Despite ‘near-death’ experience, Sierra Leone vows to win World Cup ticket

Sierra Leone is ready to face every opposition on its way to claim its first ICC U-19 Men’s World Cup ticket at the ongoing African qualifiers in Lagos, despite the unfortunate incident that left the team badly shaken and without their kits.

Sierra Leone arrived in Lagos on Thursday morning after a horrendous flight that left them without their kits and clothing.

Narrating what he described as a ‘near-death’ experience at the Tafawa Balewa Cricket Oval on Thursday, Sierra Leone’s Team Manager, John Caps-Jenner, said their nightmare started midway into their Asky Airlines flight when the pilot announced that they would face slight turbulence.

He said: “On our way to Lagos, the flight had to stop in another country (I don’t know its name) to drop and pick some passengers and suddenly, we got into a heavy storm that dragged the plane all over the place. At a time, the plane dropped so much that we genuinely thought we were going to die.

“Eventually the plane, an Asky flight, turned back to Lome, Togo, to land. I didn’t even realize that we went back to Togo because I was crouched on my seat. After a while, we took off again and came to Nigeria. But our entire luggage, including our clothes, is gone. We couldn’t find anything when we landed in Lagos about 3.00am.”

Left without their clothes and kits, Caps-Jenner and his team were reduced to begging for the equipment to participate in the competition. But he is still optimistic that his boys will pick the ticket once they have the opportunity to play.

“We are begging the Nigerian federation to help us to participate in this championship by lending us equipment.  All we need are three bats, three pairs of gloves, three pairs of pants and wicket keepers’ stuff and we will get by. The