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Nigeria’s Junior Female Yellow Greens have turned their attention to their next game against New Zealand after their much-anticipated 2025 ICC U-19 Women’s T20 World Cup debut against Samoa was abandoned on Saturday due to an unplayable wet outfield, PUNCH Sports Extra reports.
Both teams, eager to make their ICC U-19 Women’s T20 World Cup debuts, will have to wait till Monday to showcase their talents on the global stage as they share the points at the Borneo Cricket Ground in Sarawak, Malaysia.
Nigeria will face New Zealand in the first of the two group games for that day on Monday while Samoa will try group leaders South Africa for size.
Nigeria head coach Sarah Bakhita remained optimistic despite not seeing a ball bowled on Saturday.
“The game is not the outcome we anticipated. However, we control the controllable. We look forward to the next match. We are playing cricket, not a certain team. Moving on to the next game, we go hard, knowing what is at stake. The goal is to qualify for the semifinal first, ensuring we give our best,” she said.
Captain Lucky Piety stressed the significance of securing a point from the abandoned match.
“A point is a point and is taken as huge progress,” she said.
Nigeria’s opponent in Monday’s game, New Zealand suffered a 22-run defeat in the hands of South Africa hours after Nigeria’s abandoned game.
As it stands, South Africa are currently leading group C with two points, followed by Nigeria and Samoa while New Zealand are fourth.
Meanwhile, Australia’s Caoimhe Bray shone on her debut as Australia defeated Scotland on the opening day in Malaysia.
England’s batters also impressed but their bowlers were unable to go far in their search for victory over Ireland with the match abandoned due to rain after 3.5 overs of Ireland’s chase.
The game between Pakistan and the United States was also abandoned while Bangladesh beat Nepal by five wickets on the opening day.
