- North West tops table to win maiden edition of the National U-17 boy’s championship.
- South-South leaves it late against South West to finish as runners up.
- North East makes 1st appearance in N.C.F tournament after 10 years of insurgency in the region.
The maiden finals of the National u-17 Cricket Championship for boys ended successfully on Sunday 6th October 2019 at the Cricket Oval, M.K.O Abiola stadium, package B, Abuja as North West tops the table with 8 points from a possible 10 to emerge champions. The tournament which began on the 3rd of October had 6 zones in participation with North-East as the revelation after 10 years of absence from Cricket activities due to the insurgency in the region. Proud partners and Sponsors of the tournament Pricewaterhouse Coopers were also present every day to witness live actions from the array of talents displayed by various zones.
FINAL MATCH: SOUTH-SOUTH vs SOUTH WEST
Early signs of rain in the morning threatened the final day of events which would have robbed every cricket fan and lover a chance to witness a spectacle of talents display in the competition. North West was sure of at least second place finish with 4 wins from 4 games coming into the final match day. The final match saw rivalry between South-West and South-South rekindled as both teams required a win to secure a place in the top 2 in the tournament. Earlier in the day, South West boosted their chance of claiming the title after a much-spirited win against North West.
South-South won the toss and elected to bat first scoring a total of 101 runs for the loss of 7 wickets in 20 overs.
Elijah Saturday scored 33 runs off 41 balls, strongly supported by Selim Salau with 20 runs off 40 balls as the best performers with the bat for South-South.
Ridwan Kareem got 3 wickets for 15 runs in 4 overs for team South-West.
In the second innings, South West could only manage a total of 79 runs for the loss of 9 wickets in 20 overs.
Adebayo Samson scored 18 runs off 18 balls as the best effort for his team.
Prosper Useni got 2 wickets conceding 5 runs in 4 overs while Ogbemudia Eweka also got 2 wickets conceding 7 runs in 3 overs.
South-South won by 23 runs to emerge 2nd position
FINAL POINTS TABLE (BOYS)
| S/N | TEAM | MATCHES | WIN | LOSE | TIED | NO RESULT | POINTS | NET RUN RATE |
|
1 |
NORTH WEST |
5 |
4 |
1 |
0 |
0 |
8 |
4.858 |
|
2 |
SOOUTH-SOUTH |
5 |
3 |
1 |
1 |
0 |
7 |
1.811 |
|
3 |
SOUTH WEST |
5 |
3 |
2 |
0 |
0 |
6 |
1.705 |
|
4 |
SOUTH EAST |
5 |
3 |
2 |
0 |
0 |
6 |
0.784 |
|
5 |
NORTH CENTRAL |
5 |
1 |
3 |
1 |
0 |
3 |
-1.907 |
|
6 |
NORTH EAST |
5 |
0 |
5 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
-13.829 |
COACHING CLINIC/MASS PARTICIPATION
As part of the Special Grassroots intervention program in the F.C.T, The Federation used the opportunity to invite schools for a mini coaching clinic program to teach the basics of the game. 6 schools participated in the exercise namely;
- Government Secondary School, Karu
- Government Secondary School, Tudun Wada
- Government Secondary School, Nyanyan
- SOS HG Junior Secondary School, Gwagwalada
- Premier Academy, Lugbe
- Al-Hidaayah Academy
The event was attended by representatives of PricewaterhouseCoopers (PwC), sponsors of the tournament and led by Mr. Tolu Adeleke. Speaking on behalf of the Company, Mr Adeleke said that he was satisfied with the level of organization over the past month right from the zonal elimination stages to the finals in Abuja. He expressed optimism that the partnership between PwC and the NCF will continue to flourish while siting the North East as a possible special intervention program that can be considered by PwC.
President of the Federation Professor Yahaya Adam Ukwenya, hosted some dignitaries amongst who were. Dr Paul Oyuidu, representing the Minister, Federal Ministry of Youth and Sports development Mr. Sunday Dare and also, Mr. Yogesh Singh Kumar representing the Indian High Commission.
Other Board members present were Mr. Wale Obalola, Mr. Endurance Ofem and Mr. Enesi Habib Amoto.
The highlight of the tournament was the presentation of winners and 2nd place Medals, individual and team awards.
FINAL AWARDS
- North-West—————————1st Position
- South-South—————————- 2nd Position
INDIVIDUAL AWARD CATEGORIES
- Best Batsman————————–Paul Pam (NorthWest)
- Best Bowler—————————-Chidi Onwubwalili (North West)
- Best Fielder—————————-Huzaifah Abdusalam(North West)
- Most Valuable Player—————Chidi Onwubwalili (North West)
ZONAL AWARDS
- South-South————————–Edo State
- South East—————————-Anambra State
- South West—————————Oyo State
- North Central————————Kwara State
- North West—————————Kaduna State
- North East—————————-Borno State