Cricket: Nigeria U-19 Women Face Pakistan in World Cup Warm-up

After months of preparations, the Nigerian Under-19 Women Cricket Team, Junior Yellow Greens, will face their last acid test on January 18, before the World Cup begins in Sarakawa, Malaysia. 

The final warm-up match is billed for today,  Monday, January 13th, against Pakistan at the YSD-UKM Cricket Oval in Bangi at 3:30 pm local time.

Nigeria will be making her debut at the Cricket U-19 World Cup for Women as the sole qualifier from the African Qualifying series in Kigali last October, edging highly rated Zimbabwe, Uganda among others to pick the spot.

Lucky Piety, captain of the Nigerian side ranked 26th, will lead her team to face the eighth-ranked team in the world on the T20 log in the friendly today.

The President  of the Nigeria Cricket Federation, Uyi Akpata, describes Nigeria’s debut at the world stage as a milestone for the country’s Cricket, and he believes the girls will not make light work of the moments that the World Cup presents.

“The girls have been at different camp sessions since they qualified in October, and they concluded one last weekend in India before heading finally to Malaysia. I believe these exposures will come together to enhance their performance,” he noted.

Uyi said he and the board of the Nigeria Cricket Federation are pleased with the support and encouragement that the leadership of the National Sports Commission (NSC) has extended to the Federation and the team flying the country’s flag.

“We commend the leadership of the National Sports Commission for their support and encouragement in ensuring the team’s World Cup plan is fully seen through.”

Nigeria is in Group C with Samoa, New Zealand, and South Africa. The team’s first match is against Samoa on Saturday, January 18th, 2025, at the Borneo Cricket Ground in Sarawak.

The International Cricket Council (ICC) Women Under-19 T20 World Cup will run from January 18 to February 2, 2025.