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 players are here ready to go for the ticket. It is their dream to play at the World Cup and they are not ready to succumb to any adversity. It is not our fault that our kits are missing.”
He said the Sierra Leone cricket federation was working round the clock to sort out their needs, adding, however, “I learnt from the experience that there are certain things more important than cricket. One has to stay alive to play the game.”
On their quest for the World Cup ticket, he said: “I am proud of the boys. In spite of everything, they are ready to battle with for the ticket.”
The way they handled the situation is impressive. You could see the damage it has done to their psyche, but they are not allowing that to weigh them down. Some couldn’t train on Thursday. Honestly, that is the most I have been close to death.
“The boys have the will to cope with the opposition and it is my job to make sure they are ready to play. They wouldn’t have entered into the plane for the second time if they were not ready to play. We cannot blame anybody, these things happen in life.”
