Saturday’s opening fixture saw Sierra Leone Under-19 boys smacking Rwanda by 6 wickets after a sluggish 56 target scrubbed the Easterners’ fate in the ongoing ICC Men’s Under 19 World Cup Africa Division 2 Qualifier hosted at the MKO Abiola Cricket Oval in Abuja Nigeria.
Sierra Leone won the toss and elected to bowl following horrible pitch conditions. With disciplined fielding, the cubs from the Lion Mountain limited the Rwandans to 55 runs all-out in 18.3 overs, setting a target of 56.
Sierra Leone Raymond Coker bowled 10 overs and took four wickets for 17 runs with an economy of 1.7, a feat that earned him the Man of the Match award.
Eric Musa took three wickets whilst Mohamed Turay had two.
Skipper John Bangura led the charge in the front by posting 30 runs not out.
On the batting side, Sierra Leone replied with 58 runs for losing four wickets in 24. 3 overs, smashing the target with easy virtue.
In their two meetings, Sierra Leone has skillfully tamed the antics of the Easterners who are thought to have improved on performance.
On Monday, Sierra Leone will take on Botswana in their second match in the Abuja showpiece.
According to SLCA , both sides have met four times. Of this number, Sierra Leone won three tipping the scale in its favour.
The first engagement took place in Zambia in 2009 where Sierra Leone won; the boys lost the second one in Namibia in 2010; the third one was in 2016 in Benoni, South Africa which Sierra Leone won; the fourth one took place in Pochestroom in 2018, South Africa, Sierra Leone carrying the day.
Credit: SLCA Media Department
