Nigeria achieved a remarkable feat by winning all 13 awards at the 2024 Middle Stump end of the year cricket awards for Africa, Afrosport reports.
The ceremony was held on Friday at the Cricket Lab of the Tafawa Balewa Square Oval in Lagos.
This event celebrated cricketing excellence across the continent and marked a remarkable year for Nigerian cricket.
The country achieved a historic bronze medal at the African Games in Ghana and secured a spot in the 2025 ICC Women’s U-19 World Cup in Malaysia.
Leke Oyede, head coach of the Nigerian women’s national cricket team, received the Coach of the Year award for guiding the Female Yellow Greens to their historic bronze medal. He triumphed by surpassing competitors from Uganda and Malawi.
The Junior Female Yellow Greens were also recognised for earning Africa’s ticket to the U-19 Women’s World Cup, winning the Best Cricketing Moment in Africa award, surpassing their senior colleagues’ achievement at the African Games and Uganda’s qualification for the 2024 T20 World Cup.
Additionally, the Edo State Cricket Association was awarded the Best Grassroots Development Program in 2024, outperforming other nominees such as Soroti Cricket Academy (Uganda) and Cricket Builds Hope (Rwanda).
Nigerian umpires Tope Onikoyi and Dahiru Enesi were named the Male and Female Umpires of the Year respectively.
The Young Player of the Year awards went to Peculiar Agboya for the women’s category and former Junior Yellow Greens captain Ridwan Abdulkareem for the men’s. Ene Odang was recognized as the Administrator of the Year.
In other categories, Piety Lucky, captain of the Women’s U-19 team heading to the 2025 World Cup, was named the Nigeria Women’s Player of the Year, while left-handed batsman Isaac Danladi was awarded the Men’s Player of the Year.
Former NCF president Kwesi Sagoe received a Lifetime Service Award, and Funmilayo Omoniyi was honored as the Fan’s Fan of the Year.
This event not only highlighted Nigeria’s cricketing prowess but also set a precedent for future achievements in African cricket.
