Kenya To Tour Uganda

Official confirmation of this is still pending, but it looks as though Kenya will be sending a side to play Uganda in a 3 match One Day series, and a 4-day match at the end of May, beginning of June. According to The People's Daily, the One Dayers will be played on May 27, 28 and 30 and the 4-day game will be from June 2 to 5. BTTW have a list of the 22 man Ugandan squad .

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I have yet to find out what strength team Kenya will be sending, but with a gap in the calendar at this point before the A team travel to Denmark, there is no reason why an almost full side cannot be sent for the 4-day game, unless it will be used to give some of the younger players some match experience. With little four day cricket played in Kenya, it would make sense for the team for this match to include those considered in the running for a place in the Intercontinental Cup squad to face Canada at the end of July. The One Day matches are a different story. As Uganda are not one of the top 6 Associates, there are no points up for grabs that will help Kenya on the ICC rankings table. Kenya's best side should have little trouble disposing of the Ugandans, even taking into account their improvements which by all acounts have been huge. Kenya would get more out of sending a mixed side comprising a couple of players from the National team such as Collins Obuya who need match time to find their form, and young players on the fringes of the National team. It is a great opportunity for these young players such as Moses Otieno, Hafeez Manji and Alex Obanda to show they have what it takes to move up to the next level. Uganda being close, costs for the tour should also mean that a decent sized squad can be sent. It will give the selectors a really good chance to see how players stack up before the A team tour to Denmark.

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As soon as I get official confirmation of the tour, I will update the fixtures list, and nearer the time will open a thread on the Forum. This is exactly the type of tour I was advocating yesterday for Kenya's A side, and is is good to see that the administrators have the same goals in mind. The more tours of this nature, the better the standard of cricket will be once the players taking part step up to play for the National team.