Sierra Leone Under-19 Men’s Cricket Team took on Botswana in the ICC Men’s U-19 World Cup Africa Division 2 Qualifier with a sumptuous 7-wicket win on Wednesday at the Dar Gymkhana Oval in Dar es Salaam, Tanzania.
This impressive group stage closing marks Sierra Leone’s third successive win in the ongoing tournament, topping Group A with six points.
As the sun peeked in the West of Gymkhana, Botswana won the toss and chose to bat, leveraging their game strength. However, the tide ebbed off target, causing them to post only 65 runs all out in 28.3 overs.
During that rhythm, Sierra Leone’s James Bangura plunked 32 dot balls for 14 runs and picked up 3 wickets for a bowling economy of 2.33.
This was after George Sesay had borne a crippling start which saw Captain Raymond Coker assuming leadership; Coker took four wickets. George and Samuel Humper recovered for one apiece as debutant 15-year-old Sahr Lebbie sealed the course with impressive 4.00 economy rate, delivering 5 dot balls in one over.
The reply came with a rough start: Sierra Leone lost three wickets under 20 overs with hard luck hitting George who got ducked before David Halloway smacked six to rebuild confidence. The Patriots chased the target, posting 67 for three in 14.5 overs to win by seven wickets.
Skipper Raymond Coker won Man of the Match for the second time. He bowled nine overs, caused five maidens, delivered 48 dot balls, and picked four wickets with an economy rate of 1.00.
In the semifinals, Sierra Leone will face Nigeria for a West African derby. Both sides have met six times. The country’s U19 side won three against Nigeria in Lusaka, Zambia (2009), in Namibia (2010), and in Tanzania (2023).
The Nigerians replied in like manner, beating Sierra Leone in Potchestroom, South Africa (2018), in Namibia (2019), and in Abuja, Nigeria (2022).
