August 25, 2016 By Sahr Morris Jr.
Sierra Leone Cricket Association technical team has named the final 14-man squad for the ICC African U-19 tournament, which will run from 10th to 18th September in Johannesburg, South Africa.
The final squad cut-down came after months of preparation with 35 invited players who started training and trial sessions at the Prince of Wales School oval at Kingtom. After months of preparation, the squad was again reduced to 18 players before the final selection was made yesterday.
Former Prince of Wales Secondary School cricket team captain, Edward Ngegba, who is also a member of the senior national team, will captain the side in South Africa.
With such responsibility on his shoulder, the youngster said the team is in high spirit and set to battle hard for the championship trophy.
“As one of the youngest players who recently helped the senior team to gain promotion to ICC African Division One, I will use my experience to motivate my teammates for us to lift the U-19 trophy,” Ngegba said, adding that the team has improved on their balance and spin bowling which was previously lacking.
Sierra Leone will battle against West African duo Ghana and Nigeria, and also Tanzania, Rwanda, Zambia and Botswana for the title. The tournament is designed on One Day International (ODI) format of 50 overs per match and only the tournament champion will progress to the next stage of the U-19 World Cup.
The full list of 14 players are: Ibrahim Bundu, John Bangura, Martin Bockarie, Osman Thomas Sankoh, Yegbeh Jalloh, George Edward Ngbegba, Haroun Kamara, Aruna Kainnessie, Charles Browne, Sahr Gbla, Eric Musa Turay, Charles Kargbo, Chernor Bah and James Franklyin Bangura.