Eseigbe leads Nigeria to Kwibuka cricket tourney

Right-hand batter, Favour Eseigbe, will captain Nigeria’s senior women’s cricket team, the Female Yellow Greens, to the 2024 Kwibuka tournament, which will be played from May 30 to June 8 in Kigali, Rwanda, PUNCH Sports Extra reports.

Eseigbe will lead coach Leke Oyede’s 14-player roster, taking over from the retired Blessing Etim, who bowed out at the end of their bronze medal feat at the 2023 African Games in Ghana.

The 22-year-old, who served as assistant to the retired Etim, will be deputised by Abigail Igbobie.

Aside from Eseigbe and Igbobie, other players in the squad include Esther Sandy, wicketkeeper Sarah Etim, Piety Lucky, Salome Sunday, super bowler Peculiar Agboya, Adekunle Adeshola and Christabel Chukwuonye.

Others are Victory Igbinedion, Lillian Udeh, Racheal Samson, Usen Peace and the newly invited ⁠Anointed Akhigbe.

The Female Yellow Greens rounded off their two-week camping on Sunday at the Nigeria Cricket Federation’s high-performance centre in Benin City ahead of their trip to Kigali on Tuesday (today).

Nigeria will be making their fifth appearance at the tournament, where they finished fourth last year after losing to Kenya in the third-place playoff.

Ahead of what will be the team’s first outing since winning bronze at the 2023 African Games in Ghana in March, Oyede said the team isn’t resting on their laurels at the expanded tournament.

“I believe other countries will be looking out for us, not just the ones we beat at the African Games,” Oyede told our correspondent.

“So, they won’t be the same side that they were and we should also up our game as well. There are more teams now and we want to excel among other countries.”

Nigeria will battle hosts Rwanda, Uganda, Zimbabwe, Botswana, Kenya, Malawi and Cameroon for the 10th edition of the tournament.

The tournament will be played in a round-robin format before the top two teams go up against each other to decide the winners.