After winning their first four games at the ongoing West Africa Trophy tournament in Lagos, the Nigeria male cricket team is growing in confidence as they look destined for the final of the four-nation tourney, Sunday PRIMANEWS reports.
Having not played an international game in almost a year, Steve Tikolo’s men have been in scintillating form at the tournament, beating Rwanda twice, while they have also edged Ghana and Sierra Leone in the Super Four event.
After their six wickets win which meant a double over Rwanda on Saturday, head coach of the team and the high-performance manager of the Nigeria Cricket Federation, Tikolo, said he is satisfied with the progress of the team as they use the tournament to shape up for the 2024 T20 World Cup qualifiers.
“So far it’s been good, we’ve played four games in which we’ve had positive results. It’s a work in progress, and I’m happy with the way the boys are playing right now. If we can continue in this trend in the games before the finals, I think we are in a good space, Tikolo told Sunday PRIMANEWS.
He added that winning the trophy will also help the mentality of the team ahead of the qualifiers.
“It will mean a lot to win the trophy. You know we play matches to get there which is a good thing. Once you start building that winning culture, it’s a good thing. For me, I want to win every game, and the trophy will also give the boys confidence and boost their momentum going into the tournament.”
Nigeria will be looking to also do a double over Sierra Leone on Sunday (today) when they meet for the second time in the tournament. After that, a second meeting with Ghana awaits on Tuesday.
After the tournament, Nigeria will head to Namibia in November to compete for a spot at the 2024 West Indies ICC T20World Cup.