Sierra Leone national U-19 boys cricket squad are set to face Nigeria in the semifinals of the ongoing ICC Men’s U-19 World Cup Africa Division 2 qualifiers hosted at the MKO Abiola Cricket Oval in Abuja, following their massive wins against Rwanda and Botswana in their two opening matches in Group B.
The boys exhibited a remarkable performance, outshining Botswana with an 8-wicket incredible win in a heroic endeavour to top Group B in the tournament.
Sierra Leone won the toss and opted to bowl first, using their bowling qualities to limit Botswana to a total of 66 all out in 24/45 overs.
With Botswana setting a target of 67, Sierra Leone replied with 68 runs for the loss of 2 wickets.
Spin bowler, Eric Musa Turay, powered the country to record their second win in the series. Masterminding the game with his unique bowling skill, Turay bowled 6.3 overs, took 6 wickets for 15 runs and was named Man of the Match.
John Bangura, the captain of Sierra Leone, cracked 47 of 41 balls not out with a strike rate of 114.63.
For boys who played daily cricket on dusty ovals full of gravel in Sierra Leone with used equipment mostly donated by foreign clubs, they’ve shown the world that without the basic facilities needed, they can play and win convincingly against the big names in Africa.
Following their victory, the boys have progressed to the semifinals of the qualifying series and they will be playing the host, Nigeria for the Group B title-holder clash on Tuesday 4th October 2022.
According to Cricket Sierra Leone, this third and final match between Sierra Leone and Nigeria will determine the winner and runner-up of Group B. The group leader from this side will face Malawi whilst the runner-up meets Kenya, the winner in Group A.
On head-to-head, Sierra Leone has met Nigeria five times in ICC-arranged Under-19 tournaments in respective venues across Africa. Of the five encounters, Nigeria has had the edge, winning three of those since 2009. Tuesday’s clash will be no menial charge.
I love this write up Magdalene. Thank you so much for selling our beautiful game. Congratulations to the Junior Patriots and I wish them all the best in the remaining matches.