From Ashes of War, Sierra Leone Bats for Cricket Glory

Football is king in Sierra Leone but cricket, first introduced by the British colonial rulers, is making a slow but steady comeback. With better facilities and a regional West African league on the horizon, a generation of young cricketers are hoping to put this "gentleman's game" back on the map.

Published

6 months ago

Categories

Sports, World

Topics

Sports, Africa

Places

Sierra Leone

Transcript

SCRIPT: The old score board recalls a time when this was once a proud cricket stadium. These days it's Footballers who usually occupy the once green outfield of Freetown's Kingtom Oval. Yet cricket, introduced by the British in the late 19th century, is still alive in Sierra Leone. Even though poor facilities mean training can be hard work: SOUNDBITE 1: Ann-Marie Kamara (woman), Sierra Leone women's team captain [English, 19 sec]: "The cricket ground is pathetic because if you play on this bare ground you bruise, injuries so the field is not good enough for us to play cricket because when you go to another man's country you see the grass but here it's just sand and if you fall you get yourself injured." The tiny West African nation has a good pedigree of schools cricket but a decade of war combined with [as well as] a lack of funding means that competing at a higher level has been a challenge: SOUNDBITE 2: Emmanuel Pessima (man), nation team player and chairman of Kenemmanjane Cricket Club [English, 13 sec]: "When you go the senior team you need professional coaches, you need qualified coaches to coach you [so] and without that you can't win -- but at the junior level everyone is learning so it's possible to be competitive there.." But against all odds Sierra Leone's U-19 team in 2009 managed to reach the Cricket World Cup qualifier in Canada. Now plans are afoot to develop the game in conjunction with neighbouring Liberia, Guinea and Ivory Coast -- not traditionally cricket-playing nations. SOUNDBITE 3: Beresford Bournes-Coker (man), President, Sierra Leone Cricket Association [English, 14 sec]: "For the east and southern African countries, they have lots of regional tournaments which is why they perform better and it has been a learning curve for them and we must try to replicate the same in West Africa." With the footballers moved on, a game can finally begin -- with the help of equipment provided by international clubs and charities. And some can't wait to get going: VOX: Boy [Krio, 11 sec]: "Cricket can do lots of things for me -- I can win medals and I can win prizes as the best fielder.." And prospects are looking good: Land has been made available outside the city for a new cricket academy with two pitches. A development that could see these young cricketers finally joining the ranks of their idols. SHOTLIST FREETOWN, 15 NOV, 2012 SOURCE: AFPTV -GV cricket scoreboard at Kingtom Oval in Freetown -PAN Kingtom Oval -VAR football being played on Oval -MS boys rolling matting out for the cricket session -GV stand with puddles of water -SOUNDBITE 1: Ann-Marie Kamara (woman), Sierra Leone women's team captain [English, 19 sec] -Cricketers in training, cricket ball in foreground -Boy practicing bouncing a tennis ball on his bat -Catching practice -GV Emmanuel talking to young cricketers SOUNDBITE 2: Emmanuel Pessima (man), nation team player and chairman of Kenemmanjane Cricket Club [English, 13 sec] -TILT boys learning to hold bat -GV Oval with trees -Shot of cricket on TV screen in Beresford's office -Beresford watching TV -SOUNDBITE 3: Beresford Bournes-Coker (man), President, Sierra Leone Cricket Association [English, 14 sec] -TILT cricketer putting on gloves -VAR playing cricket on the pitch at Kenemmanjane Cricket Club -Small boy trying on cricket helmet -VOX: Boy [Krio, 11 sec] -Kids playing in cricket nets -VAR cricketers looking at cricket magazine ------------- AFP TEXT STORY: FREETOWN, Dec 10, 2012 (AFP) - Packed with hard red dirt overlooked by a faded scoreboard, Sierra Leone's only cricket oval is worlds away from the lush, carefully grassed grounds typically associated with the game. Muddy water pools around the edges of Kingtom Oval after a downpour, as a rag-tag group of young men, women, and children barely big enough to hold a bat, gather to warm up for cricket practice. But first: The daily battle of chasing teams of footballers off the pitch, a sign the soccer-mad nation, which zealously follows teams in the English Premier League, is not yet bowled over by the growing success of its cricketers. "The footballers are here every time we want to play. Look at them! They are playing football right now whilst we are playing cricket!" says national team player Emmanuel Pessima, who is also chairman of the Kenemmanjane cricket club. With the glaring footballers relegated to the outskirts of the field, the cricketers unfurl a strip of grubby green astro turf, torn in places, along a long slab of cement which forms the pitch. While any fielder would think twice before diving and sliding to stop a cricket ball on such unforgiving terrain, it is from here that Sierra Leone's players have edged their way up in rankings on the African continent. Cricket has a rich history in the west African nation, where it was introduced by the British in the late 19th century, and had a thriving club and schools league until war broke out in 1991. Kingtom Oval was "well-grassed" in the 1980s, says Beresford Bournes-Coker, chairman of the Sierra Leone Cricket Association. But during the devastating 11-year conflict which left 120,000 dead and thousands maimed by rebels, the field, which belongs to an adjacent police station, became home to hundreds of refugees looking for safety. While cricket structures fell apart, the game did not die, and it was the country's wildly popular U-10 Barracks League which "kept the momentum going". Mostly made of up of policemen's children, the league has provided the majority of the country's cricketers, many of whom in turn joined the force. While the children's games still whip up the most fervour, it is those who grew up during the war who became members of the under-19 team which in 2009 defied expectations to reach the Cricket World Cup qualifier in Canada. But, in a massive blow to the team, they were refused visas to participate. In 2010 Sierra Leone moved up to Africa's Division Two, also that year winning an award from the African Cricket Association for the most improved cricketing standards on the continent. "Sierra Leone is being branded as the Afghanistan of Africa -- meaning that with nothing we've gone so far," says Bournes-Coker, referring to the war-torn Asian nation's recent successes in international cricket. --- Howzat West Africa? --- Sierra Leone hopes to bring the same fervour for the game seen in other parts of the continent to mostly francophone west Africa. The country is trying to rope in Liberia, Guinea and Ivory Coast who have never played cricket and encourage them to join a regional tournament in Gambia in March 2013. Cricket has never caught on amongst the French and its former colonies but this may slowly be changing with countries such as Mali playing organised cricket since 2005. "For the east and southern African countries, they have lots of regional tournaments, which is why they perform better and it has been a learning curve for them and we must try to replicate the same in West Africa," said Bournes-Coker. Local sports journalists held a workshop recently to avoid being stumped by cricket jargon, where a "duck" is not an aquatic bird, a "bail" has nothing to do with being released from jail and players may yell out "Howzat?!" from time to time. "Hopefully by 2014 we are looking for, with all the facilities and with the playing standard raised, we should be able to apply for an associate membership" of the International Cricket Council, which governs the sport, Bournes-Coker said. He believes his players have the potential but lack the facilities. Women's cricket captain Ann-Marie Kamara, a fierce bowler with dark green eyeshadow, agrees. "The cricket ground is pathetic because if you play on this bare ground you bruise... when you go to another man's country you see the grass but here it's just sand and if you fall you get yourself injured," she said. The Sierra Leone Cricket Association was recently granted a piece of land outside the capital by the government which they plan to develop into a cricket academy with two pitches. It is also trying to use the game as a social tool to get boys off the street and into school, handing out scholarships and school materials as prizes at tournaments. Equally important is instilling a love of the over 400-year old game and nurturing "great players rather than celebrities" chasing the golden ticket. The players seem to be getting the message. When asked why she loves cricket, Ann-Marie replies without hesitation, deadpan: "It's a gentleman's game."