It's the wheels of the chariot that accelerate youth development – Mrs. Chikere

...Urges more youths to embrace the gentleman's game

By Oluwatobiloba Zeal-Adepetu Kumoye 

   

   

  

The Executive Director of Sports Development and Operations, Edo State Sports Commission, (ESSC), Mrs. Sabina Ekhaisomi Chikere, has described the Edo Men's Cricket League as the wheels of the chariot that accelerate youth development.

Mrs. Chikere made this submission on Tuesday in a chat with FIRST ZEALMEDIACAST BLOG's Senior Correspondent and head of operation, Oluwatobiloba Zeal-Adepetu Kumoye.

The soft spoken sports administrator stated that the League will help unearth the abundant talent spread across the 18 Local Government Areas of the state.

“The Cricket League is a multi purpose vehicle for sports and economic development, while it offers the young talents the opportunity to grow, it also provides a source of income to the coaches and support team of the participating clubs,” Mrs. Sabina Chikere said.

She went on to state that Cricket League is one of the numerous developmental projects of the Edo State Sports Commission under the stewardship of Honourable Amadin Enabulele and by extension the youth oriented administration of His Excellency governor Monday Okpebholo.

"The Sports Commission is keeping a keen interest in the League and cricket because, it's one of the A-List sport and the state is endowed talented and exceptional cricketers.

Mrs. Sabina Chikere stressed that the League would have not seen the light of the day, if President of the Nigeria Cricket Federation Uyi Apata had not put in the right shift.

"Mr Uyi Apata has demonstrated that sports can only flourish with purposeful leadership.”

Meanwhile, the race to the Super Four in the 2025 Edo Men’s Cricket League just got hotter and the Dolphins are right back in the swim.

After crashing into a 48-run defeat against Uniben Cricket Club over the weekend, Dolphins CC looked like a team losing grip on their Super Four dream. 

But on Sunday, they rose from the canvas with the resilience of contenders, sealing back-to-back victories that catapulted them into the top three.

In their first game of the day, Dolphins edged a nervy 7-run win over the U-17 Cricket Club. Batting first after winning the toss, they scratched their way to 64 runs before being bowled out in 17.1 overs. 

It looked shaky, but their bowlers came up big, choking the chase and dismissing the youngsters for 57 in 18.5 overs. A scrappy win — but a priceless one.

Their second match, against Integrity Force CC, was a bigger test. With Integrity fighting to keep their own qualification hopes alive, Dolphins again chose to bat and posted a far more convincing 109 for 9 in 20 overs. 

Integrity Force pushed hard, but Dolphins held their nerve once more, restricting them to 99 all out and sealing a 10-run victory that reshuffled the standings.

The win lifted Dolphins into third place, with Integrity sliding to fourth. Meanwhile, Invictus CC and No Limit CC continue to dominate in the top two positions.

But the day wasn’t only about the Dolphins.

Young Destiny Umukoro of U-17 CC turned heads with one of the finest bowling displays of the season. His sensational six-wicket haul crippled Uniben CC, who were bundled out for 59 in 13.5 overs. Crusaders CC chased down the 60-runs target in 14.4 overs to claim a 5-wicket win, though it wasn’t enough to drag them into Super Four contention.

The loss, however, hit Uniben CC hard. With three matches to go, they now face a must-win scenario just to stay alive in the qualification battle.