Cricket: Nigeria stumble against Namibia in U-19 W’Cup qualifiers opener

The Junior Yellow Greens didn’t make a perfect start to their quest for a 2026 ICC U-19 World Cup ticket after losing their first game against Namibia by 10 runs at the Tafawa Balewa Cricket Oval in Lagos on Friday, PUNCH Sports Extra reports.

Nigeria is hosting the final phase of the ICC Africa qualifiers with five other teams jostling for the sole ticket through the tournament.

Captain Francois Du Plessis won the toss for Namibia and elected to bat first, sending Gafar Kareem and his teammates to field.

Nigeria’s bowlers came to the party with the balls, but Namibia built their innings slowly despite having just 50 runs on board after 16 overs.

Ukasha Isiyaku led for Nigeria with the ball, getting a whopping five wickets for five runs. He was followed by Azeez Warees with three but Namibia managed 133/10 in 47.5 overs despite the bowling efforts.

Namibia’s best batting figure was 22 runs from 20 balls posted by Max Heingo.

The Junior Yellow Greens began their chase in the second innings with Rahmon Ali leading the way.

Coach Daniel Gim’s side coasted to 50 runs in just 9.4 overs, but they failed to keep up after Ali was caught by Du Plessis in the 14th over.

Ali finished with 53 runs from 46 balls, including four fours and three sixes, but it was not enough to earn Nigeria the win.

Nigeria ended their innings at 123/10 in 40.2 overs as Namibia snatched their first win.

The Junior Yellow Greens will be back in action on Sunday when they take on Tanzania in their second game of the series, while Namibia will face Sierra Leone in their second game on Saturday (today) at the UNILAG cricket oval.

In the second game of the opening day, Kenya roared to victory with a dominant performance which saw them defeat Sierra Leone by 58 runs.

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