Annie Walsh Begins Training Ahead of Western Area Urban Girls’ Cricket Championship
Sahid Bangura Annie Walsh Memorial Secondary School has commenced training ahead of the Western Area Urban Inter-Secondary Girls’ School Cricket Championship scheduled for the end of 2026.
The school has begun preparations as part of a growing effort to strengthen girls’ participation in cricket and prepare young players for competitive school-level cricket.
The training follows Cricket Sierra Leone’s ongoing drive to expand the sport beyond its traditional base and introduce more girls to the game. The initiative is aimed at developing a new generation of female cricketers across the country.
In May 2026, ten girls’ schools participated in the Cricket Sierra Leone Inter-School Criiio Cup at the Kingtom Oval in Freetown.
The tournament followed a wider grassroots development programme in which more than 4,000 schoolgirls underwent three-day entry-level cricket training conducted by 50 trained development officers.
The programme was designed to increase female participation in cricket by providing schoolgirls with early exposure to the sport and opportunities to develop their skills.
With Annie Walsh now preparing for the Western Area Urban championship, the school joins other institutions contributing to the expansion of girls’ cricket in Sierra Leone.
Cricket Sierra Leone’s broader ambition is to increase the sport’s popularity nationwide and position cricket as the country’s second-most popular sport.