Holland Set Strong Total

Kenya 'A' will have their work cut out for them this afternoon in Nairobi as they chase Holland's total of 266. Tim De Leede was the backbone of the Dutch innings finishing with a fantastic 123 before he was finally caught by off the bowling of Ashish Karia. Surprisingly, Karia who finished with 1 wicket, 1 maiden and only conceded 28 runs was only bowled for 9 overs. Kenya 'A' did take some late wickets to add some respectability to their bowling figures, but all of the other bowlers ended up conceding at more than 4 an over. Rajesh Bhudia was the pick, finishing with 1 maiden and 2 wickets, 46 runs off his 10 overs. Nehemiah Odhiambo who bowled well at the beginning of the innings to take Kenya's first wicket came in for some stick later on as the Dutch upped the run rate. A mixed results for the youngsters. Some such as Karia and Bhudia will be very happy with their performance so far, and will feel they have done enough to catch the selectors eye. Others such as Moses Otieno will not be so happy with the way things have gone.

There is still the run chase to come, and with a sizeable total on the board to chase, there is plenty of opportunity for the batsmen to state their case. The openers especially will feel the eyes of the selectors on them as they look for candidates to fill the positions for the national team. The players taken to Bangladesh have had their chance, now it it time for the youngsters to have a crack. Hopefully, they will show their seniors how it should be done.

266 is a decent total, especially considering that after 20 overs, the Dutch run rate was hovering around the 3-an-over mark. It will however need someone from the Kenyan team to stand up and show their quality as a batsman. If one or two of the Kenyans can do that, then 5.3 an over should be more than possible on a track that is good to batsmen. Holland however revolve around a strong bowling attack, so it should be a thrilling chase.