A Response From the Nation

Well well well, it only took five emails (from me - I don't know about the rest of you),and an article on the website, but I have finally received a response from The Nation in regard to my claim that cricket is not covered well enough by the Kenyan press. Apparently I am grossly out of tune, prejudiced and unfair in my report. In an email to me this afternoon, the sports editor took great pains to point out that the Nation did cover Kenyan cricket extensively. Fantastic, great to hear! Unfortunately all this coverage is in print, and only a little online. Not so fantastic. Apparently, I am also ill informed, as I only get my news from their website, not the actual paper. Of course I am ill informed - that was the whole point of my gripe! It may well be the case that the Nation has been covering cricket to a great extent (something I highly commend them for), but as several of you said to me in your emails before I wrote the last post: None of it is accessible to people outside Kenya. So for those of us who are, I'm sorry but the media are woefully lacking in their coverage. I will stand by this until I see results that show otherwise. If this offends, so be it - I'm only calling what I see (or don't).

I was pleased however, to get the reply from the Nation, its language not withstanding. It did indicate that someone there does actually care about cricket coverage. One part of the email did bother me however, and that was where he claimed it was time consuming for a journalist to hop around clubs around the country collecting results. Yes, it is nice when results are just handed to you on a plate, but who ever heard of a journalist landing a really good story without having to do a little bit of running around? After all, 12 matches were played in Nairobi on Sunday, surely a little hopping around could be done to some of those at least?

His point is valid to some extent however - If the people running cricket want it to spread, they should do whatever they can to aid that. Including furnishing the press with results. From my experiences so far, there is a mixed basket here. Without mentioning names, some people have been fantastic and jumped at a new chance to promote the game, some have held back, and some have maintained strict communications silence. It is clear I need to do a bit more hopping around myself!

In all seriousness though, Kenya cricket needs all the help it can get. This means the press publishing reports and results not just in local papers, but online, so the World believes we do actually play. It means the administration communicating with the press to make it easier to get results and news. Most of all it means working together, everyone connected with cricket in Kenya, for the good of the game. I hope it is the spirit of Harambee that wins out, and not any personal agendas.