The Nigeria Cricket Federation President, Uyi Akpata has said that the recent bilateral match between Nigeria and Sierra Leone held in Lagos has deeper import than the activities on the cricket pitch.
While addressing guests at the closing round of the six-match bilateral series which Nigeria won 5-1 at the University of Lagos Cricket Oval, he said, presently Nigeria’s is the best-ranked team on the West and North Africa region of the continent and it will not augur well if their neighbors are lagging behind.
“This series apart from helping the two teams shape up for the forthcoming International Cricket Council’s Africa’s T20 Qualifier later in the Year. It also offers grounds for both bodies to impact on each other’s growth.” He said.
Nigeria is already through to the finals of the Qualifying Series in Rwanda while Sierra Leone will need to pick a slot for the final round from a pre-event scheduled to start from November 2, 2021 in Kigali. Nigeria has among other things agreed to help the Sierra Leone Cricket Association to raise the standard of their playing turf to the current turf wicket being played in Nigeria as well as donate developmental kits to them.