Brief History of Nigeria Women’s National Cricket Team
The Nigeria women’s national cricket team represents Nigeria in international women’s cricket. The team is managed by the Nigeria Cricket Federation, which has been an ICC member since 2002.
Historical Highlights – Nigeria Women’s National Cricket Team
Nigeria made its international debut at the 2011 ICC Africa Women’s T20 Tournament in Uganda. Despite a rocky start, losing their first game against Kenya by ten wickets, they secured a victory against Sierra Leone by six wickets in their second match. However, they lost the remaining matches against Namibia, Tanzania, and Uganda, finishing fifth in the six-team competition.
In August 2015, Nigeria participated in an invitational tournament in Dar es Salaam, featuring the Tanzanian national team and a team from India’s Mumbai Cricket Association.
In April 2018, the ICC granted full Women’s Twenty20 International (WT20I) status to all its members. Consequently, all WT20I matches played by Nigeria since 1 July 2018 have had international status. Nigeria made its WT20I debut against Rwanda on 26 January 2019 at Abuja, winning the five-match series 3-2.
Tournament Highlights – Nigeria Women’s National Cricket Team
1. 2011 ICC Africa Women’s T20 Tournament:
Nigeria finished fifth out of six teams and managed to get only one victory against Sierra Leone.
2. 2019 ICC Women’s Qualifier Africa:
In the group stage, they were placed in Group B. They won against Mozambique but lost the other three matches, finishing fourth in the group.
3. 2021 ICC Women’s T20 World Cup Africa Qualifier:
Nigeria was placed in Group B alongside Namibia, Uganda, Sierra Leone, and Cameroon, managing to win two matches but did not qualify for the playoffs.
4. 2023 ICC Women’s T20 World Cup Africa Qualifier:
In Division One, Nigeria was placed in Group B alongside Uganda, Namibia, and Rwanda. They managed to win their game against Rwanda but did not qualify further.
5. 2023 Nigeria Invitational Women’s T20I Tournament:
The tournament was scheduled from 27 March to 2 April 2023, at Tafawa Balewa Square Cricket Oval, Lagos, in the round-robin stage, Nigeria won three matches and were placed second in the points table. In the final, they fell short by 9 runs and lost to Rwanda.