Yellow Greens land in Namibia, begin qualification campaign against Kenya

Nigeria’s senior men’s cricket national team, Yellow Greens, will begin their campaign for a ticket to the 2024 International Cricket Council (ICC) World Cup tomorrow when they meet Kenya in their opening game.

The T20 Cricket World Cup will hold in the United States and the Caribbeans next year, with the African qualifying campaign holding in Namibia, where Nigeria is battling with Kenya, Namibia, Tanzania, Zimbabwe, Uganda and Rwanda for the ticket.

The Yellow Greens arrived in Windhoek on Monday from Zimbabwe, where they stayed for over one week to put finishing touches to their preparation for the competition.

According to South West representative on the Nigeria Cricket Federation (NCF) board, Tayo Atoloye, the Namibia campaign will be a good test for the Coach Steve Tikolo-led side. He said: “While we have done our best to prepare the team, I believe our expectations should be measured.

“Yes, the national team has not lost a competitive match since 2022, and we recently just came through the West Africa Trophy win with a 10-game unbeaten record. This event will test our limits.”

He said the board is focused on the future of the team, adding that they are looking beyond the event.

In the Nigerian team, captained by Sylvester Okpe, are Peter Aho, Ademola Onikoyi, Sesan Adedeji, Sulaimon Runsewe, Prosper Useni, Chiemelie Udekwe, Ridwan Kareem, Isaac Okpe, Daniel Ajekun, Isaac Danladi, Taiwo Mohammed, Joshua Asia, Akhere Isesele and Ashmit Shrestha.

After the Yellow Greens opening game against Kenya tomorrow, they will take on Rwanda on Friday, take a break on Saturday and then return to the oval on Sunday to take on Tanzania.

Uganda, Zimbabwe and Namibia will be Nigeria’s next fixture in the second week of the tournament,