Sports
Nigeria Benefits From ICC’s New Cricket Dev. Plans
Nigeria is to benefit from the new global cricket development plans announced by the International Cricket Council (ICC) after its Executive Board meeting in Jakarta.
The ICC said it would establish an expanded global qualification system for its World Twenty20 tournament and announced it would fund specific strategic projects with 2 million dollars
Nigeria became an Associate member of the ICC in 2002 and is currently playing in the Pepsi ICC World Division Six League.
An ICC statement, made available to newsmen in Lagos, said ICC Associate and Affiliate Members would now find it easy to qualify for the Twenty20 competitions.
“A new and expanded global qualification system will be established to give the ICC Associate and Affiliate Members a distinct pathway towards the ICC World Twenty20.
“The qualification tournament, which has previously involved six or eight teams, will be expanded to a 16-team tournament in early 2012.
“This is to give those sides the chance to represent their countries at the prestigious ICC World Twenty20 2012 in Sri Lanka,’’ the statement said.
It said the decisions were reached at the ICC executive meeting in Jakarta on Thursday.
It also said that the ICC Development Committee had designed the new-look tournament to comprise the six which currently enjoyed ODI/T20I status plus 10 qualifiers from regional Twenty20 events.
“The exact details of the regional qualification network will be announced in due course but the intention is to give all 94 Associate and Affiliate Members a clear pathway towards the finals.”
In another development, the committee has pledged 2 million dollars towards major cricket facilities developments for targeted Associates and Affiliates, in partnership with Members and third-parties.
The members eligible to apply, under a system to be finalised soon will include each of the top six-ranked Associates/Affiliates, China and U.S.
Others are a member nominated by each of the Africa, East Asia-Pacific and Europe regions together with any Associate or Affiliate scheduled to host certain ICC events, it said.
The statement issued from ICC headquarters in Dubai, quoted ICC Chief Executive Haroon Lorgat as saying that “cricket development around the world has never been stronger”.
“These are two extremely exciting, strategic and encouraging developments for the future of our great sport.
“They represent a clear sign of our ongoing commitment to growing the game beyond its traditional boundaries and ensuring that each of our members has the opportunity to develop.
“Cricket has never been stronger,” the statement said.
It said that ICC now had three viable formats of the game at international level and cricket had continued to grow in popularity in almost every corner of the globe.
“These initiatives are steps along the path towards continued sustainable growth.
A well-known football pundit in the State, Chief Christopher Okonkwo has lauded the efforts and vision of the Super Eagles Coach Eric Chelle for going from one venue of the Nigeria Domestic Nigeria Professional Football League match to the other in monitoring Nigerian players, with a view to invite some exceptional good one discovered into the main stream of the Super Eagles team.
Okonkwo, who made the commendation in an interview at the Port Harcourt Club recently, described the positive move by Coach Chelle as a good step in the right direction, noting that the practice was how its been done in the past among any contracted coach assigned to tinker the Super Eagles team.
“Truly, it has been an old tradition in the country seeing any newly engaged Coach to lead the National team, visiting some our Nigeria League venues during the league matches to spot light some good talents that could be used to beef up some grey areas in the department of Eagles team”
He, however, frowned at the current situation where our coaches had continously been over depending on the use of foreign based players during invitation of players to the National camp, thereby, relegating the domestic home based league players to the background as if they have nothing much to offer to the team.
“I can vividly recall that the likes of great players in the mode of Finidi George, Taribo West, Kanu Nwankwo, Austin Okocha, Richard Owobokiri, Emmanuel Osuigwe among others started from Nigeria football league before they graduated to play in Europe through which they later invited to Super Eagles camp to represent Nigeria”
“Besides, I’m also of the view that going to secondary school football competitive games could equally serves as a a good platform to discover budding talents that could be nurtured to become great stars in near future”, Okonkwo frankly added.
Okonkwo, therefore, prayed that any football coach to be engaged by the Nigeria Football Federation (NFF) to tinker the Super Eagles should be told not to confine himself in staying in big hotel alone but to be visiting some of our local league match venues, with a view to discover some good players that can be drafted into the Super Eagles team.
“Indeed, I stand to be challenged that there some young good players in the Nigeria Professional League. If spotted and exposed, could give the some of the invited foreign based players a stiff competitive fight in securing a postion in the team”, Okonkwo emphatically stated.
Ezechukwu, one of the youngest members of the Nigerian contingent at the championship in Ghana, said her ambition was to win the 100m title in style and cap it with a new personal record.
The fresh secondary school graduate explained that she is fully focused on contributing to Team Nigeria’s medal hopes and is determined to deliver strong performances across her events.
“My main objective in Ghana is to clinch the 100m title and the 4×100m,” Ezechukwu told Tidesports source.
“Nigeria can be assured of my very best and my commitment to the Team. I would love to set a new personal best in Ghana, but anything that comes, I will take it. The spirit in the team is high, and I think we are ready to go,” she said.
Ezechukwu, who was part of Nigeria’s women’s 4x100m relay squad at the World Relays in Botswana, said the experience gained from that competition has strengthened her mindset heading into the continental championships.
She admitted that she learned valuable lessons from her previous outing, including a difficult moment during the relay where an early error affected the team’s rhythm, but said she has used the experience to improve her discipline and composure.
“The secret is just being disciplined, training hard and trusting my coach and believing in God, and the result will show,” she added.
The teenager is part of a 41-member Nigerian team comprising 24 female and 17 male athletes competing at the championships, which begin today at the University of Ghana, Legon.
Nigeria are expected to compete across multiple track and field events as they aim for a strong finish against the continent’s elite athletes.
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