A two-day Invitational Cricket tournament was recently held among four secondary schools in Benin City. The competition was organised by Dolphin Cricket Foundation in collaboration with Community Sports and Educational Development (CSED) Initiative.
The event which was held at the premises of IDPs Uhogua, was meant for cricketers below the age of 12 years old. It witnessed upcoming cricketers exhibiting various skills as they expressed themselves with excitement.
The competition followed a round-robin format, where all schools played against each other. This structure gave the students more game time and opportunities to showcase their skills. Each match was played in a 5-over format, ensuring that all games were completed within the time limit.
The four schools that took part in the tournament were Christlike Schools Uhogua (host); Okhunwun Junior Secondary School, Iguadolor Secondary School and Beacon of Success School.
At the end of the competition, Christlike School emerged as champions, winning all three of their matches. The other three schools each won one game but lost to Christlike School. To determine the second and third positions, aggregate scores were used.
After collation, the final rankings were as follows; First place, Christlike Schools (3 wins); Second place, Beacon of Success School, Third place, Iguadolor Secondary School and Fourth place, Okhunwun Junior Secondary School.
The girls also had an opportunity to participate, as Okhunwun Junior Secondary School female team played a match against the Christlike School female team, which was won by Christlike School.
At the end of the competition, cash awards were presented to the winners in the first, second and third positions. The cricket equipment and kits that were used in training students of the four participating schools were donated by Lord’s Taverners, a UK based sports recycling charity.
The participating cricketers, tournament officials and the authorities of the participating school are of the view that the tournament was a great success. As it provided the young students a foretaste of what match day cricket is.
It also provided the tournament organisers the opportunity of promoting cricket at the grassroots level, as the participating schools were based at the outskirt of Benin City – village cricket. Furthermore, it provided the young cricketers a platform to showcase their talent and put into practice some of the knowledge that they have learned from coach Cyril Musa, who is also a UNIBEN social work graduate.
It would be recalled that at the recently concluded T20 U-19 Female Cricket World Cup that was held in Malaysia, nine of the players were cricketers from Edo State. As a result, the Edo State Cricket Association and the Edo State Sport Commission have to ensure that they provide P.E. Teachers in cricket playing schools the required basic training to develop their understanding of the game, as well as map out a clear career pathway for them to combine classroom teaching with playing the role of community coaches in rural areas.
It is hoped that some of the cricketers in this tournament, will be able to transition into cricketers that will represent Nigeria in future at the junior and senior levels.
