Barnes Hails Nigerian U19 Women's Team Success In Malaysia

Zaahier Adams

Former Proteas Mens national team assistant coach Vincent Barnes believes the passion for cricket in Nigeria is immense and the African nation will only grow from strength-to-strength.

The Nigeria Under-19 Womens team sent shockwaves through the global cricket fraternity last week when they beat their New Zealand counterparts at the ICC U19 Womens World Cup in Malaysia.

It is the first time a Nigerian national team men and women have competed at an ICC World Cup in any format. Their historic victory was splashed all over the front pages of the local newspapers back in Nigeria.

Barnes, who is currently heading up Schools SA20 and is the former head of cricket at SAs High Performance, spent three weeks last year along with former Proteas batter Ashwell Prince in Lagos, under the auspices of the Nigerian Cricket Federation, in helping the respective national teams prepare for the All Africa Games.