Oyo State cricket coach, Johnson Idakwo, is optimistic that the state has what it takes to retain the South-West U19 Cricket Tournament sponsored by Jide Bademosi.
The tournament which is holding simultaneously at the Obafemi Awolowo Stadium and Government College, Ibadan is expected to end on Saturday.
Idakwo lauded the sponsor for the initiative saying he has identified some talents among the states that could be groomed to attain stardom in the sport.
“We are here to defend our title as the champion of the South-West U19 Jide Bademosi Cup. The tournament is fantastic and big kudos to the organiser because I have seen a lot of talents from other States, it’s like a talents hunt discovery for the country.
“There is a lot of improvement from the last edition, there is no underdogs in this tournament, I’m even surprised to see Osun State coming with a strong team, the way I see them bat, bowl and their warm-up but we are not scared and we will approach every game as they come and I’m very optimistic that we will retain the title we won two years ago,” Idakwo told Sportingtribune.
At GCI, Lagos State defeated Osun by 7 wickets after scoring 82 tuns for 3 wickets against Osun’s 78 runs all out.
Meanwhile, at Obafemi Awolowo Satdium, Oyo team beat Ogun by 45 runs after restricting Ogun to 54 runs all out.