By Bockarie Allieu –
Special Line CC, the defending champions of the Cricket Sierra Leone Premier League, defeated SL Police Senior Men’s CC by 23 runs in the final match of the league over the weekend. In the match, Police won the toss and chose to field, allowing Special Line to bat first. Special Line struggled to reach a total of 110 runs, all out, in 20 overs.
Top scorers for Special Line included Raymond Coker, who made 29 runs off 31 balls before being dismissed LBW by Chernor Bah. Alusine Turay, the No. 1 batsman, scored just 1 run off 3 balls before being bowled out by Suliaman Tarawallie. Emmanuel Mansaray, the 4th batsman, scored 6 runs off 11 balls, while George Edward Ngegba, the 5th batsman, managed 4 runs off 5 balls. John Bangura, the 6th batsman, scored 9 runs off 19 balls. Mohamed Turay, the 7th batsman, contributed 11 runs off 11 balls, and George Sesay (Captain), the 8th batsman, scored 11 runs off 18 balls. Ibrahim Shek Kamara, the 9th batsman, scored 6 runs off 11 balls.
For Police, the bowling attack was led by medium pacer Solomon Williams, who took 1 wicket for 12 runs in 3 overs. Fast bowler Sulaiman Tarawallie also took 1 wicket, conceding 22 runs in 4 overs. Chernor Bah, bowling 4 overs, took 2 wickets for 21 runs. Muniru Kpaka, another medium pacer, claimed 2 wickets for 20 runs in 4 overs, while spin bowler John Lansayo took 1 wicket for 10 runs.
In their chase, Police were dismissed for just 87 runs in 17.3 overs. Yegbeh Jalloh, the Police wicketkeeper, top-scored with 23 runs off 42 balls.
Mohamed Turay of Special Line was named Man of the Match for his all-round performance, scoring 11 runs off 11 balls and taking 5 wickets for only 14 runs.
This victory secured Special Line’s position as back-to-back champions of the Cricket Sierra Leone Senior Men’s Premier League. Reflecting on the final match, Special Line Team Manager Philip Sam acknowledged that they had faced a team with more experience and maturity. However, he credited their “special skills” in limiting Police’s batsmen and preventing them from chasing down the target of 111 runs. He emphasized that their bowlers and fielding strategy were key in the win, highlighting the excellent work of wicketkeeper John Bangura, whose vigilance behind the stumps disrupted Police’s batting flow. Philip Sam also commended Mohamed Turay’s outstanding 5-wicket performance, which effectively paralyzed Police’s batting.
He expressed gratitude to the team’s sponsor for their financial support and praised the league organizers for hosting a competitive and peaceful tournament that has helped the game grow. Looking ahead, he revealed that Special Line’s next goal is to defend their title in the next season. He also mentioned plans to establish a Senior Women’s Cricket Club for the upcoming season.
