ICC official praises NCF for organising women’s cricket invitational

Patricia Kambarami, an official of the International Cricket Council (ICC), has scored Nigeria high in the organisation of the just-concluded maiden Nigeria Women’s T20i Cricket Invitational in Lagos.

Kambarami, an ICC Regional Development Manager who was present at the week-long invitational in Lagos, lauded the Nigeria Cricket Federation (NCF) for the quality of planning and execution.

She also appreciated the performance of the five teams which participated —- Ghana, Rwanda, Sierra Leone, The Gambia and hosts Nigeria.

“The participating teams put up a good performance.

“I must also say that the organisation of this tournament and the quality is top notch. I could see that a lot went into making this tournament what it was and it is great to see the success that was achieved.”

Kambarami further said it was great to see how much countries like Ghana and The Gambia put in with their response at the tournament held at the Tafawa Balewa Square cricket oval in Lagos.

“It only shows that they will keep improving with more competitions, like the Kwibuka tournament in Rwanda which is coming up soon.

“But, more important for me was watching the excitement on the faces of the spectators.

“One could see the interest, participation and enthusiasm from the kids around and it tells you so much of how cricket has grown in this country.

“Also, I see this tournament improving with more competitors in subsequent events,” Kambarami said.

The ICC official also said she was impressed with the quality of the Nigerian women team which participated in the invitational.

“The Nigerian women team has improved tremendously.

“I watched them in Zimbabwe in 2019, but what I am seeing now is impressive and I really must congratulate the NCF for what they have done with the team. It’s such a brilliant job,” she said.

Kambarami also said there is in the young players she has seen in the Nigerian team a testament to the progress of the federation’s grassroot development programme.

“It’s great to see the improvement from the Nigerian side and I am so impressed by this,” she added.

NAN/Nnenna.O