Nigeria bid for African tourney at ICC AGM

Cricket authorities from Nigeria will formally bid for the hosting rights of the 2005 African Cricket Championship,at the 2004 Annual General Meeting of the International Cricket Council [ICC],which gets underway Sunday at the Lords cricket grounds in London.

Chairman of the Nigeria Cricket Association [NCA] Dr. John Abebe is at the head of a three-man strong delegation of the association that is expected to present a well-packaged bid to the assembly comprised of officials of the ICC and representatives of other cricket-playing nations.

Other members of the delegation are first Vice-Chairman of the NCA Chuma Anosike and a coach of the national team Olisa Egwuatu.

Speaking in an exclusive interview with nigeriasports.com Friday, Dr.Abebe said he and other members of the NCA delegation will be using the opportunity afforded by the meeting to seek the support of the ICC for cricket development in Nigeria,adding that the world cricket ruling body already appreciates the unprecedented height to which cricket development has attained in the country.

"Our aim is to let the ICC realise the importance of hosting the African Championship in Nigeria next year.We've developed the game to a level that I believe the hosting of the tournament will further boost the popularity of the game,"he said."The venue we are proposing is Lagos,of course everybody knows Lagos is the mecca of cricket in the country as of today."

He also revealed that the NCA will use the visit to London to assess the preparation of Nigerian cricketers based in the United Kingdom,ahead of the World Cup qualifiers scheduled to hold in August in Namibia.

"Our plan is to have a team comprised of both the foreign-based and the home-based players.Players in the two categories had since started preparations,open camping.We shall be bringing both groups together as the competition gradually approaches,"explained the NCA boss.

The ICC AGM which ends next Friday is an annual event and is a forum where strategies are drawn for the development of cricket worldwide.It also provides a platform for member-countries,particularly those yet to attain the Test status to lobby for assistance in various areas such as technical,equipment or courses.