Kenya vs. Zimbabwe: The Decider

Yesterday was not a good day for Kenyan cricket. For out bowlers, it was a struggle to contain Zimbabwe's batsmen, but they did show character in coming back to take 9 wickets after Zimbabwe had got off to a flier. For our batsmen, Kennedy Otieno and Peter Ongondo excepted, it was an unmitigated disaster. When only two members of the batting line up manage to get into double figures and one of those is the number 10, serious questions need to be asked. The trouble is, it is not a question of selection or lack of talent. On the whole, the players who took to the pitch yesterday for Kenya were the best team we could field. A change or two is possible; for example, a strong case could be made for including Kalpesh Patel, possibly in place of Brijal Patel or Alfred Luseno. He is the only member of the squad who has not had a chance to show his mettle, and the rest of the team have not been playing sufficiently well to warrant him being left out again. There may also be one or two players back in Kenya, Amit Bhudia for one, who could look to this tour, and think they may be in with a chance for selection for the trip to Bangladesh. For the most part however, the team that plays today will be very similar, as will the one that travels to Bangladesh. Somehow, the whole of the Kenyan team need to find the fighting spirit showed by Otieno yesterday. Make no mistake, if we play against Bangladesh like we did yesterday and in the first match of the tour, we will not only lose the series, we will lose credibility as well. Roger Harper and Steve Tikolo need to find an answer quick sharp.
Winning today's match will be seen as a must-do for both teams. Zimbabwe will not recover from a series loss to Kenya for a long time, and for Kenya, a loss would be a serious setback to the revival that is currently under way within the Kenyan cricket community. Tikolo has the quality and experience to lead from the front. He will need all of this and more tonight, in what is possibly the most important match he has played for his country. If Kenya can win today, we will show the World that our resurgence is on course. There may have been a couple of blips, but we are on our way back. If we lose, it is back to the drawing board, and another long hard slog to convince other Full Member teams we are worth playing. Kenya have the talent, they have the experience, and they have the character, lets hope they can find it today, and give the country its first ever series win.