Dubai, Aug 22 (IBNS): The ICC Under 19 Cricket World Cup, Africa Division Two Qualifier tournament reaches its first fork in the road on Wednesday, as Group B sorts out who will progress to the knockout stages.
Nigeria have already sailed through, thanks to commanding victories over Ghana and Mozambique. The West Africans have flexed their muscles, and sent out a stern warning to the rest of the teams gathered in the North-West of South Africa.
For the rest of the group, however, the third found of fixtures is a straight shootout. Both Ghana and Mozambique were outclassed by Nigeria, and both restored confidence against an inexperienced Lesotho.
Now they meet each other, with the winner going through to the knockout stages.
Nigeria meet the group minnows Lesotho, who must be dreading their fate. Nigeria have batted powerfully, and have a varied and experienced attack.
In Group A, meanwhile, Sierra Leone will look to build on their promising start when they meet Botswana. Sierra Leone were largely untroubled in defeating Tanzania by eight wickets, but Botswana have shown an appetite for a scrap, and will be no pushovers.
Their 19-run triumph over Rwanda was the result of resilient teamwork, and they will look for more of the same. Skipper Phemelo Silas is crucial to their cause, with both bat and ball.
In the other match in Group A, Tanzania lock horns with Swaziland. The former have won one and lost to Sierra Leone thus far, while the Southern Africans opened their tournament account with a defeat on day one.
Thus, it is a must-win match, if they are to maintain an interest on the competition. They will have to keep Salimini Saidi's bat quiet if they are to do so, however, with the Tanzania opener in decent nick.
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