Unlike the first match, the second match of the day was a tight contest and full of action, but the South Africans again registered another win, this time they were able win the match with four wickets victory after securing 114 runs for 6 in 19.2 overs.

Sierra Leone elected to bat as agreed by both teams in the second match of the day, but The patriots were limited to 113 runs for the loss of eight wickets in 20 overs.

The matches were the first two friendly games for The Patriot as they prepare for to take on Rwanda and Mozambique in the ICC Africa Division II T20 international tournament in South Africa, which is slated for 15-20 April.

Sierra Leone captain, Lansana Lamin, was the stand-out player in the first match of the day in which he scored 57 runs from 23 balls, with a strike rate of 247.8%, he also scored  6 sixes and 5 fours.

The second match saw Solomon Williams finish as the top-scorer for Sierra Leone with 24 runs, while the highest single total runs by a Patriot for yesterday’s friendly matches was Jacob Mansaray, who scored 23 runs and 27 runs in the first and second matches respectively. Emanuel Kamara scored 17 runs in the first match and Ibrahim Orpoach Mansaray scored 17 runs not out in the second match.

Reacting to the double friendly defeat, Chief Executive Officer of Sierra Leone Cricket Association (SLCA), Francis Trevor Samura, said he was not expecting a win from the team but to see the performance of the players against such a high profile team.

He said: “I was not expecting a win for The Patriots because of the standard of the Eastern team. But our guys will learn a lot from these friendly matches. We played against a test nation domestic side and not Africa Divisions I or II sides.”

“These matches are also being considered as trials for the Eastern players. They are also fighting to secure a place in the Eastern team that will be playing in the South African Premier League to be commenced soon,” he added.