Mangongo points out key areas for Yellow Greens to improve

Nigeria’s head coach, Stephen Mangongo, has highlighted areas the Yellow Greens need to work on after their strong showing in the 2028 ICC Men’s T20 World Cup Sub-Regional Africa Qualifier C.

Nigeria topped the qualifying table and moved on to the Africa Regional Final Qualifier. But Mangongo feels the team must get better at batting against spin and tighten up their seam bowling before facing tougher teams.

"One of the key areas we need to work on is our ability to play spin better," Mangongo said, according to Sports247.

"I think we’ve done a lot of work in terms of playing pace. We now need to make sure that we can rotate spin and hit the gaps much better."

Bowling Concerns

The Zimbabwean coach also raised concerns about the consistency of the team’s seam bowlers, even though he praised their natural speed.

"Our seamers need to improve on their grouping. We are very fortunate to have some really genuine quick bowlers, but the grouping needs to improve," he stated.

Mangongo explained that if the bowlers can be more consistent with their line and length, Nigeria’s bowling attack will be more effective against stronger opponents.

He also commended the Nigeria Cricket Federation for giving the team the resources they needed for preparation.

"The president, Dr Uyi, has been phenomenal in terms of making sure that the team is well resourced. The board has supported our programmes, and we’ve been training for two months," he added.

Nigeria’s move to the Africa Regional Final Qualifier keeps the dream of reaching the 2028 global tournament alive. But Mangongo’s comments show the team still has important work to do on their skills.