Nigeria’s Junior Female Yellow Greens Qualify for U19 Women’s T20 World Cup
Nigeria’s Junior Female Yellow Greens clinched a spot in the ICC Under-19 Women’s T20 World Cup for the second time, defeating Zimbabwe by four runs in the Africa Qualifier Division 1 final held in Tanzania on Saturday, September 5, 2026. After winning the toss and batting first, Nigeria posted 98/6 from their 20 overs, with captain Christabel Chukwuonye top-scoring with 21 runs off 19 balls, supported by Beauty Oguai (19) and Jessica Bieni (15). Deborah Bassey added a quick 10 off four balls in the death overs.
In reply, Zimbabwe were restricted to 94 all out in 19.5 overs. Peace Usen led the bowling attack with figures of 3/19 from four overs, while Jennifer Godwin took two wickets and Shola Adekunle claimed one. The decisive over was bowled by Anointed Akhigbe, who dismissed Vanessa Nyasha Maedza on the fifth ball to seal the win.
The victory confirms Nigeria’s return to the global Under-19 stage and highlights the progress of its women’s cricket development pipeline, which continues to produce match‑winning performers.
Will you follow the Junior Female Yellow Greens’ journey at the upcoming World Cup, support grassroots cricket initiatives in your community, or use this achievement as motivation to encourage young girls to take up the sport?