By Ibrahim Karim Bangura (Tanko)

Salone U-19 Women’s Patriots, Emma Kamara finished third after four straight wins, beating Eswatini, Lesotho, Botswana, and Mozambique but lost to Kenya and Malawi due to jetlag.

Kamara made 108 runs in the nation’s final match against Mozambique to be decorated as a centenarian in the ICC Under-19 Women’s T20 World Cup Africa Division 2 Qualifier over the week in Kigali, Rwanda.

She made wonderful history for herself, and the country, and for women’s cricket in the West African sub-region. In 20 overs, she received 74 balls and posted 108 runs, smacking 18 4s with a strike rate of 145.95.

She sits second in the tournament’s Most Valuable Player log just behind Kenya’s Melvin Khagoitsa with 45.70. She won 3 Men of the Match awards to her credit, leaving one to colleague Susan Sesay in Sierra Leone’s match against Botswana.

On the Tournament’s batting chart, Emma Kamara is third with 274 runs, just behind Kenya’s Kreeshna Mehta with 288 runs.

In her history making, the Board of Cricket Sierra Leone has committed to giving Emma a bonus $100, a year’s professional contract, and a kit bag containing a bat, helmet, batting gloves, and batting pad.

Early on Tuesday, Sierra Leone beat Botswana by seven wickets, scoring 65 for the loss of 3 in 10.2 overs.

Botswana hit only 64 for five in 20 overs.

Against Mozambique at noon, Sierra Leone registered 157 for the loss of five in 20 overs. The foreigners replied with 88 runs for the loss of nine in 18.3 overs, giving the Junior Women’s Patriots a 69-run win.