The national U19 men’s cricket team will this afternoon face Sierra Leone seeking to quickly bounce back after losing to Botswana on Tuesday at the ICC Under-19 World Cup Qualifier – Africa Division 2 in South Africa. Coach Joshua Mwanja and his boys got off to a good start on Monday beating Swaziland by 102 runs before taking in their first defeat as they got held off by Botswana in a low scoring affair by 19 runs. Batting first, Botswana was bowled out for 120, with 14-year old opener Kgosi Machailo notching a vital 30 off 41 balls upfront. Chasing 121 to win, Rwanda chose to bat at Field ‘B’ of Sahara Park, Willowmoore; but the boys lost wickets at regular intervals. Rwanda’s Martin Akayezu scored with 25 runs off 42 balls in the allotted 50 Overs, while teammate and captain Didier Ndikubwimana posted 13 runs off 42 balls. For Mwanja’s side to stay in the race for a top three finish and ticket to the next round of qualifiers, today’s clash against Botswana should be a must-win. After the Botswana clash, Rwanda will be up against Tanzania, on Friday, in their last group match. After two match rounds, Tanzania (0.386 points) tops Group A, Botswana (0.233 points) are second, Sierra Leone (0.108 points) third, and Rwanda forth (-0.166points). Struggling Swaziland (-0.857points) are at the bottom of the group. In Group B, Nigeria have already sailed through, thanks to commanding victories over Ghana and Mozambique. The West Africans have sent out a stern warning to the other 11 teams in the North-West of South Africa. editorial@newtimes.co.rw
