Samir Inamdar, Cricket Kenya's chairman, has been endorsed by the Nairobi Provincial Cricket Association for re-election at the AGM which is due to be held on March 15. The backing of Kenya's largest province means that Inamdar will almost certainly be returned to office.

The AGM also marks the end of more than two years of dispute between CK and the NPCA which has led to the board's elections being delayed since June 2007. The NPCA constantly stalled in introducing a new constitution and at one stage it appeared as if CK might be forced to disband it and force it to elect new officials.

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Kenya’s preparations in South Africa for the ICC World Cup Qualifiers got off to a good start as they beat Easterns by 76 runs in their opening match at Benoni.

They need significant contributions from the old guard to help them post 193, Steve Tikolo leading the way with 63 and Kennedy Otieno making 46. Easterns were always off the pace, Peter Ongondo (4 for 26) reducing them to 52 for 5 before Jimmy Kamande (3 for 15) polished off the tail.

Click here for the scorecard.

Kenya’s preparations for April’s ICC World Cup Qualifiers, which got off to a dreadful start with a 5-0 whitewashing by Zimbabwe, continues when they head to South Africa for ten days.

The 16-man team will be based in Benoni.

Kenya squad Steve Tikolo (capt), Rajesh Bhudia, Jimmy Kamande, Alex Obanda, Collins Obuya, Nehemiah Odhiambo, Thomas Odoyo, Peter Ongondo, Lameck Onyango, Elijah Otieno, Kennedy Otieno, Maurice Ouma, Rakep Patel, Tony Suji, Hiren Varaiya and Seren Waters.

Former Kenyan Cricket Association boss Sharad Ghai has launched a remarkable attack on the current board, accusing chairman Samir Inamdar of putting his globe-trotting ahead of the interest of the game.

Ghai was ousted in 2005 after bitter disputes with players and stakeholders. Despite that, Ghai, who many suspect of still harbouring ambitions to return to national administration, claimed that Kenyan cricket was now at an all-time low.

Continue reading "Ghai slams 'illegal' Cricket Kenya board"

Uganda retained their East African Women's Championship title with a ten-run win over hosts Kenya in the final, but it was a tournament that raised major questions regarding the standard of those competing.

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Uganda and Kenya, as expected, emerged as the favourites after convincing wins in the first two rounds of the Africa Cricket Association women’s tournament in Nairobi.

Kenya recorded the most comprehensive victory, thrashing Rwanda by 330 runs. Kenya rattled up 397 for 3 with Sara Batika smashing an 187 not out and sharing an unbeaten fourth-wicket stand of 260 with Emily Ruto (74*). In reply, Rwanda managed 67 as Margret Banja took 4 for 17.

Uganda beat Tanzania by seven-wickets at Ngara Sports Club Oval in Nairobi, bowling their neighbours out for 61, and earlier added to Rwanda’s gloom by beating them by 276 runs.

The Nairobi Provincial Cricket Association super league champions, Kanbis, leave for India on December 10 where they will play several matches in Gujarat.

Getting accurate scorecards from major matches in Kenya is not always a simple process, and that was underlined by confusion which followed the third and final one-dayer between Kenya and the Pakistan Academy side at Nairobi Gymkhana.

At the end of the match it emerged that there were three different versions of the final card. The match’s official scorer, who was not familiar with the Pakistan side, made several mistakes. The Pakistan scorer provided a different card, and Cricinfo’s scorer turned in yet another.

In the end, it was decided the scores kept by the official scorer would be accepted as the legitimate scorecard.

A little more than a week after the postponement of the Champions Trophy, Cricinfo can reveal that the ICC will have to either move or postpone its next high-profile event, the World Cup Qualifiers.

The tournament, which involves the leading Associates, is due to be staged in the UAE next April, with the top four countries winning a place at the 2011 World Cup. The event will also be used to establish which six Associates will be granted one-day status for the next four years.

Read the full story here and leave your comments below.

The weather hasn't been kind to Associate cricket over the past week, and that drizzly trend continued at Ayr where Scotland's first ODI against Kenya was washed out.

In the play that was possible, Kenya struggled to 141 for 8 in 35 overs. Dewald Nel and John Blain each took two wickets as Kenya's fragile top-order failed to deliver, slipping to 32 for 3 when Steve Tikolo was caught behind for 2. However, Thomas Odoyo smashed four sixes in a brief 45 from 39 balls to loft Kenya's score towards something resembling respectable, before the rain fell once more.

Set 141 from a revised 35 overs, Scotland lost Gavin Hamilton for 9 but the rain again returned and the match was abandoned.

The second ODI at Ayr is scheduled for Wednesday, but the forecast is no more promising than today's.

Netherlands have beaten Kenya in the first match of the ICC World Twenty20 Qualifier in Belfast.

Netherlands won the first match of the ICC World Twenty20 Qualifier tournament with a good victory over Kenya by 19 runs. Their star performer was the South African-born Ryan ten Doeschate, the Man of the Match with a top score of 56 and impressive bowling figures of 3 for 27.

Click here for the full report.

Ahead of the World Twenty20 Qualifiers, Will Luke met Kenya's new coach, Andy Kirsten:

The venue is Cranleigh School, the occasion a warm-up for Kenya's cricketers ahead of the World Twenty20 Qualifier in Belfast. Nestled on the Surrey-Sussex border, surrounded by acres of high-quality pitches and the best equipment, it is a far cry from the makeshift and often decrepit facilities that Nairobi offer. An idyll, belying the pressure on Kenya and their new coach, Andy Kirsten.

We meet under the pavilion canopy with Kenya batting against a side led by Abeed Janmohamed, himself a former pupil of the school and Kenyan wicketkeeper. As Kenya's batsmen come and go with worrying frequency, Kirsten casts his eye around the manicured lawns and professionally prepared squares. "This is unbelievable," he says, taking a moment away from scoring the match on his laptop. "In Kenya, it's not a rich cricketing nation in terms of what's available, but we have to make the best of what little is available. For example when we come here and see this magnificent structure for nets, we don't have that. Every time we want a net, it's a manual operation for a couple of guys to erect some nets with old wooden poles. There's nothing permanent. There's always a procedure to be done."

Read the full interview.

The World Twenty20 Qualifers get underway at Belfast tomorrow. Have a read of our preview of this important event.

Kenya’s preparations for the ICC World Twenty20 Qualifiers took a dent when they were well beaten by an Abeed Janmohamed XI at Cranleigh School. Janmohamed, who played for Kenya in 2004-05, led a strong side which included New Zealand’s Grant Elliott.

Kenya started well, reaching 81 for 1 before suffering a mid-innings collapse that left them 133 for 6 off 34 overs. Alex Obanda made a confident fifty but there was little else of note, and Steve Tikolo made only 1. Teenger Phil Roper, like Janmohamed, a product of Cranleigh School, took 2 for 20 off 10 overs, while Luke Woodcock returned 3 for 18. In the end, Kenya limped to 162 all out in 43 overs.

Elliott smashed 77 as Kenya’s bowlers were struck to all parts, while Seren Waters made 47. Waters, the son of former Kenya chief selector David Waters, left Cranleigh earlier this month and made the second-highest number of runs in the school’s history in 2008. He has already represented Surrey 2nd XI. Janmohamed’s side romped to a five-wicket win.

Twenty-four hours later, Kenya got back on track with a win at Hove against Guernsey, but again the side ranked as the leading Associate were forced to struggle after being bowled out for 194. Tikolo again failed, making 4, as Kenya slipped to 51 for 4 before Thomas Odoyo (61) bailed them out. Guernsey never challenged after being reduced to 40 for 6, although they did well to make 122 in 44.4 overs.

The ICC has announced a revised schedule for the ICC World Twenty20 Qualifier in Belfast next month.

The tournament, involving the six leading Associate teams - Bermuda, Canada, Ireland, Kenya, the Netherlands and Scotland - will now take place from August 2 to 5, with a fourth day included to allow room for a third and fourth-place play-off.

Click here for the full story

A Rochdale-based community group, Sports for All, is hosting a reception for Kenya on Saturday, followed by a match on Sunday.

The match forms part of Kenya's European tour, in which they are to play in the ICC World Twenty20 qualifiers in Belfast.

"We have made this a free event to encourage families and young people to attend. It is a unique opportunity for those who enjoy cricket, to watch an international team play in their town,” Mohammed Nazir, the chairman of Sports for All, said. “However, we also hope to have encouraged young people to attend and enjoy several events.”

Portfolio holder for community cohesion, Councillor Mohammad Sharif has also pledged his support for the event.

"It is not often a national cricket team visits Rochdale,” Councillor Mohammad Sharif said. “Our town has a beacon status for community cohesion and it is therefore a great privilege to have the national team of Kenya visiting Rochdale. I hope the weather is good and we enjoy not only excellent cricket but our young people enjoy a fun day out too."

Rochdale Cricket Club have also organised an international XI to play Kenya in a 50-over match.

Cricket Kenya has angrily denied claims in the Daily Nation that it broke its own selection rules in picking former captain Ragheb Aga for their European tour.

Continue reading "Kenya deny accusations over Aga selection"

Samir Inamdar, the chairman of Cricket Kenya, was elected as the chairman of the Associate and Affiliate members of the ICC at the annual conference in Dubai.

Inamdar, who was already one of the three representatives of the non Test-playing countries on the ICC executive board, replaces H.H. Tunku Imran who stood down because of his commitments with the IOC.

Inamdar, who polled 26 votes, is joined on the ICC executive board, by Imran Khwaja (Singapore, 22 votes) and Neil Speight (Bermuda, 21). Rene van Iashort from the Netherlands received 18 votes while Israel’s Stanley Pearman, who was a sitting representative, finished bottom of the pile with 16 votes.

Emmanuel Nakaana’s 58 guided Uganda to a ten-wicket win over Rwanda in the opening round of the ICC East Africa Under-17 tournament. In the day’s other game, Kenya thrashed defending champions Tanzania by 100 runs.

Almost three years late, the Nairobi Provincial Cricket Association has finally elected a new board, paving the way for the overdue Cricket Kenya elections.

The NPCA saga has blighted Kenyan cricket for several years with a virtually dysfunctional board failing to holding meetings or produce accounts. The failure to implement a new constitution, as agreed back in 2005, led to a postponement in national elections. The new NPCA executive now has 60 days to put their house in order.

Bipin Vora won the vote to become the new chairman by 29-19, while other officials appointed include: Nilesh Lakhani (vice-chairman), John Moyi (secretary), Harshes Patel (assistant secretary), Kalpesh Solanki (treasurer), Shashikant Sanghani (assistant treasurer), Shahid Bwibo (fixtures secretary), and Michael Kibe (assistant fixtures secretary). The committee is completed by Rajesh Patel, Seiffudin Maloo, Oduor Ambala and Sheikh Najani.

Rumours that former KCA chairman Sharad Ghai would mount a comeback bid amounted to nothing. He did not even attend the meeting.

Next week's ICC annual get-together promises to have more than its fair share of politicking, posturing and controversy. But, unless there is a major about-turn, it should also be a watershed for the Associates and Affiliates.

In 2009, income from the ICC's six-year media deal with ESPN-Star, worth over US$1 billion, kicks in, and while the game's big boys will still keep the lion's share, the rest will see substantial increases in their incomes.

Continue reading "Future bright beyond the Test world"

Kenya's National Elite League has hardly been the success that Cricket Kenya hoped for, and with one round of matches remaining, there are three sides in with a shout of the title - but the more important question is whether anyone actually cares.

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Ireland will host the inaugural World Twenty20 Qualifiers between August 2 and 4, with the top six Associates vying for the two places available to them in next year's ICC World Twenty20 in England.

Click here for more and the itinerary.

Cricket Kenya has had to reschedule its planned three-day league because of the lack of availability of players.

Due to start last Friday, the event will now run on the next three weekends with game restricted to two days. Tom Tikolo, the board's chief executive, explained that this move had been forced on them by the "unavailability of many players who are students and/or working". He added that it was expected that at least 100 overs would be bowled on each day and that the matches would still be two-innings affairs.

The move will be a bitter blow to Cricket Kenya who had been looking to the competition to highlight any emerging talent outside the tried-and-known national squad.

The tournament had initially be scheduled for January and had been intended to coincide with holidays, making the availability for schoolboys much easier. But the violence which followed the disputed presidential elections put paid to that.

Swamibapa Cricket Club won Nairobi’s three-day six-a-side cricket tournament by beating Kanbis Sports Club in the final. Kanbis batted first and made 52 for 3, and although Swamibaba also scored 52, they were adjudged winners as they had only lost two wickets. Steve Tikolo was the top scorer for Swamibapa with 17.

In the losers’ plate competition, Sir Ali Sports Club A beat Sir Ali Sports Club B Team.

The tournament, which attracted 27 teams from Nairobi Province, was organised by Shree Cutchi Leva Patel Samaj under the banner of Nairobi Provincial Cricket Association. It was sponsored by Tile and Carpet Centre Limited and co-sponsored by Crown-Berger Kenya Limited.

Cricinfo has learned that the Afro-Asia Cup, which was reported to have been quietly sidelined after the 2007 event in Bangalore, has been revived.

Plans had been discussed whereby the existing Asia Cup, which takes place in Pakistan next month, would be supplemented with an African Cup. The winners of the two tournaments would then play off in an Afro-Asia final.

However, the packed international schedule meant that it was too difficult to find room for the African competition in 2008 and so a competition using the old three-ODI format will be held in Kenya during 2009.

Although the event has raised valuable funds for the African Cricket Association and the Asian Cricket Council, it has been less than a hit with audiences and has struggled to find a niche in the calendar. Despite the best intentions of the two associations, the weight of cricket means that it is still by no means certain to proceed.

Kenya’s proposed tour to Denmark has been cancelled after the Danes advised that their players would not be able to get enough time off to fulfill the scheduled matches. The news is a blow to both sides as they start their preparations for the ICC World Cup Qualifiers next April.

Kenya will now have to start their European tour in England where they hope to arrange some matches against quality opposition. They will be based at Cranleigh School where David Waters, the former head of selection, now works.

However, Kenya were rebuffed in attempts to get a match against the MCC which claimed that it would not be able to get a strong-enough side out to take them on.

Less than 48 hours after Cricinfo revealed that Kenya were having problems arranging ODIs against South Africa, the South African board has offered two dates later this year.

Although the exact details have yet to be agreed, the matches will take place on October 30 and November 2.

"We look at South Africa to support us," Samir Inamdar, Cricket Kenya's chairman, said yesterday. "They made the commitment at the ICC board meeting two years ago but it seems that commitment is not there now and that worries us."

Cricket Kenya will look to add other matches against provincial sides to the tour as part of their preparations for the ICC World Cup Qualifiers in 2009.

Much is spoken about the expansion of the international game, and if, as expected, proposals for a significant increase in funding for the Associates is approved when the ICC meets in June, then their progress should be further boosted.

But cash and goodwill can only go so far. What is widely agreed is that to improve, the leading Associates need to play more, and against the elite top ten Full Member countries. And that is where the problems come.

A casual glance at the international schedule will show that the major countries are on an almost constant global tour. In part this is because of the requirements of the Future Tours Programme, but more often than not the large gaps in that schedule are filled with lucrative one-day tours or tournaments.

In an ideal world, there would be time for India or England to undertake ambassadorial tours to Kenya or the Netherlands. But given the choice between a lucrative three-match series against commercially attractive opposition containing star names or a trip to a cricketing outpost in Africa or Europe, it's not a contest.

Click here for the full article

Bangladesh romped to a nine-wicket win over Malaysia in the third-place play-off in the CLICO International Under-15 tournament in Trinidad. Ireland defeated ICC Americas by two wickets to secure fifth place, while Netherlands thumped Kenya to take seventh.

Click here for the full report

There were big wins for West Indies, Pakistan, Bangladesh and Malaysia on the second day of the CLICO International U-15 Championship in the Caribbean. Of the three, only Bangladesh are not guaranteed a semi-final place, meaning the winner of their match against Ireland will progress to the last four.

Click here for the full round-up

John Campbell struck 112 for West Indies Under-15s in the CLICO International Under-15 Championship. Click here for the full report. Scorelines and cards for the other matches can be found below.

West Indies 237 (Campbell 112) beat Bangladesh 200 (Nelson 3-43) by 37 runs
Scorecard

Ireland 111 for 3 (Getkate 31*) beat Kenya 110 (Karim 46, Getkate 4-17) by seven wickets
Scorecard

Pakistan 332 for 5 (Naeem 90) beat Netherlands 102 (Worries 20, Gohar 3-32) by 230 runs
Scorecard

Malaysia 157 for 8 (Goonasagaran 33, Hazim 19*) beat Americas 156 (Joshi 64, Zahid 3-36) by two wickets
Scorecard

In what has to amount to one of the most remarkable cases of the pot calling the kettle black, former KCA chairman Sharad Ghai has told The Nation that Cricket Kenya is in breach of an agreement with the ICC by not holding elections.

Ghai told The Nation: "CK should not use the delay in the amendments of the Nairobi Provincial Cricket Association's constitution as an excuse for delaying the elections because they would not affect the number of delegates allocated to the province."

Click here for the full story

Kenya, tipped by some as one of the teams to watch, were easily beaten by an ICC Americas team in the first round of the Clico International Under-15 Championship. Set a modest 134 to win, ICC Americas eased to a six-wicket win with more than 13 overs to spare.

Kenya won the toss but never got their innings going and limped to 133. Bermuda’s Joshua Gilbert, who had taken 2 for 11 with his offspin, played the anchor innings with an unbeaten 43 off 97 balls, twice being dropped, but that was not enough to win him the Man-of-the-Match award which went to Nitisj Kumar who took 3 for 14.

In the day’s other game, Pakistan beat Ireland by eight wickets to book a semi-final against Bangladesh while ICC Americas will play West Indies. Ireland managed only 99 off 43.3 overs, Usman Qadir, the son of the legendary Abdul Qadir, taking 3 for 22, a score Pakistan passed in 20.5 overs.

Uganda Cricket Association hosted the AfriPals Cricket team from Kenya over the Easter Weekend, 21st – 25th March 2008. The AfriPals were scheduled to play a total of three games against Uganda A and UCA select sides. The AfriPal’s delegation which was headed by Coach Martin Suji consisted of several big names from the Kenyan National side such as Peter Ongondo, Jimmy Kamade, David Obuya, Nehemiah Odhiambo, Alfred Lusano, Elijah Otieno and Tony Suji among others. Of the scheduled three games, only one was played as the other two were washed away by the heave Easter Sunday downpour. A very closely contested Pro20 game at the start of the series turned out to be the decider of the series.

AFRIPALS VS UGANDA XI (Saturday 22nd March 2008)
TOSS: UGANDA
SKIPPERS: UGANDA XI - JOEL OLWENY
AFRIPALS - JIMMY KAMANDE
RESULT: UGANDA XI WON BY 1 RUN

The performances of both sides were much appreciated by the funs and Uganda Cricketing fraternity, this tickled a personal offer of a cash token to both teams by Mr. John Nagenda a Senior Presidential Advisor and a senior citizen in the cricket fraternity.

To widespread frustration, Cricket Kenya has postponed the three-day part of its Elite League on the eve of the first round of matches.

Originally, the three rounds of three-day matches were to have started earlier, but the whole event had to be delayed because of the domestic upheaval which followed December's presidential elections. The one-dayers, which should have been played over two weekends, then had to be extended to a third because of a conflict with Nairobi's 45-over competition.

In a media release, CK said that onset of the Long Rains had led to the tournament being postponed until June. The first round will now take place between June 6 and 9 with the second and third rounds starting on the following Fridays.

"The rains which have pounded the city heavily over the last one week have left most of the grounds waterlogged and the groundsmen have found it difficult to prepare for these matches," Tom Tikolo, the board's CEO explained,

As widely expected, the ICC executive board approved proposals to reduce the number of Associates participating at the 2011 World Cup from six to four.

This was done, so the ICC claimed, to reduce the length of an event which many considered to be too bloated in 2007 from 47 days to 38.

The ICC's 10 Full Members automatically qualify and they will be joined by the top four teams from next years World Cup Qualifiers in Dubai. As thing stands, this means that Ireland have to qualify for a tournament they reached the Super Sixes at last time, while Zimbabwe, who are below them in the official ICC One-Day Rankings, do not.

Alternative proposals, including one which would have involved a pre-qualifying tournament featuring the top six Associates as well as Bangladesh and Zimbabwe, were earlier rejected by the ICC's chief executives committee.

David Waters, one of the most respected administrators in the country, has resigned as the head of Kenya’s selectors as well relinquishing his place in the Cricket Kenya executive.

Waters stepped down as secretary of the fractious Nairobi Provincial Cricket Association in November after growing weary of the infighting within the executive and also the way in which his name was being used to give credibility to erroneous statements.

Samir Inamdar, CK’s chairman, praised Water for more than 23 years of service. “I am well aware of your own personal contribution and commitment to developing the game in Nairobi which is clearly visible in the sizeable number of youngsters now playing representative cricket for Kenya,” he said.

Kenya's Elite One-Day League was thrown wide open as both teams that lost last week won in the second round of the competition. That leaves all sides level on four points with all of them in with a chance of the title in next weekend's final round of matches.

Click here for the full review and table.

As widely predicted, Cricket Kenya have offered Andy Kirsten the post of national coach. The Nation reported that the board made the decision when it met at the weekend.

The MCC ended their Uganda tour with two emphatic wins over Kenya's Under-19 side. The games were originally scheduled to have been played in Nairobi but were rearranged at Kampala's Kyambogo Oval as a result of Kenya's political unrest following December's presidential elections.

Click here for the full report

The number of people actively participating in cricket outside the Test-playing countries increased 17% in 2007, according to the ICC.

The research, carried out by the ICC's development program, was collated from 33 Associate and 58 Affiliate members. It showed that there were 338,051 male and female players in those countries in 2007, an increase of 49,158 on the previous year. Since 2002, when there were 144,047 participants, there has been a 135% rise.

Click here for the full story.

Eastern Aces won Kenya's inaugural Elite Twenty20 league with back-to-back wins in the weekend's matches.

Click here for the reports, scorecards and final table.

Alex Obanda struck an unbeaten 51 from 41 balls to lead Eastern Aces’s emphatic nine-wicket win over Northern Nomads, on the second day of Kenya’s inaugural elite Twenty20 competition. The Nomads only managed 105 for 8 in their 20 overs - Shashikant Sanghani top-scoring with a 23-ball 37 – with Nelson Odhiambo picking up 2 for 11. Eastern Aces romped home in the 14th over, with Steve Tikolo cracking 48 from 36 balls after the early loss of Newton Muthee.

Kenya's elite Twenty20 competition got off to a low-key start as Western Chiefs crushed Southern Stars by nine wickets in a woefully one-sided game at Nairobi Gymkhana. Stuck in to bat, Southern Stars limped to 57 all out in 15.4 overs, never recovering from crumbling to 3 for 3 inside nine balls. Western Chiefs were barely troubled and an unbeaten 31 from Jadavji Jesani helped them home with almost nine overs in hand.

Despite the civil unrest inside Kenya following the disputed presidential elections in December, Cricket Kenya has announced that its Elite Cricket League will begin this weekend.

The league, which is sponsored by Sahara Computers and also underwritten by the African Cricket Association, will feature the best 60 players from across the country. They will be divided between four sides - Northern Nomads, Southern Stars, Western Chiefs and Eastern Aces - to ensure that the teams are as evenly balanced as possible. Each of the squads will contain four nationally-contracted players.

Click here for the full story and click here for the match schedule.

Cricket Kenya is closing in on its hunt to find a replacement for Roger Harper, who stood down as coach after the ICC World Twenty20 in September.

More than 30 applications from around the world were received for the vacancy and Cricinfo understands that a South African-based applicant, believed to be Andy Kirsten, is among the front runners. He was in the frame the last time the position was open in 2005 but was committed to existing work in South Africa and eventually the board chose Harper.

Kirsten worked with the Kenyan side during their successful 2003 World Cup campaign when Sandeep Patil was the national coach. As a result, he is known to many of the senior players and is believed to have a good relationship with them.

Concern is growing that the civil unrest in Kenya might put the Intercontinental Cup tie against Namibia at the end of the month in doubt. It has already delayed Kenya's preparations for the match against UAE in Sharjah.

Click here for more

Some things remain depressingly constant and one of them is the media crusade against Cricket Kenya in The Nation.

“This was a year when Kenyan cricket sunk further into mediocrity despite Kenya’s triumph,” Richard Mwangi writes in an article mischievously and misleadingly entitled Kenya’s game still in the gutter, before a long rambling column which does little to substantiate his claim. He ends with a comment that the Cricket Kenya failed to hold an AGM “which could have ushered in new officials”. An explanation why might have helped but it suited his argument not to go into that.

Mwangi, like any reporter, is, of course, entitled to his views. But as we have stated before, there have to be questions as to who is pulling the strings of the general sniping. The board are privately angered by the stance of the Nation after several olive branches have been spurned or used to beat those offering them.

Kenya has issues for sure, but a year in which they won the World Cricket League and won 14 out of 17 ODIs, signed a new TV deal and a new sponsor cannot be all bad. But that’s not the kind of story that the Nation is interested in peddling. Kenyan cricket needs all the help it can get to rebuild, while being subjected to valid criticism, but they know by now that the mainstream newspapers won't be the ones to do that.

Uganda underlined their growing reputation as one of cricket's emerging forces with a 12-run victory over neighbours Kenya in the final of the East and Central Africa Under-15 Championship. The win avenged their defeat by the Kenyans in last year's final.

Click here for a full report

Kenya have selected five new players for the East and Central Africa youth tournament which gets underway on Sunday.

The five new players include Nikit Shaha, Harrison Ambani, Ivan karim, Deresh Patel and David Muibo. The team of 14 players was named as the team did their final touches today at Sir Ali Muslim club in Nairobi.

Coach David Asiji said only four players who featured in last year's tournament are in the squad among them Kennedy Owino, Immanuel Bundi and Kewal Patel.

Asiji said they are seeking to reclaim the title from Uganda who beat them in the final last year.
The event will feature four countries from east and central Africa among them hosts Kenya, Tanzania, Uganda and Rwanda.

Full story at Kenya Broadcasting Corporation’s site.

The Nairobi Provincial Cricket Association was plunged into another crisis with the resignation of Nilesh Lakhani from the executive.

Lakhani, who is chairman of the Parklands club, is seen as one of the people within the NPCA who actually gets things done, and his resignation will be a serious blow to the credibility of the already beleaguered executive. The NPCA has already lost its chairman and secretary this year.

Martin Williamson also warns that the stakeholders' meeting in Nairobi threatens to be overshadowed by the ongoing row, and that the Nairobi executives are making outlandish claims to mask their own failings.

Some of the accusations are ridiculous, others scurrilous, but they all have one purpose - to deflect attention from the glaring issues inside the NPCA. Those at the helm of the NPCA know that the more mud they can sling, the greater the disharmony and the better their chances of clinging to office.

It has to be hoped that the stakeholders' meeting does not allow those running the NPCA to drag it into the dirt and that it addresses the more important issues facing Kenyan cricket. If it does, then it should be a most productive two days.

And it also has to be hoped that CK receives the backing of stakeholders to move in and remove the remnants of the NPCA executive and to hold fresh elections as soon as possible. For Kenyan cricket to move forward, it needs a strong NPCA and not one run by people whose only aim is self preservation.

Cricket Kenya is coming closer to stepping in to address the shambles inside the Nairobi Provincial Cricket Association (NPCA).

However, reports in the local media that Samir Inamdar, the CK chairman, had delivered an ultimatum to the NPCA are not true. Inamdar has asked the NPCA to provide a copy of the new constitution which should have been ready in September and to address its lack of accountability to stakeholders in the province.

Continue reading "Cricket Kenya tires of Nairobi mess"

A Kenyan XI beat Uganda in two warm-up matches at Kampala's Lugogo Oval. The games were arranged to give the Ugandans practice before next week's World Cricket League Division Two competition in Namibia.

Click here for the full story

Rwanda will take part in the East Africa regional Under-15 Championship which will be held in Nairobi from December 8.

Tom Tikolo, Cricket Kenya's CEO who is also the Africa Cricket Association tournament director, said Rwanda will join Kenya, Uganda and Tanzania in a competition that will be used to pick two teams - women’s and Under-15 boys’ - to represent the region in South Africa next year.

Tikolo, however, said Rwanda will not have a women’s squad like the other three countries.

Tony Cozier is, rightly, one of the most respected journalists in the game. His work to cover and promote cricket in the Caribbean has been unstinting for almost four decades. And yet even the best writers have off days, and his attack on the way that the ICC funds the Intercontinental Cup, the first-class competition for the Associates, is one of those.

Continue reading "ICC must go on funding cricket's expansion"

Tony Cozier, the veteran Caribbean journalist and broadcaster, has launched a scathing attack on the way the ICC funds global cricket outside the Test-playing countries.

Writing in his column which is syndicated throughout the Caribbean, Cozier was angry at the way that established regions, such as West Indies, were not allocated more money instead of so much being spent by the ICC on Associate competitions.

“Certainly there is no ICC venture more illogical or costly than the one dubbed the Inter-Continental Cup,” he wrote. “It is an annual tournament, described by the ICC as its ‘flagship first-class competition’, comprising round-robin, four-day matches between its second tier members, those one below Test status. These are countries where the game has always been based on amateur, weekend, one-day club cricket. They play no four-day domestic matches and almost certainly never will.

“Yet the ICC doles out heaven knows how much cash every year to fly them, and their own entourage of officials, across the world and to house and feed them at venues as scattered as Aberdeen, Dublin, Namibia, Toronto, Sharjah and Windhoek.

“Canada were unable to raise their strongest team for the African tour because many of their best players simply could not get time off from their jobs. The same problem affects others, rendering the tournament even less relevant.”

The ICC maintains that the competition enables players from Associate countries to gain more experience in the longer form of the game.

Samir Inamdar, the Cricket Kenya chairman, has told Cricinfo that the national elite league will proceed despite the ongoing problems affecting the Nairobi province.

Click here for more

The AGM of the Nairobi Provincial Cricket Association was postponed for the fourth time last week after it emerged some clubs were yet again not served with the correct documentation in time.

Continue reading "Board set to step in to sort Nairobi chaos"

A squad of 14 Kenya players are lending their support to Uganda to play two friendlies at the Lugogo Oval this weekend, to help them prepare for the World Cricket League Division Two in Namibia later this month.

Steve Tikolo, the Kenya captain, along with Thomas Odoyo and other senior players are all participating, but Kenya have given Maurice Ouma the captaincy. They also called up a couple of younger faces, Ken Migai and Moses Otieno to gain experience.

Uganda will fight it out with United Arab Emirates - who today beat Bermuda in the Intercontinental Cup - Argentina, Denmark, Oman and Namibia for the four slots reserved for the group in the 2009 World Cup qualifier.

Click here for the fixture list

Should Odumbe return? Leave your comments below

Odumbe could make his comeback before his five-year suspension has been served © AFP

Maurice Odumbe, the former Kenya captain who was banned from cricket for five year for his involvement with bookmakers, could return to the game before his five-year suspension has been served.

A report in The Standard said that Cassim Sulliman, the ICC Regional development manager and CEO of the Africa Cricket Association, had indicated that Odumbe could be allowed to resume his career if Cricket Kenya (CK) appeals to the ICC.

"I have watched Odumbe play and I think he would be an asset to Kenya cricket when he returns to action," Sulliman told the newspaper. "The best way Cricket Kenya could handle this issue is by compiling all details of the ban and writing a letter to ICC asking for leniency on the player who has already served two thirds of his ban. ICC may decide to reduce the sentence if the local body needs the player."

Tom Tikolo, CK's chief executive, said they were willing to help but they needed an approach from the player. "We cannot just write to ICC asking them for leniency over Odumbe's ban when we don't know the details of the issue," he said. "Let Odumbe meet [the] CK board and present us with the details."

Odumbe, 38, told the newspaper that while he was willing to do what the board suggested, but he was critical that it had not acted before now. "I think they should have at least taken some action earlier since the information of my ban is available with ICC and in the internet."

Odumbe was banned in 2004 after a hearing in Nairobi and an appeal by him in 2006 was unsuccessful.

What is not so clear is under what authority Sulliman made his comments. Last month he told officials in Uganda that he was working on getting three more countries ODI status within 180 days. The ICC subsequently denied any such plans existed.

The talk of Sharad Ghai’s comeback continues even though publicly he continues to deny such reports. But, as Cricinfo’s Beyond The Test World has reported in the past, he has friends in the media who continue to snipe at the current regime.

Sports Monthly has been a regular critic of the Cricket Kenya board and it has had another go with some thinly-veilled attacks on Samir Inamdar, the CK chairman. What’s more it has quotes from Ghai who denies he has any ambitions to return to the national scene.

“It’s not true,” he said on allegations he wanted to take over the CK. “as of now there is absolutely no truth in those claims, but in case of anything I will call you.”

What is clear is that Ghai and Sukhbans Singh have been canvassing opinion among the Nairobi clubs with, Cricinfo learns, lukewarm results. Singh, a former schoolmate of Ghai, was for a time his sworn enemy and even went as far as being a witness in Ghai’s trial in 2005, although he was unfortunately out of the country when the time came to appear in court.

Those who have had dealings with Ghai are of the opinion that he is unlikely to look to serve as a club representative – he is one of the Nairobi Gymkhana delegates appointed to the NPCA – without loftier ambitions.

Whether that is true or not, some in the media seem to paving the way for his return.

Team Gayner from England are the new Cricket in the Wild champions after beating defending champions Team Outram from Kenya, by 4 wickets in a last ball thriller two weeks ago.

The three-day event is designed to raise funds to support the Ol Pejeta Conservancy - a 90,000 acre wildlife park - which, it is hoped, will aid the development of schools and other local facilities.

CapitalFM has a brief report of this year's tournament:

Team Outram scored 119 for 2 wickets in 10 overs with Rob Harte and Luke Nightingale both scoring 21 (both rtd). But in reply, Team Gayner rattled in 120 for 6 wickets in 10 overs with Colm Singleton scoring 22 and Luke Nightingale taking 2/9 to take victory.

The highlight of the tournament was a hatrick taken by Joss Ridley of Team Tucker.

The tournament was umpired by Subhash Modi, Lalji Bhudia and Mohammed Khan while the scorer was Aliya Bauer. The score board operators were Charity Warungu, Danson Njenga and Wilson Bugei.

Modi who represents International Cricket Council (ICC) Affiliates Associates International Panel of Umpires said, “It was a great honor & privilege for me to be associated with this exciting, prestigious and unique Cricket in the Wild tournament for the second time”.

The foothills of Mount Kenya © Ol Pejeta Conservancy

The second Cricket in the Wild event takes place on Friday at the foothills of Mount Kenya. The three-day event, designed to raise funds to support the Ol Pejeta Conservancy - a 90,000 acre wildlife park - which, it is hoped, will aid the development of schools and other local facilities.

Each of the eight teams, split into two leagues, is required to raise a minimum of KS200,000 (USD2,900) - usually by sponsorship - to secure their place in the tournament. The cricket itself will be 10 overs per side with eight-ball overs.

Cricket in the Wild last year raised KS6m, thanks to extra fund raising efforts by all teams that participated but especially Hugh Crossley's Team from the UK who won the highest fundraising prize. These funds have been allocated to the building, rehabilitation and development of several secondary schools and medical dispensaries surrounding the conservancy.

"We were very proud that last year's tournament was won by a Kenyan team. Chris Outram's team will be back again this year to defend their title," Richard Vigne, Ol Pejeta Conservancy's director, said. "To keep the event light hearted, we will also be awarding a crate of Tusker to the most humorous sledger."

Entry will be free of charge.

The ongoing problems inside the Nairobi Provincial Cricket Association - Kenya's largest and most influential province - continue to rumble on and are now having a detrimental effect on local cricket.

Click here to read the full story.

As if to underline the shambles, it has emerged that one Super League club has been docked 80 points for not fulfilling its fixtures even though seven players were on international duty. The NPCA maintains a typical shroud of secrecy about the matter.

The Standard’s overtly pro-KCA rhetoric continues unabated in a report on the farewell party thrown for outgoing coach Roger Harper.

Continue reading "Standard continues to rewrite the history book"

Cricket Kenya is set to announce the launch of a national elite league with matches starting this November.

In the aftermath of Kenya's performances at the ICC World Twenty20 there was widespread media criticism of the fact that there was no such competition, but it emerges that the board's plans were already at an advanced stage.

Click here for the full story

A stinging attack on Cricket Kenya appears in today’s Standard which is completely understandable given the dismal performance of the national team in the ICC World Twenty20. However, the rhetoric of piece is depressingly reminiscent of that trotted out by supporters of the old KCA who attempt to rewrite history to show how much better things were in the old days.

Continue reading "Kenya's opportunists seize their moment"

Kenya have two players in the running for the ICC Associate ODI Player of the Year award. Steve Tikolo and Thomas Odoyo have been shortlisted for the new category. Canada's Ashish Bagai and Ryan ten Doeschate, of Netherlands, are the other players vying for the prize.

The talented Tikolo was in consistent form – his highlight a fifty against England in the World Cup - while Odoyo delivered with both bat and ball.
 
Ten Doeschate hit an unbeaten century in the World Cricket League, and added a hatful of wickets. At the World Cup which followed he struck two fifties in three matches including one against South Africa.

Bagai was a member of Canada's World Cup teams in 2003 and 2007. He came to prominence this winter with two centuries at the World Cricket League, where he was named Player of the Tournament, ahead of the World Cup.

The first ICC Awards were held four years ago, but this is the first time there will be an Associate Player of the Year. The winner will be named in Johannesburg, South Africa, on September 10 as teams gather for the initial ICC World Twenty20 championship.

Click here for the shortlists for all of the awards.

James Fitzgerald, ICC

The ICC today confirmed that it had approved a quadrangular Twenty20 tournament being played in Kenya and afforded Twenty20 International status to all the games involving teams that currently enjoy One-Day International status.

The tournament runs from September 1-4 in Nairobi and includes the national teams from Kenya, Uganda, Pakistan and Bangladesh. Under current ICC regulations, all ten Full Members plus the top six Associate Members are entitled to play ODIs and, by extension, Twenty20 internationals.

As such, all matches between Kenya, Pakistan and Bangladesh have been classed as official Twenty20s while the matches involving Uganda, which is not currently one of the top six Associates, are not.

In the six-match tournament each team plays three matches with Kenya, Pakistan and Bangladesh using it as preparation for the Twenty20 Championship which runs in South Africa from September 11-24.

Botswana produced the shock of the Africa Under-19 World Cup Qualifiers when they Uganda by 27 runs to reach the semi-finals in Benoni on Monday.

Botswana's unexpected victory eliminated Tanzania from the semi-final on net run-rate after the duo along with Uganda ended up at four points each from three matches. In Wednesday's semi-finals, Uganda meets Namibia while Kenya faces Botswana. Kenya topped Pool One after conjuring up a four-wicket victory over Zambia while Namibia finished second after defeating Ghana by 172 runs, courtesy of an unbeaten century by Sean Silver.

In the Botswana-Uganda match, Botswana scored 192 for 8 after being put into bat with contributions from Karan Kapoor (54) and Nadeem Tajbhay (36) while Emmanuel Nakaana bagged 3 for 45. In turn, Uganda was dismissed for 165 in 44 overs after losing their last seven wickets for 54.

Tanzania, in their last match, carved out a 153-run victory over Nigeria. Athumani Kakonzi (70) and Seif Abdul (68) put on 123 for the second wicket to set the platform for Tanzania's 296 in 49.5 overs. Nigeria, in its target chase, were bowled out for 143.

Silver scored 101 to inspire Namibia to a 172-run victory over Ghana and featured in a 117-run second wicket partnership with Tiaan Louw (62) as Namibia scored 287 for 6. Ghana were dismissed for 115 with Elandre Oosthuizen taking 4 for 39 and Louis Petrus van der Westhuizen claiming 3 for 13.

Spinners Rakep Patel and Rohit Vekaria shared six wickets to help Kenya beat Zamibia by four wickets. Patel took 3 for 16 and Vekaria bagged 3 for 17 as Zambia were spun out for 152. Kenya achieved victory in 34.1 overs for the loss of six wickets.

The winner of the Africa Under-19 Qualifiers join Papua New Guinea (from the East Asia-Pacific Region), Ireland (from the Europe Region) and Bermuda (from the Americas Region), the ICC's 10 Full Members and hosts Malaysia at the 16-team U-19 World Cup from February 17 to March 2 2008 in Malaysia.

	Sharad Ghai © Cricinfo

Continue reading "Ghai on the comeback trail"

Cricket Kenya has postponed the board elections for a second time following a decision by the Nairobi Provincial Cricket Association on Saturday to appoint a nine-man committee to look into a new constitution.

Continue reading "Nairobi dispute echoes back to the dark days"

Cricket Kenya is on the verge of offering its leading players one-year contracts.

The board has agreed terms with the players, Roger Harper, the coach, has given his views and the national selectors are now drawing up a final list of between 18 and 20 names who will be invited to sign the contracts. The selectors also need to divide the players into three categories, based on seniority and ability, which will determine how much they get paid.

Continue reading "Kenya awards players central contracts"

Cricket Kenya has confirmed that India A will tour Kenya in late July or early August to play two four-day matches as well as taking part in a one-day series which will involve at least one other country's A team.

The deal was brokered by Samir Inamdar, CK's chairman, while he was in India attending the Afro-Asia Cup. Indian board officials told him that they were keen to attract another side to ensure there was a high level of competition, and Sri Lanka A are also believed to be interested and an offer has been made to West Indies.

Cricket Kenya is hoping to stage some international Twenty20 matches in Nairobi in early September in the build-up to the Twenty20 World Championships in South Africa. Pakistan and Bangladesh have expressed interest.

Cricket Kenya (CK) has suspended its Central province ahead of next month's board elections.

"The province has not promoted any form of the game in their area of jurisdiction," Samir Inamdar, CK's chairman, told Cricinfo. "They have less than the prescribed three active clubs as required for the formation of branches. The decision to suspend their membership of CK was unanimously reached in a special council meeting. "

Continue reading "Kenyan board suspends Centrals province"

Kenya is likely to host the next Afro-Asia Cup which will be held in June next year, the Asian Cricket Council has announced.

The hosting alternates between Africa and Asia and only time there is a gap in the international calendar in the next two years is in the second, third and fourth weeks of June 2008, hence the timing of the competition.

"The likely venue is Kenya where the facilities and weather would be ideal," Syed Ashraful Haq, the ACC chief executive, said. Money raised by the tournament is split 70% to the host association, 20% to the visitors and 10% to the Sightsavers charity.

The last major tournament hosted in Kenya was the 2000 ICC Champions Trophy but there were concerns raised at the time about the organisation and support from the local population. Given that the 2005 event was held in South Africa, the choice was between Zimbabwe and Kenya, and the deteriorating political and social situation in Zimbabwe made that to risky an option.

Cricket Kenya is hoping to launch a four-day national competition later this year providing that sponsors can be found to underwrite the costs of the event.

Continue reading "Kenya look to stretch to four days"

Fast bowler Peter Ongondo headed a Nairobi Province Cricket Association NPCA) Select side which arrived in Dar es Salaam for a four one-dayers against the Tanzanian national side.

"Most of our players are under-19 and they need an experienced person like Ongondo to motivate them," David Asiji, one of the team’s coaches, said.

Zully Rehemtulla, the Tanzania Cricket Association chairman, explained the matches were preparation for the World Division III Cricket League in Australia which starts at the end of the month.

NPCA squad Peter Ongondo, Nelson Odhiambo, Moses Otieno, Lawrence Okoth, Dominic Wesonga, Francis Otieno, Shashanka Maheshwari, Peter Kituku, David Maina, Ken Migai, Abdul Wajmi, Benjamin Oluga, Pritesh Limbachia, Keval Patel, Shem Ng’oche, Ritin Limbani.

Kenya Select 342 (Obanda 76, Suji 76) and 196 for 9 (Suji 48, C Obuya 47*, D Obuya 32; S. Mwakayeni 5-42) drew with Northerns 234 (Chigumbura 69, Mufambisi 60, Raza Butt 34; Varaiya 4-49, Odhiambo 3-56, Luseno 2-61) and 303 for 9 (Chigumbura 79, Masvaure 50*, Varaiya 4-73)

The tie between Kenya Select and Northerns finished in a thrilling draw after bad light ended play six overs early with the Kenyans needing one wicket and Northerns two runs shy of chasing down a target of 305. Click here for a full report.

Kenya Select 253 (Obuya 103, Obanda 57, Muzarabani 4-51) and 312 for 7 (Obanda 114, Mishra 68, Ouma 67) drew with Centrals 282 (Chkunya 53, Nyathi 53*, Varaiya 6-68, Luseno 3-38) and 78 for 4 (Odihambo 3-19)

Kenya Select finally got some points on the board in the Logan Cup after two successive defeats, but they were unable to force a victory against Centrals at Kwekwe Sports Club. But it was the performance of three of their youngsters - Alex Obanda, Tanmay Mishra and Hiren Varaiya - which really stood out.

For the first time, Kenya had the better of a match, even though they conceded a first-innings lead. On the first morning they slid to 9 for 3 before Obanda and Mishra stopped the rot and then Collins Obuya struck his maiden first-class hundred.

Centrals reply was solid, with their top five all making starts, but the last three wickets produced 105 runs to give them a slender lead. Varaiya was the outstanding bowler, with 6 for 68 off 33.2 overs.

Kenya made a good start second time around, closing the third day on 145 for 3, Maurice Ouma's quickfire 67 leading the charge. Faced with a tough choice of pressing for victory by offering Centrals a chance to chase a target or batting out time, Kenya opted for the latter. Mishra made his second fifty of the match, but 19-year-old Obanda was the star, his 114 underlining his burgeoning reputation.

Centrals were left with an almost impossible target of making 282 from 42 overs, and once Nehemiah Odhiambo reduced them to 1 for 2, they decided to play out time.

Tanzania are gearing up for a series of friendlies against Kenya in preparation for division three of the World Cricket League which will be held in Australia, in June.

Zully Rehemtullah, the Tanzania Cricket Association’s chairman, told The Kenya Times that he expected his side to arrive on May 10.

More details at their website.

Kenya Select went down their second defeat in the Logan Cup, losing to Easterns by seven wickets at Mutare. We are unable to get more than scant outlines of what happened.

Easterns 382 (Mutizwa 107, Mawoyo 69) and 140 for 3 (Mawoyo 59*, Marumisa 59) beat Kenya Select 199 (Ouma 116, Maruma 6-40, Utseya 3-50) and 332 (Obuya 105, Obuya 69, Utseya 6-91) by seven wickets

We regret that we have no official scorecard for this match at the moment as Zimbabwe Cricket is unable to provide any to the media. Local reporting restrictions mean we have no official representative in the country, although if anyone has access to the cards we would be delighted to hear from them.

April 13, 2007

An amateur solution in a professional world

Posted on 04/13/2007 in Associates

Martin Williamson has written an article which highlights the pressures players for Associate countries face as they compete with the budgets of the Full Members.

In expanding the game, the ICC has, rightly, offered more matches to the Associates. On top of any ODIs they can persuade Full Member countries to give them, as well as tournaments they arrange among themselves, they participate in the Intercontinental Cup, the World Cricket League and the four-yearly ICC Trophy. But that expansion has not taken into account that the players remain amateur.

The flaw in the ICC's plan is that the increased demands have not been backed by additional funding. In the year ending April 30, 2007, Scotland were scheduled to play 46 days of cricket (including warm-ups for tournaments) as a national side; the numbers for the other Associates are similar - Bermuda 45, Canada 43, Ireland 42, Kenya 37, Netherlands 24. That does include time spent preparing, travelling and acclimatising.

The direct funding they receive for that from the ICC amounts to US$215,000, of which $125,000 is not actually handed over to the boards but is retained by the ICC and used to offset other costs, such as paying for coaches and hosting training camps. Compare that with the lowest-ranked Full Member, Zimbabwe, who will receive around US$10 million with no requirement to account for how it is spent. In the same period, they had 37 days cricket scheduled. That really puts into perspective Ireland's achievement in Jamaica.

March 31, 2007

Kenya cricket in the wild

Posted on 03/31/2007 in Kenya

Dates for the second Ol Pejeta "Cricket in the Wild" tournament in Kenya have been confirmed - the competition will begin on Friday September 28.

The three-day event is designed to raise funds to support the Ol Pejeta Conservancy - a 90,000 acre wildlife park at the foothills of Mount Kenya - which, it is hoped, will help with the development of schools and other local facilities.

Each of the eight teams, split into two leagues, is required to raise a minimum of KSh200,000 (USD 2900) - usually by sponsorship - to secure their place in the tournament. The cricket itself will be 10:10 (10 overs per side) with eight-ball overs.

The winner receives a trophy, and there will be a special prize for the most humorous sledge, at the umpire's discretion.

March 26, 2007

Tikolo bats on despite father's death

Posted on 03/26/2007 in Kenya

While Steve Tikolo, the Kenya captain, was single handedly holding up England's march to victory, with a resolute 76, he was unaware that his father had died. Tom, Steve's brother and the current chief executive of Cricket Kenya, withheld the news from his younger sibling "because if it had got out, Steve would have been unable to concentrate" on his batting and captaincy.

Mzee Rueben Tikolo died at his home, in Eshirotsa Eshirumbe, aged 72.

Associates need more high-profile matches

Posted on 03/26/2007 in Associates

Steve Tikolo, Kenya's captain, has pleaded for more international exposure for his side, as well as the other leading Associates.

Kenya exited the World Cup after losing to England on Saturday, but Tikolo said that unless the major countries agreed to play the Associates, then the standards would never improve.

Continue reading "Associates need more high-profile matches"

March 20, 2007

Thou shalt not knock the minnows

Posted on 03/20/2007 in World Cup

	Going easy on the minnows? © Getty Images

TV viewers might have noticed that commentators have been very chartable to the so-called minnows during this World Cup so far. For example, when Zimbabwe were in the Caribbean in May, the experts made no attempt to hide their feelings that they were not fit to play international cricket. But even when they tied with Ireland on Saturday, there was hardly a critical word. And even when Bermuda and Netherlands, for example, have been slaughtered, the men in the box have been remarkably jolly about them.

Robert Craddock, writing in The Australian, thinks he knows why.

It is understood commentators have been told by Global Cricket Corp producers that it frowns on them denigrating the minnows. However, it is deemed acceptable for commentators to call an event a mismatch but not to say some of the nations do not deserve to be in the tournament.

Some commentators who agree with the directive and feel the minnows are a necessary part of global expansion are happy to abide by it. Others, who feel the tournament has been devalued by their presence, would rather speak their mind.

And Craddock concluded by saying that some of the players themselves are aware of the real picture.

The widespread feeling that the minnows are enjoying every moment of their matches against the big boys is wide of the mark. Several Dutch players privately conceded they feel embarrassed by their team's efforts.

Keep your eyes and ears open and see if what you are watching tallies with what you are being told.

March 17, 2007

Odumbe seeks new opportunities

Posted on 03/17/2007 in Kenya

	© The Nation

Maurice Odumbe, the former golden boy of Kenyan cricket who was subsequently banned for five years for associating with known bookmakers, is now forging a new career on local television and radio. He has recently featured in a few advertisements and is also commentating on sports for a local radio station.

In a feature in The Nation, Odumbe reveals that he is happy with his new role.

“I always wanted to do something before the cameras. When the opportunity presented itself I could not just let it pass.”

He also said that he is considering standing in the next general election. “Sports and showbiz are multi-billion industries which have not been properly harnessed for the benefit of artistes and sports personalities due to poor legislation.”

March 6, 2007

Tikolo: 'We need quality opposition to improve'

Posted on 03/06/2007 in Kenya

(Leave your thoughts in the comments below)

Following his side's 21-run defeat to the West Indies yesterday, Steve Tikolo, the Kenya captain, has criticised the lack of exposure and matches Associate cricket is afforded.

"The ICC is looking to spread the game globally," he said, "[but] I don't see how they are going to do it unless they get us involved in cricket activities. To be playing at this level, you have to be playing against these guys regularly. Playing them in World Cup warm-up matches and big tournaments alone is not good enough.

"We need quality opposition to improve and we are not getting that."

Tikolo led Kenya to winning the World Cricket League (WCL) in Nairobi last month, a tournament which pitted the top six Associates against each other. While the standard of cricket was generally good, the overwhelming response from the players was that they can only improve if they play full-member nations more regularly. Nevertheless, and despite the 21-run defeat yesterday, Tikolo was pleased with Kenya's performance.

"It was a fruitful exercise, since the main aim was to try and get some good combinations going in the team, and I think we did this," he said. "Obviously, we have another friendly game on Thursday, and we will try and give the guys who did not have a go a chance then to try and finalise our first 11.

"We bowled well at the start of their innings, but we let them get too many runs in the latter stages. I thought also that we batted well, but lost some batsmen in the middle, otherwise it would have been a different result."

Kenya face the Netherlands in their second warm-up match on Thursday at the Trelawny Stadium in Jamaica.

March 4, 2007

Tikolo: "We don't just want to make up numbers"

Posted on 03/04/2007 in Kenya

Chloe Saltau speaks to Tom Tikolo, the Kenya captain, in today's Age in Australia.

As always, though, much will depend on Tikolo as the general at the top of the order, and with his artful off-breaks, if the team is to replicate the dreamy success of 2003, when Kenya lost to Australia in a Super Six game best remembered for Brett Lee's hat-trick. He is desperate to prove Kenya's performance in that tournament was not an aberration.

"Save for what happened after that, cricket going down in Kenya, that was the most memorable time of my career. To compete the way we did, make it to the finals, to be the team captain, these will be my memories for a long, long time to come," said Tikolo.

"We are capable of that. What we are planning is to go to the World Cup and be competitive. We don't just want to make up numbers."

March 2, 2007

From Kutch to Kenya

Posted on 03/02/2007 in Kenya

Fans in Kutch – a district of Gujarat in western India – will be glued to their TVs for the forthcoming World Cup, and not just to watch India. Two Kutchi-born players - Rajesh Bhudia and Malhar Patel - are playing for Kenya.

“Our Patel community which has a large population from here in Kenya is also known by the name of Kanabi and we have there Kanabi’s Sports Club which is very dominating in the cricketing world in that country. We now understand from there that Rajesh Bhudia and Malhar Patel, both belonging to the Patel community, have found place on the Kenyan team for the World Cup 2007,’’ said Kirti Varsani, of Madhapar village near here.

More on this at ExpressIndia.com

February 23, 2007

Mishra runner-up for Sportsman-of-the-Year award

Posted on 02/23/2007 in Kenya

Tanmay Mishra came second in the annual Sportsman-of-the-Year awards in Kenya, narrowly beaten by Alex Kipchirchir. More at CapitalFM.

February 19, 2007

Will Kenya's players never learn?

Posted on 02/19/2007 in Kenya

The Kenyan media has rounded on the country’s players after they stopped training in a dispute over non payment of match fees for the cancelled game against Canada in January. Whereas player strikes were common during the time of the old Kenyan Cricket Association, things have moved on, and the players find themselves attacked for their latest attempts to blackmail the board.

Continue reading "Will Kenya's players never learn?"

January 30, 2007

A long way from home

Posted on 01/30/2007 in Associates

It won't get many column inches in the mainstream cricket press, but the World Cricket League, which started in Nairobi yesterday and continues into next week, features the best of the rest, the six sides just under the ten Test-playing countries. For the two finalists, the rewards are bountiful - a place among the big boys in the inaugural Twenty20 World Championship in South Africa this September, along with $250,000. For countries used to surviving on annual handouts from the ICC of less than $200,000, that's big money.

Continue reading "A long way from home"

January 26, 2007

All people want is fairness

Posted on 01/26/2007 in Kenya

	Match cancelled ... a blackboard breaks the bad news after the Kenya-Canada game was called off © Eddie Norfolk

Astounding as it seems, the slanted reporting from certain journalists in Kenya's Nation newspaper has continued in recent weeks.

The Nation's cricket coverage is now so slanted as to be damaging its international reputation, as well as its domestic one. It is Kenya's leading and most respected newspaper and yet it one or two of its staff repeatedly attack the board of Cricket Kenya, whereas at the height of the battle between stakeholders and the old Kenyan Cricket Association it barely raised a whimper.

Continue reading "All people want is fairness"

January 15, 2007

Mixed messages from Dubai

Posted on 01/15/2007 in Associates

Martin Williamson looks at what message is being sent to the Associates by the ICC deciding to appoint Darrell Hair to officiate in their tournament ... and do the ICC even know where they stand.

Continue reading "Mixed messages from Dubai"

January 9, 2007

Absent Otieno ruled out of World Cup

Posted on 01/09/2007 in Kenya

Veteran Kenyan wicketkeeper-batsman Kennedy Otieno has been left out of the squad for the forthcoming World Cricket League after failing to make himself available for the national training camp. Click here for more

January 8, 2007

Rift Valley take on Scotland

Posted on 01/08/2007 in Kenya

Nick Deverell has a report at CricketEurope of a Rift Valley Sports Club Invitational XI beating Methlick CC, from Scotland.

December 30, 2006

Tikolo awarded in honours list

Posted on 12/30/2006 in Kenya

Tom Tikolo, elder brother of Steve and the former Kenya captain, has been awarded the Head of State’s Commendation (HSC Civilian Division) in the President’s Jamhuri day honours list.

Mr. Tikolo was born in 1961. He is the first Kenyan of African descent to be selected to the Kenya National Cricket Team in September, 1980 and subsequently became its Captain in June 1986. He was also elected to the Cricket Association in Kenya and also worked for the International Cricket Association. He is currently the Chief Executive Officer of the Cricket Kenya and Tournament Director of the Africa Cricket Association. He is awarded the Head of State’s Commendation (HSC- Civilian Division) for his commendable achievements in promoting cricket in the country.

Via CricketEurope.

December 29, 2006

Review of Kenya in 2006

Posted on 12/29/2006 in Kenya

Nick Deverell provides an excellent, comprehensive timeline and round-up of Kenya's year in 2006 over at Cricket Europe.

Do you support Kenya? Let us know your thoughts on their year by leaving a comment.

December 26, 2006

Damned if they do ...

Posted on 12/26/2006 in Kenya

Our old friend Chris Tsuma has used the season of goodwill to all men to have another one of his digs at Cricket Kenya, although at least this time he has stopped short of saying that the return of Sharad Ghai would signal the dawn of a new era of unheralded success.

Continue reading "Damned if they do ..."

December 7, 2006

Cricket fever to hit Kenya

Posted on 12/07/2006 in Kenya

The countdown for the 2009 women's World Cup begins this Friday when four African countries will assemble in Nairobi, Kenya for the start of the World Cup regional qualifiers.

Joining the host nation Kenya will be Zimbabwe, Tanzania and Uganda and the one-day competition will be played in a simple round-robin format, with the winner heading to the next qualifying stage, a tournament in Pakistan at the end of next year. Eight teams will vie for two spots at the 2009 World Cup in Australia.

Click here for the full story.

November 16, 2006

Associates heading in opposite directions

Posted on 11/16/2006 in Kenya

Martin Williamson reviews the Kenya-Bermuda one-day series and looks at what the games mean for both sides

Although the three-match one-day series between Kenya and Bermuda hardly registered on world cricket's Richter scale, in the battle for supremacy among the game's second string it had greater significance. And with the World Cup less than four months away, it provided a much-needed fillip to the Kenyans but left Bermuda with many more questions than answers.

The 3-0 scoreline does not flatter Kenya who outbatted and outbowled Bermuda, and who certainly looked the far more professional and fitter side in the field

Continue reading "Associates heading in opposite directions"

November 15, 2006

Out of Africa

Posted on 11/15/2006 in Kenya

The Royal Gazette carries a report about the troubles the Bermuda players have had in Kenya which include a man being gunned down outside their hotel in Nairobi, an umpire vomiting on the pitch in Mombasa and some cautionary tales about driving in the country’s second city.

Driving in this coastal city means risking your life everytime you get behind the wheel. Buses, taxis and private cars all weave from one side of the road to the other at breakneck speed, attempting to avoid gaping holes in the tarmac, made worse by the recent rain. Courtesy on the road? Forget it. At night, everybody drives with their headlights on full beam, regardless of oncoming traffic, and those unfortunate to break down aren’t likely to get much sympathy. Stranded vehicles on the roadside are regularly stripped of their wing mirrors and hub caps.

Bermuda will be back in Nairobi for the World Cricket League in January, as will one of our young staff members who suddenly feels less thrilled about the trip than he did before reading the article!

November 13, 2006

Same old Kenyan bias

Posted on 11/13/2006 in Kenya

	Sharad Ghai: blame it on the rain © Cricinfo

This column has flagged on several occasions the slanted reporting of one or two journalists in Nairobi’s Nation newspaper, and that bias has again surfaced with quotes from Sharad Ghai, the larger than life former board chairman, following the abandonment of the ICC Intercontinental Cup tie against Bermuda.

“We had a golden opportunity to win," Ghai told the newspaper. “When drawing the fixtures Kenya should have considered the weather pattern. India will not agree their fixtures to be drawn for June because of Monsoon rains"

The Nation, so ready to quote the former board chairman, fails to mention that when Ghai was in charge rain was not an issue as almost no matches took place. The final home game under his tenure was an ICC Intercontinental Cup match held in … October …only four weeks earlier than the one he moaned about. And it is worth noting that on that occasion Kenya were forced to field a second XI as all leading players were on strike in a long-running dispute with Ghai’s board.

But, as the Nation’s journalists would have you believe, those were the good old days.

October 25, 2006

Kenya's team-building exercise worthwhile

Posted on 10/25/2006 in Kenya

Thomas Odoyo, Kenya’s vice-captain, told the Nation newspaper that the recent three-day team-building exercise at the Malewa River Lodge earlier in the month was most worthwhile.

"I learnt that people can always push themselves a little bit more. That extra bit was nice and very helpful. One gets to know the strengths and weaknesses of team-mates."

He admitted it was tough. "One could easily have walked away. I never knew there was anything like this in the country".

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October 23, 2006

Floodlit cricket arrives in Kenya

Posted on 10/23/2006 in Kenya

The first floodlit game of cricket in Kenya took place at Mombasa’s Jaffery Sports Club on October 7 where the club has installed new floodlights.

"The club can now be the first at the coast to offer such unique facilities of night cricket and football in addition to the floodlight tennis and volleyball courts,” said a spokesman.

Click here for full details.

October 18, 2006

More board bashing from a familar direction

Posted on 10/18/2006 in Kenya

Once again, the Nation’s Chris Tsuma has used his newspaper to continue his vendetta against the board of Cricket Kenya. A fortnight ago we highlighted a number of instances where the paper carried slanted reports about the board, and Tsuma, whose reaction to cricticism is well documented, is back.

On Monday, he quoted Roger Harper, Kenya’s coach, who made some fair observations of the state of the domestic game. But Tsuma, who it should be stressed has made no attempt to contact Samir Inamdar, Cricket Kenya’s chairman, for his side of the story, really warmed to his task on Tuesday.

Continue reading "More board bashing from a familar direction"

October 5, 2006

Media sniping undermines efforts to rebuild

Posted on 10/05/2006 in Kenya

	Steve Tikolo leads Kenya on a lap of honour following the 2003 World Cup semi-final. But were preparations beforehand so much better than this time? © Getty Images

The incessant sniping at the Cricket Kenya board continues in The Nation, Kenya's leading newspaper. For reasons that remain unclear, some of the paper's sports reporters seem to be of the view that the old Kenyan Cricket Association could do little wrong while the new board has taken the game to new lows.

On September 21, Richard Mwangi wrote on the eve of the county's tour of Uganda: "The Kenyans must register impressive wins if they wish to maintain their position as one of the top associate members of ICC ... Uganda has a development programme which has seen the game spread all over the country unlike Kenya where the game only exists in private clubs. This tour is a litmus test for Kenya 's cricket and the future of the game in the country could be determined by it."

Kenya duly won all three ODIs against Uganda by impressive margins, and one would have expected that met the standards set by the paper. Instead, in his article on September 29, Mwangi poured cold water on the clean sweep by saying that the Ugandans failed to offer the expected competition and turned his attack on the board's poor preparations for the World Cup by claiming the "current local league is not helping matters as the standards are at their lowest ebb". The comprehensive victory in the three-day match which followed later in the week was not even mentioned.

Continue reading "Media sniping undermines efforts to rebuild"

October 4, 2006

Uganda apologise for dismal display

Posted on 10/04/2006 in Uganda

After the series whitewash against Kenya, the Uganda Cricket Association (UCA) has apologised to all stakeholders. During the farewell dinner to reward the top performers and see off the Kenyan team, the UCA apologised for the woeful show the team put up. "It was an awakening for us because we were comprehensively beaten. We must admit that we are not yet there because our game was way below par but we will fight on," said UCA Chairman Ivan Kyayonka.

The Guest of Honour John Nagenda - a former national captain and presidential advisor on media -also apologised for the dismal performance, thanked the Kenyans for showing glimpses of fantastic cricket and promised them a better show in the next series. "I have talked to the top men in UCA and we are going to organize a big stakeholders meeting to find a way forward because it is not a pleasant scene to see the game regress. All the players will also be asked what the problem is," added Nagenda.

Kenya's West Indian coach Roger Harper was however full of praises for UCA for accommodating them and giving his team so valuable match practice ahead of the Intercontinental Cup match against Bermuda and the World Cup.

Uganda's next series will be a tri-series starting on November 9 against Bermuda and hosts Kenya in Nairobi.

Innocent Ndawula

The writer is a journalist with Daily Monitor Newspaper in Kampala, Uganda and seasoned cricketer with Africa Cricket Club in Uganda.

October 2, 2006

Kenya thrash Uganda

Posted on 10/02/2006 in Kenya

Kenya ended their short tour of Uganda with a resounding win over their hosts in the three-day match at Kampala. Earlier in the week, Kenya had completed an easy 3-0 whitewash in the one-day series.

Kenya made 316 for 9 on the opening day, with Steve Tikolo, Morris Ouma, Tanmay Mishra and Thomas Odoyo all making fifties, and reduced Uganda to 19 for 2 at the close. The home side were bowled out for 156, and Kenya again batted with ease, reaching 186 for 6 by the time they declared shortly before the close, setting the Ugandans a target of 347. They showed little appetite for the fight and were bowled out shortly after lunch of the final day for 95, giving Kenya a thumping 251-run victory. Peter Ongondo (4 for 42) and Thomas Odoyo (3 for 21) were the stars of a last day which lasted less than two hours.

September 14, 2006

Uganda up the pace ahead of Kenya series

Posted on 09/14/2006 in Uganda

The Ugandan team is stepping up its preparations ahead of their series against Kenya, which starts on September 23 at Lugogo Oval.

The players will now go through two training session a day, giving them more time to work on the batting skills which have been a problem for Uganda against stronger opposition.

Henry Okecho, the coach, told Daily Monitor: "The team is gelling well and everybody is looking good save for batsman Benjamin Musoke who is still nursing a slight injury. We shall name the final squad of 16 next Tuesday."

The tour will consist of three ODIs and a three-day game but Uganda will be without their star allrounders Kenneth Kamyuka and Junior Kwebiiha as well as youngsters Ahmed Yakub, Emmanuel Issanez and Patrick Ochan, who were dropped for various reasons.

September 11, 2006

Kenya head to Uganda

Posted on 09/11/2006 in Uganda

Kenya's preparations for next year's World Cup will continue later this month when they tour Uganda for three ODIs and a three-day match.

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August 25, 2006

Kenyan youngsters shine with the bat

Posted on 08/25/2006 in Kenya

Khashif Rashid, a 20-year-old right-hand batsman, became what is believed to be the youngest person to score a double hundred in Kenyan league cricket. Rashid smashed 206 not out off 148 balls for Sir Ali Muslim 'B' against Nairobi Jaffreys at Nairobi Jaffreys Sports Club last weekend. It was the first time a Sir Ali Muslim player had scored a double century in a one-day game in the club's 72-year history.

Meanwhile, back in the England, another Kenyan youngster is making an impression. Seren Waters, son of Kenyan selector David Waters, hit a chanceless 203 not out for Surrey Under-16s against Essex at Billericay. That innings led to him being elevated to the Under-17s and he responded by hammering 139. Waters capped a remarkable sequence by leading Old Cranleighans to victory in the semi-final of the Brewers Cup with 129.

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June 8, 2006

Mombasa festival underway

Posted on 06/08/2006 in Kenya

The four-team Atul Shah Memorial Cup kicked off in Mombasa on Wednesday with Kenya A going down by three wickets to Uganda and Coast Cricket Association beating Tanzania by 52 runs. Live scores throughout the event, which ends with a final on Sunday, can be found by clicking here.