dominate

The Indomitable Lionesses outshine their opponents to claim first final victory on their fourth attempt in Morocco.

Cameroon claimed their first Women’s Africa Cup of Nations (WAFCON) title when they thumped surprise package Malawi 3-0 in the final, with Marie Ngah’s first-half double helping seal victory on Sunday.

Cameroon had lost three finals but made it fourth-time lucky against a Malawi side making their debut at the continental championship. Ranked 153 in the world and 32nd on the African continent, Malawi had a fairytale run to the decider.

The two finalists had already sealed their place at the Women’s World Cup in Brazil next year, along with fellow semifinalists Morocco and Algeria. The latter finished third after winning the bronze medal fixture on penalties on Saturday.

Under pressure, FIFA chief Gianni Infantino was all smiles as he handed the Indomitable Lionesses their medals in the presence of Confederation of African Football President Patrice Motsepe, with several players requesting photographs with the Swiss.

Infantino has long enjoyed the support of many on the African continent as he bids for re-election next March, despite revelations of his now-abandoned plans to sell a stake in future World Cups, which drew worldwide condemnation.

Cameroon dominated the first half and led 3-0 at the break after a superb performance against an outgunned Malawi.

Ngah reacted quickest to a loose ball in the box to give them the lead from close range after 20 minutes and they doubled the advantage on the half-hour mark as Naomi Eto added a second.

Malawi were clinging on and hoping to make it to halftime without any further damage but Ngah scored her second in the third minute of added time from Eto’s pass.

Cameroon are the fourth different winners of the Women’s Africa Cup of Nations since it was first played in 1998.

Nigeria have a record 10 titles, while Equatorial Guinea have two and South Africa one.

One-off Test, Civil Service Cricket Club, Stormont (day two of four)

New Zealand 490-8 dec (119 overs): Blundell 186, Foxcroft 98; Tector 1-16

Ireland 179 all out (45 overs) Balbirnie 73*, Adair 40; Smith 6-40 & 65-2 (16 overs) Doheny 36*; Tickner 2-14

Ireland trail by 246 runs

Scorecard

New Zealand took control against Ireland on the second day of the one-off Test with Nathan Smith claiming an international career best of 6-40 at Stormont.

After recovering from a poor start on the first day to reach 361-5, the Black Caps continued in a similar vein on the second day in the Belfast sun, reaching 490-8 before captain Tom Latham declared.

New Zealand enforced the follow-on and Ireland’s response was dealt an early blow when Stephen Doheny and Cade Carmichael were dismissed in the first over and they then lost four more in quick succession after lunch as Smith claimed his first five-wicket haul.

Mark Adair and Andy McBrine steadied the ship, but Ireland were 179 all out before performing much better in the second innings as they ended the day on 65-2, trailing New Zealand by 246 runs.

The tourists enjoyed a strong start in the morning session as Tom Blundell and Dean Foxcroft built on their 58-run partnership from day one.

Blundell surpassed 150, while Foxcroft brought up his first Test half-century as they went beyond the 100-runs mark as a pair.

Ireland eventually got moving and took three quick wickets, including Blundell for 186 and Foxcroft, who fell two short of a first Test century.

Heinrich Malan’s side endured a disastrous start to their chase however, with Doheny and Carmichael dismissed by Smith in the second and sixth balls of the first over.

After lunch, Smith continued his fine run as he took the wickets of Andrew Balbirnie, Curtis Campher and Lorcan Tucker while Harry Tector also fell before Adair and McBrine got Ireland back on track, steering them through to tea.

They brought up a 100-run partnership before Adair exited for 40 as Smith got a sixth wicket of the day.

Tom Mayes and Liam McCarthy then fell as Ireland faltered to finish 179 all out.

They fared better in the opening of their second innings, led by Doheny, but they still have a mountain to climb heading into day three.

“You’d take 98, its obviously better than a duck, I was so close to the century, but at the end of the day the team is in a great position to win this game,” Foxcroft told BBC Sport NI.

“In terms of the match, I’m delighted where we are at the moment. We’ve got eight more wickets to go and looking ahead to tomorrow morning, we are hoping we can put Ireland under pressure.

“For us enforcing the follow-on was all about momentum. We will want to try and finish the game off and then we can think about England next week.”

Ireland batting coach Gary Wilson added: “It was a really good spell from Nathan Smith, it asked us a lot of questions and I think you could see it’s a new ball wicket and you could see that in both innings.”

Play will resume at Stormont at 11:00 BST on Friday.