For the past 10 years, Chuma Anosike has been on a journey to grow cricket as a sport of choice in the South East zone. With his Chuma Anosike South East Cricket Championship, Anosike, a lawyer, has taken the sport to some of the remotest corners of Igboland, building interest in the sport among the youths.

Next month, precisely from April 10 to 14, men and women teams from the five states of the zone will gather in Umuahia, Abia State, to vie for honours in the 11th Chuma Anosike Championship, which promises some exciting moments for all lovers of the game in the zone and neighbouring states.

Fielding questions on the championship, Anosike, who is also a member of the Nigeria Cricket Federation (NCF) board, said it is just one of the programmes aimed at restoring the South East as a top player in the country’s cricket.

He described the South East Cricket Association (SECA), an umbrella body of all cricket associations, clubs and players, as another of the agents in the quest to lift the sport in the zone.

He said: “SECA was formed to develop the sport across the zone and not to rival the states. The idea is for the strong states to help those that are not too strong to come up.

“Across the zone, we will see significant movement with states and schools taking cricket back and in the next few months, you will hear of programmes from the zones.” Anosike, who is also chairman of the Anambra Cricket Association, disclosed that schools are vital in what SECA is doing.

“Each chairman is pushing to see that his state allocates lands to it to build its own purely cricket ground. After that, we will try a Private Public Partnership (PPP) model to develop turf wickets. We want to build proper cricket pitches to help our youngsters grow in the game.”

He said the South East, like some of the other zones, are trying to match what Edo State has achieved for the sport, adding that soon, the state will be competing against the very best opposition the country can produce.

“We now have at least six turf wickets in Nigeria. Two are in Lagos, two in Benin, one in Kaduna and one in Abuja. Another one will soon come up in Abuja.

“We are hoping to get at least one dedicated cricket pitch in the South East. I want to commend NCF President, Uyi Akpata, for what he has done in Edo, which has become the benchmark for cricket development in the country.

“Governor Nasir El Rufai has also been of tremendous support to cricket in Kaduna State, which is now one of the states to reckon with in Nigeria’s cricket development. We hope to be there soon.

“We are happy that over the years, some top players from the zone have made it to the national teams. Abia and Ebonyi states are picking up and we are going to Abia to support what they are doing.” He said the South East Championship has been good for cricket development in the zone, gambling adding that Anambra and other states in the South East have started winning national events.

“The South East came second in the last PWC National U-17 Championship. We are trying to see more players from the zone in national teams.”

On the 11th Chuma Anosike South East Championship, banker bet of the day he disclosed that participants would start arriving in Umuahia on April 10 for registration and preliminary rounds of the competition.

“The tournament will feature two teams, male and women, each from of the states. It will hold on a round-robin format, which means every team must play against every other team in the competition with the top two sides meeting in the final.

“The arrival date is April 10. bet tips today We will try to make it a sociable event and infuse some level of moral instructions: ethos and etiquette will be taught the younger ones.

“There is a prize for the best-behaved player, which is not about money but recognition for excellence.

“All teams will play four matches each. The idea is to give each team as much playing time as possible.

“The matches will be played at Umuahia Township Stadium and Holy Girls Secondary School. today betting tips The boys will play at the stadium, while the girls will play at the girls’ school,” he added.

Anosike said during the four-day period of the championship, the Umuahia Township Stadium, which usually host matches of the state’s football team, Abia Warriors, would be blocked and prepared solely for cricket. He added that the registration for the tournament is currently ongoing.

He disclosed that the tournament, Winning Margin Bet which started as a developmental event, has evolved into an elite competition, adding, however, “at the same time, we want to encourage young talents to see the sport as more than just a game. That is why we have the blend between the experienced and the youths in the teams.”

Anosike stated that Anambra Cricket Association is bent on getting its own cricket oval, adding that the association opened discussions to that effect with the immediate past government in the state before the regime left office.

“It is unfortunate that we could not achieve our project with the past government, but we hope to open discussion with the new regime as soon as they settle down.

He disclosed that the crisis that threatened the championship a few years ago has been settled, adding that every member association in the zone is part of the quest for development of the sport in the South East.

“We are all human beings and once you have human interaction, there is bound to be disputes, but all has been settled.
“ It was SECA’s first achievement to get a united front in the South East. All is well now.”

He added that the South East Zonal Championship has corporate support from Mikano International Group and the Ekulo Group, which is one of the foremost trading companies and hospitality groups in the country.

Apart from the trophies and prize monies listed for the winning teams, Anosike revealed that outstanding individual performances in the championship would attract rewards.

“We have prizes for best batman, best wicket keeper, best bowler, best behaved player, as well as first, second and third placed teams, who will also get trophies.”

Anosike, who said the South East identifies with the recent progress the new NCF board has made in the development of the sport, added: “It is a thing of joy to note that the good times are coming back to Nigerian cricket.

“We had an inactive period under a former president, but Professor Yahaya Ukwenya came in to steady the ship. Now, Uyi Akpata has continued with the vision and I think the future is very bright.

“The T20 Women Championship is groundbreaking and it will put Nigeria in international light for good reasons.”