Australian Representative Side To Tour Kenya

On the back of the announcement about Kenya 'A' touring Denmark comes a second major coup for Cricket Kenya. Samir Inamdar writes to inform me that:

"We have finalised a tour by an Australian representative team, the Commonwealth Bank Centre of Excellence."

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It is likely that the team will be a strong one comprised of a mix of, former and future internationals plus Australia 'A' players. Dates for the tour will be from 29th August to 4th September, and will comprise 3 ODIs against the Kenya national team in Nairobi. It has not been mentioned, but I would expect these matches to be classified as First Class. The Kenyan leg of the tour is part of a larger trip taking in South Africa and Zimbabwe as well. Arrangement of the tour follows a letter sent by Tom Tikolo to James Sutherland, CEO of Cricket Australia requesting support for Kenyan cricket. Australian cricket is slowly getting involved with the Associates, and while I feel they have a way to go, all credit to them for taking this step. Hopefully more will follow. Cricket Kenya are also hoping that the Australian High Commission in Nairobi will get on board and support the visit.
Inamdar believes that, aside from the opportunity to learn from players of the calibre we will be facing,

"it means that we can hit the ground running on our return from Canada after our Intercontinental four dayer and our ODI triseries with Bermuda and Canada".

These two tours are a fantastic step in the right direction, and illustrate how hard Cricket Kenya are working to get everything back on track again. There is still much to do, including putting together a meaningful domestic competition at a national level, and also organising the junior structure, but the signs are there that the neccessary work is being done. Congratulations to Cricket Kenya, and keep up the good work!