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A Sierra Leone U-19 cricket team’s journey to the ICC U-19 Men’s World Cup African qualifiers in Lagos has been marred by a harrowing “near-death” flight experience, leaving them without their essential cricket kits and personal belongings.
The team’s arrival in Lagos on Thursday morning followed a turbulent Asky Airlines flight that plunged them into a terrifying ordeal. Team Manager John Caps-Jenner described a flight riddled with severe turbulence, forcing an emergency landing in Lome, Togo.
“On our way to Lagos, the flight had to stop in another country 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,” Caps-Jenner recounted, emphasizing the gravity of the situation.
The team’s ordeal didn’t end with the turbulent flight. Upon landing in Lagos at approximately 3:00 am, they discovered that all their luggage, including their crucial cricket equipment and personal clothing, was missing. “We couldn’t find anything when we landed in Lagos,” Caps-Jenner stated.
The traumatic flight has left the team shaken, with some players unable to train on Thursday. “Honestly, that is the most I have been close to death,” Caps-Jenner admitted.
Despite the psychological and logistical challenges, the team remains determined to compete in the qualifiers. “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,” Caps-Jenner said, highlighting their resilience.
The team has now appealed to the Nigerian Cricket Federation for urgent assistance, requesting loan equipment to enable them to participate in the competition. “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,” Caps-Jenner pleaded.
The Sierra Leone Cricket Federation is reportedly working to resolve the issue, but the team’s immediate focus is on overcoming this unexpected adversity and pursuing their World Cup dream.
