Cricket: Federation invites 20 men to camp

The Nigeria Cricket Federation (NCF) on Wednesday said that it had invited 20 men to resume camp in preparation for forthcoming international competitions by the National and U-19 sides.

NCF Spokesman, Musa Bodie, said in a statement that the competitions would hold in the third and fourth quarter of the year.

“The Nigeria Cricket Federation is set to begin the senior Men’s camp in Lagos, Nigeria from the 22nd of April to the 3rd of May at the Tafawa Balewa Square Cricket Oval.

“The camp is in preparation for the series of international engagements by the National and Under-19 side, scheduled in the 3rd and 4th quarter of the year.

“A 20 man squad selected across the country has been drawn to resume camp on Wednesday 21st April 2021,” the statement said.

The President of the federation,Yahaya Ukwenya, expressed optimism at the purpose and timing of the training.

He said that the forthcoming competition had given the federation the opportunity to select top players to be prepared.

“We expect to compete very well in these tournaments lined up and we want to start preparations early.

“The stakes are higher and a lot of investments have gone into this process, especially with the facility constructions across the country.

“The Players in Camp is a blend of youth and experience with the crunch of the players from the World Cup,” he said.

He further said that NCF had engaged in domestic competitions that had given the head coach, Asanka Gurusinha, the opportunity to select the best players.

“ Gurusinha has been able to select our best and top players for these tournaments.

“In January, the National Under-17 Championship was conducted in Benin City where the next generations of superstars were identified.

“Also, in March, the national Men’s Championship was also held which had the best players in the country on display.

“The successful hosting of the National Sports Festival where Cricket featured three events for the first time also provided us the opportunity for players to be identified for the big stage,” he said.

The Under-19, Under-17 players and national team invited includes; Chimezie Onwuzilike, Joshua Ayannaike, Sesan Adedeji, Peter Aho, Prosper Useni and Sylvester Okpe.

Others are Runsewe Sulaimon, Eghosa Aghedo, Lucky Itua, Odion Isesele, Isaac Okpe, Abolarin Rasheed, Samuel Mba and Ridwan Abdukareem.

The statement disclosed that the National Under-19 and National Women’s camp would commence immediately after the National Men’s camp.