Debutants Côte d’Ivoire suffered a tough introduction to international cricket, being dismissed for 21, 7, 31, 41 and 26 in their five group games at the ICC Men’s T20 World Cup Africa Sub-regional Qualifier C.
The West African nation also brought up an unfortunate milestone in the process; with their 7 all out against Nigeria setting a new record for the lowest innings total in a men’s international T20I game. Unsurprisingly, this performance attracted plenty of detractors on social media with users calling for the nation’s T20I status to be revoked. However, the team should instead be commended for putting out an XI on the park, a mere two years after receiving ICC Associate status.
In a 2021 interview with Emerging Cricket, the Fédération Ivoirienne de Cricket (FIVC) President Dosso Mekrokro had described falling in love with cricket after coming across the game on a national TV show. “I liked it straightaway and sent a youngster to Ghana to learn cricket for a year. On his return, we organised the first training course for coaches in 2015 in Abidjan and that is how cricket was born”.
The sport has very little heritage or history in the Francophone West African nation and before 2015 was virtually unknown. Just like Mongolia, Tajikistan and Uzbekistan (all recent ICC members), Côte d’Ivoire‘s membership represents a positive development in the global growth of cricket through universal T20I status and as such should be celebrated rather than derided. This chastening experience at the international level will only serve as a springboard for improvement in future clashes.
Nigeria and Botswana clinch qualification
Meanwhile, hosts Nigeria clinched qualification in emphatic fashion after registering five straight victories at the qualifier in Abuja. One of the fastest growing Associate members in the world, the Nigerians proved far too good for their opponents and dominated both the batting and bowling charts.
Young batters Sulaimon Runsewe, Isaac Danladi and Selim Salau secured the first, second and fourth spots on the list of highest run-scorers at the tournament with some lusty power hitting. They finished with 231, 208 and 185 runs respectively.
On the bowling front, leg-spinner Ridwan Abdulkareem, who bowls with a low, whippy Rashid Khan-esque action, ended up with fourteen wickets at a phenomenal average of 5.35. This included an impressive performance of 6/22 against fellow qualifiers Botswana in the final group game. Also, impressive was Danladi who backed up his batting exploits with the ball in hand, picking up 8 wickets. Danladi’s all-round efforts won him the Player of the Tournament award.
The Nigerians will now participate in the Africa Regional Final in 2025, alongside Botswana. The top two finishers from the Regional Final, which will feature the likes of Zimbabwe, Uganda, Namibia, Kenya, Tanzania and Malawi will ultimately qualify for the 20 team T20 World Cup in 2026.
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