The Sierra Leone Cricket Association (SLCA) says it has sought the services of Yemi Amusan, a grounds consultant from Nigeria, to construct standard cricket pitches in their country.

Francis Trevor-Samora, Chairman, and board of directors of the Association, told the media on Wednesday that his federation was impressed with what Nigeria has.

He spoke on the sidelines of the just-ended Nigeria Cricket Federation (NCF) Wornen’s T201 Invitational at the Tafawa Balewa Square (TBS) cricket oval in Lagos.

Five teams from Ghana, Cameroon, Sierra Leone, former champions Rwanda, and champions Nigeria participated in the week-long event which ended on Sunday.

Trevor-Samora lauded the facility at the TBS oval, adding that his federation was looking forward to replicating the same in Sierra Leone.

“To develop our game in Sierra Leone, we are hiring the services of a Nigerian grounds consultant to help with the construction of pitches at Fourah Bay College, Niala University, and in the town of Sussex.

“The whole idea stems from the Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) signed by the SLCA and the NCF in 2021, during the Nigeria International bilateral series,” he said.

The SLCA board chairman disclosed that Amusan was scheduled to leave with the Sierra Leonean team from Lagos to conduct a visibility study on the identified grounds.

“Thereafter, he will advise the board on how to get state-of-the-art cricket grounds.

“We hope that by the end of 2024, our country will be able to boast of a standard ground as part of efforts geared towards enhancing the high performance of SLCA and the standard of play as well,” he said.

On his part, Amusan, who is in charge of the TBS oval as well as other pitches in the country, said he would do his best to ensure that Sierra Leone gets value for their money.

A groundsman is a person who maintains a sports ground, park, or the grounds of a school or institution.