Oyo State team, yesterday vowed to retain its title at the South-West U-19 Cricket Tournament  tagged “The Jide Bademosi Cup”, currently underway at the Obafemi Awolowo Stadium, Ibadan.
Johnson Idakwo, Head Coach, Oyo State Cricket Association (OSCA) told newsmen that its cricketers were fully prepared and motivated to win.
“We are here to defend our title which we won at the maiden edition in 2017. The tournament is superb and fantastic. I have seen a lot of good talents from other states taking part.
“This tournament is like a talent hunt discovery and it’s a very good one for the development of cricket in Nigeria.
“We are prepared and not scared, we will approach every game as they come. I’m  optimistic that we’ll retain the title,” he said.
Tidesports source reports that four states, Lagos, Oyo, Ogun and Osun are participating in the competition ending on Saturday.
Idakwo added that five players from the Oyo State are currently in the national team.
“Three of the players were at the U-19 World Cup and presently we have two players at the national camp preparing for a tournament in Kenya.
“Akachukwu Chima, Vincent Adewuyi and Sulaiman  Runsewe are all grassroots players doing both Oyo State and Nigeria proud. They are all in the national team right now,” he said.
He added that there are lots of improvement in the players from what he saw at the 2017 maiden edition.
“There is no underdog in this tournament. I’m surprised to see that Osun is being represented by a formidable strong team. I see them bat, bowl and their warm-up is fantastic,” he said.
It would be recalled that Oyo State won the maiden edition in 2017 after defeating Ogun by 191 runs to 113.