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NIGERIAN CRICKET OBTAINS GLOBAL RANKING FOR THE FIRST TIME EVER | (2008-12-02 )

Nigerian Cricket for the first time ever has featured in the global section of the International Cricket Council’s (ICC) ranking of Senior men’s One-Day Internationals. Nigeria is ranked 37/42 along with the five other countries it will contest the World Cricket League (WCL)

Division 7 with in Guernsey next year i.e. Bahrain, Gibraltar, Guernsey, Japan and Suriname.

Placements in that tournament will determine the eventual ranking of the six countries within the 37th to the 42nd positions in the latest ICC Global Rankings as at 17th November, 2008 released recently. 

Should Nigeria win that tournament, its ranking will be 37 while if it places last its ranking will be 42.

Nigeria is currently by this ranking, the 6th best African Associate/Affiliate member of the ICC after Kenya, Namibia, Uganda, Tanzania and Botswana. Prior to this, it had remained below the line in the Africa divisional ranking.

With the recent placement of Nigeria in the global World Cricket League (WCL) Division 7, if it finishes either in first or second place in May/June 2009, it achieves a promotion to the WCL 6 which will take place in Singapore in September 2009. In the WCL 6, there is the potential of competing with Botswana, Malaysia, Norway and Singapore plus another qualifier from WCL 7.

The pathway in WCL 6 is that 1st and 2nd are promoted to WCL 5 in 2010, 3rd and 4th remain in WCL 6 in 2011 whilst 5th and 6th are relegated back to WCL 7 in 2011.

The objective for the Nigeria Cricket federation in the short-term is to seek to gain promotion to WCL 6 from WCL 7 in May/June 2009 and ensure it consolidates that position by remaining in WCL 6 as at the end of 2009. According to the NCF President, Kwesi Sagoe, that will boost our ranking to about the 33rd position globally by the end of 2009 if we can retain a WCL 6 position.

To achieve the above objective, preparation must commence early in the new year locally which must be complemented with at least a 3-week training camp at the Easterns Cricket Union academy in Benoni, South Africa closer to the tournament date. The NCF President thereby solicits for support both financial and moral to further upgrade the standard of cricket in the country.