On Saturday, Nigeria’s women’s U-19 cricket team, the Junior Female Yellow Greens, will face their East African opponents, Rwanda, in one of the semi-finals of the 2025 ICC Women’s T20 U-19 World Cup Africa Qualifier (Division 1).
After qualifying with a game to spare on Monday, the Junior Female Yellow Greens secured first place in Group B of Division 1 on Wednesday with a dominant 86-run victory against Malawi, setting up a last-four clash with Uganda/Rwanda, who finished second in Group A.
Nigeria easily defeated Malawi at the Gahanga 2 Oval, where skipper Lucky Piety won the toss for the first time in the competition and chose to bat first.
In the first innings, Nigeria scored 147 runs for the loss of four wickets. Malawi bowled well, catching and bowling out four of Nigeria’s six batters. However, in the second innings, Nigeria limited Malawi to 61 runs for the loss of 10 wickets in 18.1 overs. Captain Piety, Peace Usen, and Kehinde Amusa each took two wickets.
Rwanda, on the other hand, finished second in their group after losing by 46 runs in their final group game against Uganda, the joint-table toppers. Zimbabwe, which finished second behind Nigeria, will face Uganda in the second semi-final.
The winner of the qualifying round will receive Africa’s second ticket to the World Cup in Malaysia, after South Africa secured their spot as one of the top finishers in the last World Cup.
Written by Jennifer Amarachi
