top four,” observed Igwilo.

Piety’s brilliant run was in Nigeria’s last encounter against Malawi where she stepped in with Oseyande Omonkhobhio after fall of first-two wickets. She went on to make the fastest half ton – of the tournament; and eventually the fastest of the tournament to take her team’s total to 191/7 at the end of their 20 overs, in the game Nigeria won by 117 runs.

Meanwhile, Rwanda on Monday in the final match of the qualifier eased past Tanzania to bag  their first ever World Cup ticket and the maiden one for the Under-19 Women’s World Cup.

Tanzania, who had defeated Rwanda in their group game, again chose to bat first in Monday’s final. 

Rahima Kibwana’s 33 from 39 balls gave Tanzania a platform, but excellent and disciplined bowling from Rwanda made sure the rate never got going. 

They were superb in the field effecting two run outs, one of which was the dangerous Agnes Qwele, who was dismissed at the non-strikers end without facing a ball.