From dust-ridden ovals with stony outfields back home, the Sierra Leone U-19 Men’s side is not disinclined to tough fights in scorching heat.
In Abuja, the cubs went wild to rewrite the West African tales beating well financed Rwanda in the opening fixture and dashed for the equivalent against Botswana with an 8-wicket master-class win in a desperate bid to lead Group B in the ongoing ICC Men’s Under-19 Cricket World Cup Africa Division 2 Qualifier hosted at the MKO Abiola Cricket Oval in Abuja, Nigeria.
As it is, the cubs have booked straight ticket to the semifinal where Nigeria lies in waiting for the Group B title-holder clash tomorrow.
In the match against Botswana on Monday, Sierra Leone won the toss and elected to bowl first, igniting superior bowling power to limit Botswana to a total of 66 all out in 24/45 overs .
Sierra Leone spin-bowling master, Eric Musa Turay, aided the country’s second victory in the Abuja qualifying series and, on merit basis, won the Man of the Match award having bowled 6.3 overs , taking 6 wickets for 15 runs .
With Botswana setting a target of 67, Sierra Leone replied with 68 runs for the loss of 2 wickets.
Captain John Bangura cracked 47 of 41 balls not out with a strike rate of 114.63.
At the very summit, Sierra Leone won by 8 wickets and secured straight qualification to the semifinal where it is destined to face host Nigeria tomorrow.
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. Tomorrow’s clash will be no menial charge.
SLCA Media Department
