 | ||||||||||
| Nickname | Yellow Greens[1] | |||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Association | Nigeria Cricket Federation | |||||||||
| Personnel | ||||||||||
| Captain | Sylvester Okpe | |||||||||
| Coach | Steve Tikolo[2] | |||||||||
| History | ||||||||||
| Twenty20 debut |  Nigeria v.North West(Boland Park,South Africa; 14 September 2018) | |||||||||
| International Cricket Council | ||||||||||
| ICC status | Associate member (2002) | |||||||||
| ICC region | Africa | |||||||||
| ||||||||||
| International cricket | ||||||||||
| First international |  Lagos Colony v.Gold Coast (Lagos, 25 May 1904) | |||||||||
| T20 Internationals | ||||||||||
| First T20I | v Kenya atKyambogo Cricket Oval,Kampala; 20 May 2019 | |||||||||
| Last T20I | v Rwanda at Nigeria Cricket Federation Oval 1,Abuja; 14 December 2025 | |||||||||
| ||||||||||
| T20 World Cup Qualifier appearances | 3[a] (first in2019) | |||||||||
| Best result | 4th (2021) | |||||||||
| ||||||||||
| As of 14 December 2025 | ||||||||||
TheNigeria national cricket team is the men's team that represents the country ofNigeria ininternational cricket.Cricket has been played in Nigeria since the late 19th century, and the national team played their first match in 1904, when a team representing theLagos Colony played theGold Coast Colony.[6] TheNigeria Cricket Association has been an associate member of theInternational Cricket Council (ICC) since 2002.[7]
Cricket has been played in Nigeria since the late 19th century when the game was introduced by the British.[8] Contacts between the administration in Lagos and their counterparts inGold Coast (nowGhana) led to an international at Race Course (nowTafawa Balewa Square),Lagos on 25 May 1904,[9][10] theGold Coast winning by 22 runs.[6]
The match became an annual fixture and for the first three matches was multi-racial. The fourth fixture in December 1906 was for Europeans only, and the African population started their own annual fixture in 1907. Internationals stopped for theFirst World War, and did not restart until the mid-1920s.[6]
Between the two world wars, cricket began to become more formally organised in the country with two cricket associations for the Europeans and Africans being formed in 1932 and 1933 respectively.First-class cricketers from England began to appear in the annual matches against Gold Coast,[6] and the 1939 match, the last before World War II, ended in a 58-run win for the Gold Coast.[11]
Matches resumed after the war with a five-day match inLagos in 1947 which ended in a draw.[12] The 1949 match went the way of the Gold Coast.[13] As the number of Europeans working in the country reduced, the quality of the African players increased and cricket began to be organised on multi-racial lines in 1956.[6]
Following Nigeria's independence in 1960, there was much interest in cricket. Annual matches againstSierra Leone andThe Gambia began in 1964, and were evenly contested until the late 1970s, whenfootball began to become more popular in the country. Cricket began a process of decline, and whenTanzania toured in 1974, Nigeria lost two of the three matches and drew the other. They also lost heavily to theMCC in 1976. Internal problems with both the Nigeria Cricket Association and in Nigeria itself led to a decline in standards, though Nigeria formed a majority of the players on theWest Africa cricket team[6] that became an ICC associate member in 1976.[14]
The West Africa team took part in theICC Trophy tournaments of1982 and1997 before withdrawing from the2001 tournament in Ontario.[15] Nigeria still continued to play on their own on occasion,[6] though they sometimes withdrew from tournaments, as at the 1998 Africa Cricket Association Championship.[16] The West African Cricket Conference ceased to exist in 2002,[6] and Nigeria became an associate member of the ICC in their own right the same year.[7]
Nigeria's first tournament after becoming an ICC member on their own was the 2002 Africa Cup inZambia. Nigeria finished fourth in their group after their only win of the tournament againstMalawi.[17] They finished 5th in the Africa Cricket Association Championships in 2004, their only win coming against the last-placed Tanzania, thus failing to qualify for the2005 ICC Trophy.[18]
In August 2006, Nigeria took part in Division Two of theWorld Cricket League Africa Region in Tanzania,[19] finishing last.[20] This originally relegated them to Division Three,[6] though they are not playing in that tournament in 2008.[21] They won the North West Africa Championship in 2007[22] and 2008.[23]Nigeria played in Division Two of the World Cricket League Africa Region in 2008 and came second hence qualifying for2009 ICC World Cricket League Division Seven. They came 3rd in the tournament thus remaining in the division .[21]In May 2011 Nigeria participated in the2011 ICC World Cricket League Division Seven in Botswana.[24] Nigeria came second in tournament, thus qualifying for2011 ICC World Cricket League Division Six. Then the team went to South Africa in May 2011 to participate in 2011 ICC Africa Division Two (T20) en route to qualification of2012 ICC World Twenty20. They won the tournament and qualified for 2011 ICC Africa Division One.[25]
In August 2018, they were included in the2018 Africa T20 Cup tournament.[26][27]
In April 2018, the ICC decided to grant fullTwenty20 International (T20I) status to all its members. Therefore, allTwenty20 matches played between Nigeria and otherICC members since 1 January 2019 have the T20I status.[28] Nigeria's first T20I match was againstKenya on 20 May 2019, after finishing second in theNorth-Western sub-region qualification group, advancing to the Regional Final of the2018–19 ICC World Twenty20 Africa Qualifier tournament.[29]
v | ||
Kenya won by 8 wickets Kyambogo Cricket Oval,Kampala Umpires:Andrew Louw (Nam) andLangton Rusere (Zim) Player of the match:Shem Ngoche (Ken) |
In July 2019, the ICC suspendedZimbabwe Cricket, with the team barred from taking part in ICC events.[30] As a result of their suspension, the ICC confirmed that Nigeria would replace them in the2019 ICC T20 World Cup Qualifier tournament.[31]
The 2,000-capacity Tafawa Balewa Square Oval inLagos is the largest cricket stadium in Nigeria.[32]
| T20 World Cup Africa Regional Final record | ||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Year | Round | Position | GP | W | L | T | NR | |
 2019 | Round-robin(A) | 3/6 | 5 | 2 | 1 | 0 | 2 | |
| 2021 | Round-robin | 4/4 | 6 | 0 | 6 | 0 | 0 | |
 2022 | Round-robin | 5/7 | 6 | 1 | 4 | 0 | 1 | |
 2025 | Play-offs | 6/8 | 5 | 2 | 3 | 0 | 0 | |
| Total | 4/4 | 0 Title | 22 | 5 | 14 | 0 | 3 | |
| T20 World Cup Qualifier (T20I) | World Cricket League (List A/ODI) | WCL Africa Region (List A) | T20WC Africa Sub-regional Qualifiers (T20I) |
|---|---|---|---|
|
|
International Match Summary — Nigeria[33]
Last updated 14 December 2025
| Playing Record | ||||||
| Format | M | W | L | T | NR | Inaugural Match |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Twenty20 Internationals | 93 | 48 | 43 | 0 | 2 | 20 May 2019 |
Most T20I runs for Nigeria[37]
| Most T20I wickets for Nigeria[38]
|
T20I record versus other nations[33]
Records complete to T20I #3643. Last updated 14 December 2025.
| Opponent | M | W | L | T | NR | First match | First win |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| v. Full members | |||||||
 Ireland | 1 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 26 October 2019 | |
| Zimbabwe | 1 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 29 November 2023 | |
| vs Associate Members | |||||||
 Botswana | 6 | 5 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 21 May 2019 | 21 May 2019 |
 Cameroon | 1 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 5 December 2022 | 5 December 2022 |
 Canada | 1 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 21 October 2019 | |
 Eswatini | 2 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 4 December 2022 | 4 December 2022 |
 Gambia | 1 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 4 December 2022 | 4 December 2022 |
 Ghana | 5 | 5 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 22 May 2019 | 22 May 2019 |
 Hong Kong | 1 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 27 October 2019 | |
 Ivory Coast | 1 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 24 November 2024 | 24 November 2024 |
 Jersey | 1 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 19 October 2019 | |
| Kenya | 15 | 3 | 12 | 0 | 0 | 20 May 2019 | 16 September 2021 |
 Malawi | 1 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 26 September 2025 | 26 September 2025 |
| Namibia | 3 | 1 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 30 November 2023 | 18 March 2024 |
 Oman | 1 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 23 October 2019 | |
 Mozambique | 1 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 December 2022 | 1 December 2022 |
| Rwanda | 12 | 9 | 2 | 0 | 1 | 4 October 2023 | 4 October 2023 |
 Saint Helena | 1 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 23 November 2024 | 23 November 2024 |
 Sierra Leone | 14 | 13 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 19 October 2021 | 20 October 2021 |
 Tanzania | 5 | 1 | 3 | 0 | 1 | 17 November 2021 | 26 November 2023 |
| Uganda | 13 | 0 | 13 | 0 | 0 | 21 September 2021 | |
 United Arab Emirates | 3 | 0 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 24 October 2019 | |
 Zambia | 3 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 4 December 2025 | 4 December 2025 |
Performances by Nigerian cricketers inWorld Cricket League since 2009
| Current players | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Name | Matches | Runs | Wickets |
| Dotun Olatunji | 18 | 599 | 0 |
| Kunle Adegbola | 34 | 588 | 33 |
| Endurance Ofem | 32 | 521 | 15 |
| Ademola Onikoyi | 34 | 502 | 1 |
| Ricky Sharma | 16 | 284 | 0 |
| Segun Olayinka | 29 | 584 | 0 |
| Olajide Bejide | 31 | 556 | 9 |
| Joshua Ogunlola | 29 | 124 | 44 |
| Oluseye Olympio | 27 | 154 | 29 |
| Ositadinma Onwuzulike | 18 | 127 | 10 |
| Chimezie Onwuzulike | 12 | 85 | 11 |
| Saheed Akolade | 31 | 98 | 48 |
| Emmanuel Okwudili | 20 | 351 | 0 |
| Leke Oyede | 10 | 84 | 5 |
| Former players | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Name | Matches | Runs | Wickets |
| Sean Phillips | 13 | 386 | 14 |
| Wale Adeoye | 6 | 51 | 5 |
| Femi Oduyebo | 3 | 19 | 5 |
| Ayo Mene Ejegi | 4 | 25 | 4 |
| Ramit Gill | 13 | 203 | 8 |
| Oluwaseun Odeku | 7 | 55 | 3 |
| Varun Behani | 6 | 50 | 3 |
| Haruna Thomas | 2 | 3 | 1 |
| Sesan Adedeji | 3 | 29 | 1 |
| Olalekan Awolowo | 7 | 104 | 5 |
| Joshua Ayannaike | 1 | 6 | 0 |
| Temitope Olayinka | 4 | 12 | |
Highest Scores+
Dotun Olatunji – 127 vs Ghana at BCA Oval No. 1,Gaborone on 7 April 2013
Dotun Olatunji – 125* vs Botswana at BCA Oval No. 2, Gaborone on 9 April 2013
Olajide Bejide – 106 vs Tanzania atRoyal Selangor Club,Kuala Lumpur on 13 March 2014
Segun Olayinka – 94* vs Argentina atGrainville, St Saviour on 28 July 2013
Endurance Ofem – 90 vs Cayman Islands atKinrara Academy Oval, Kuala Lumpur on 9 March 2014
Best bowling figures
Oluseye Olympio – 6/23 vs Argentina at Grainville,St Saviour on 28 July 2013
Saeed Akolade – 6/27 vs Bahrain at Farmers CC,St Martin on 25 July 2013
Joshua Ogunlola – 5/28 vs Botswana at BCA Oval No. 2, Gaborone on 9 April 2013
Joshua Ogunlola – 5/34 vs Germany at BCA Oval No. 2, Gaborone on 12 April 2013
Olajide Bejide – 4/20 vs Kuwait at BCA Oval No. 1, Gaborone on 8 May 2011
This lists all the players who have played for Nigeria in the past 12 months or has been part of the latest T20I squad.Updated as of 15 October 2023.
| Name | Age | Batting style | Bowling style | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Batters | ||||
| Sesan Adedeji | 29 | Right-handed | Right-armoff break | |
| Akhere Isesele | 24 | Right-handed | ||
| Isaac Danladi | 23 | Right-handed | Right-armleg break | Vice-captain |
| Daniel Ajekun | 29 | Right-handed | Right-armoff break | |
| Selim Salau | 20 | Right-handed | ||
| Ali Rahmon | 16 | Right-handed | ||
| All-rounder | ||||
| Isaac Okpe | 30 | Right-handed | Right-armmedium | |
| Wicket-keeper | ||||
| Sulaimon Runsewe | 24 | Right-handed | Right-armoff break | |
| Spin Bowlers | ||||
| Ridwan Abdulkareem | 21 | Right-handed | Right-armoff break | |
| Sylvester Okpe | 25 | Right-handed | Right-armoff break | Captain |
| Joshua Asia | 20 | Right-handed | Right-armoff break | |
| Pace Bowlers | ||||
| Peter Aho | 22 | Right-handed | Right-armmedium | |
| Chiemelie Udekwe | 21 | Right-handed | Right-armmedium | |
| Prosper Useni | 19 | Left-handed | Left-armmedium | |
| Mohameed Taiwo | 23 | Left-handed | Left-armmedium | |
The following players have represented Nigeria internationally and also playedfirst-class cricket:
Clive Ogbimi
Sean Phillips Clive Ogbimi
Asanka Gurusinha Clive Ogbimi (interim)Steve Tikolo
