Idia Royals Cricket Club (CC) clinched the championship title of the South-South Female Cricket League’s 2024 season in style defeating the reigning champions, Smashers Cricket Club in Benin City, Edo State, platinumnewsng.com is reporting.
Idia Royals met and surpassed a modest first-inning target of 73 runs set by the Smashers, winning by 7 wickets. Peculiar Aboya, a standout national team player, with a contribution of 33 runs, played a pivotal role in her team’s victory.
Omonye Aiwuone of the Idia Royals was named Player of the Match for her valuable performance, which included taking 4 wickets from the Smashers. This victory makes it for the Idia Royals as the third team to win the championship in the league’s three seasons, preventing the Smashers from securing back-to-back titles.
Adding to the trophy won, Idia Royals won a grand prize of N300,000. Runners-up, Smashers CC, and the third-place team, Pathfinders CC, received N200,000 and N150,000, respectively.
The event also celebrated individual excellence with several awards: Lucky Piety of Idia Royals was named the Most Valuable Player (MVP) of the series; Salome Sunday from Smashers CC won the Best Batter Award; Uwana Moses of Pathfinders CC received the Best Bowler Award; and Esther Sandy from Smashers CC was honoured with the Best Fielder Award. Also, Peace Usen (Ekpoma Super Novas) and Blessing Etim (Smashers CC) were recognized as MVPs for Zone A Benin and Zone B Port Harcourt, respectively.
