Nigeria promoted to first division of African qualifiers for U-19 men’s cricket world cup

The Nigeria Junior YellowGreens have secured their return to the first division of African qualifiers for the ICC U-19 men’s Cricket World Cup.

The team finished second in the division wwo tournament in Rwanda to clinch promotion.

Nigeria finished the second division tourney with four victories in five matches. The Junior YellowGreens defeated Sierra Leone by 165 runs in their final match at Gahanga B Oval, Kigali.

The team posted an imposing 311 runs for nine wickets in 50 overs before bowling Sierra Leone out for 146 in 45.5 overs.

Keneth Boniface was the star performer for Junior YellowGreens, scoring an unbeaten century from 74 balls.

Boniface smashed 10 fours and three sixes at a strike rate of 135.14 to help Nigeria post the big total.

Ali Rahmon, the team captain, also played an important role, scoring 74 runs from 88 balls, with six fours and two sixes.

Their partnership and contributions helped Nigeria recover strongly through the middle and final stages of the innings.

Peculiar Egemasi scored 33 runs, Hossana Omonkhobhio made 30, while Abdullahi Ismail contributed 19 runs.

Daniel Ayodele led the attack with three wickets for 22 runs in eight overs, including two maidens.

Pelumi Orimolade also took three wickets for 15 runs, while Ismail claimed two wickets for 28 runs.

Sahr Lebbie top-scored for Sierra Leone with 41 runs, while Ibrahim Bangura made 27 before the team was bowled out for 146.

Nigeria finished second in the second tier and the reward is a return to Division One, where Nigeria will face stronger opposition and higher expectations.

Nigeria will share the Division One stage with Namibia, Tanzania, Kenya, Uganda and Rwanda.

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