Comments, Polls and Forum

Unfortunately, the general consensus seems to be that people would prefer to comment on posts rather than use the forum. To keep you all happy, I have now turned the comments option back on.

I still encourage everyone to use the Forum however - it makes for much better discussions of points than comments which tend to get lost after a few new posts come up.

I have removed the last poll on Kennedy Obuya: Should he play for Kenya vs Bangladesh. Partly, I did this as the Bangladesh series has been put back, but also in relation to the disciplinary issue. There is now a new poll up reflecting this, so I encourage you all to put in your two bits. The results from the last poll were:

Yes, he should play - 58%

No, he shouldn't play - 42%.

It will be interesting to see what people think of the current situation.

Kennedy's Ommission: Time To Tow The Line

With the exclusion of opening batsman, Kennedy Obuya, from the training squad for the Canadian Tour and Bangladesh series, there has been much uncertainty as to why he was left out. This is a sensitive issue and as it is still ongoing, there are some aspects of the case that cannot be disclosed. Rumour is however unhealthy and the truth needs to be told, if only to prevent sensationalist speculation. While Obuya's omission from this squad is the situation in hand, the saga stems back to the Bangladesh tour, and the Intercontinental Cup match against The Netherlands. Apparently, Obuya was dropped from the squad to face Holland due to breaches of discipline during the Bangladesh tour. Required to make a written apology, Obuya allegedly failed to address the points needed and so was left out of the current squad. A second letter is currently under review by the Technical Committee, so hopefully the issue will be resolved soon. It is neither in Obuya's interests nor Kenya's for this to continue, and hopefully sanity will prevail on all sides.
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Maurice Ouma has also fallen foul of the committee in recent times when he failed to show up for Kenya 'A' team practices and Mombasa games in the Atul Shah Memorial. He was consequently dropped from the Denmark tour. Ouma has since given the committee satisfactory assurances that this attitude has changed, and is now back in training again. This shows that the committee can and does work, so that in it itself is a positive sign. Why Ouma, a player who was struggling for form in the first place, saw fit to act as he did only he knows. Cricket Kenya and Roger Harper are trying very hard to usher in a new professional approach, and it may have needed something like this to sink in. Bottom line is that Ouma is back with the squad and training, so it is time to move on and concentrate on earning selection for the games ahead.
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Cricket Kenya have taken significant steps to improve the quality of their management service, and the setting up of the Technical Committee is part of this. Chaired by Cricket Kenya Vice Chairman, Shamji Patel, the Committee includes: Nasoor Verjee (CK Treasurer), Tom Tikolo (CK CEO), David Waters, Tariq Iqbal and Daniel MacDonald (Selectors), Roger Harper (Coach) and Davinder Bharij (Team Manager). Former Kenyan international, Bernard Owino, represents the players and is invited to attend meetings to discuss decisions made by the committee. Cricket Kenya has plans to include a Player Representative as a permanent member of the board once the Player Association is formalised and, in line with other countries, will provide an annual grant to assist their organisation. This will no doubt be dependent on the size of the Cricket Kenya coffers, but is a definite step in the right direction. It is now up to the players to get their Association organised, so that they can have an official voice in the decision making.
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Other than discipline, the Technical Committee's aim is to look at the National Team's needs, failings, remuneration and futures. This is a far cry from the way the KCA used to run matters, and the players should recognise and appreciate the effort that is being made to improve their lot. In the professional era, team discipline is of paramount importance and players must also learn to respect this. There are enough representatives on the committee that issues can and should be resolved in a mature and sensible manner. Gone are the days where players needed to take the law into their own hands, nor will Cricket Kenya be able to act without feedback from all affected parties. Cricket Kenya hope that by keeping a firm hand on player discipline, they "will be able to foster a better relationship between players, team officials and administrators". Long may this continue.

Harper Confident Youngsters Will Come Good

Kenya coach Roger Harper told the Nation today that he is confident that Kenya's youngsters, who have so far largely failed to impress, will come good in the long run. Harper was speaking from the Ruaraka ground where the squad are playing a four day practice match. He said the abscence of leading players Steve Tikolo and Hitesh Modi left a hole, but that he was generally happy with how training was going. Tikolo is expected to link up with the team after he plays his last match for Haverigg CC on 23rd July.

Also in the article was the news that Kenya look like being without pace bowler Alfred Luseno, who returned from the A team tour to Denmark with a shoulder injury. With long time opening bowler Martin Suji also still out injured, this does open the door for the other young seamers to stake a claim. Two of the bowling spots will almost certainly be taken by Thomas Odoyo and Peter Ongondo, but who joins them as third or fourth seamers is up for grabs. Options for the selectors include Nehemiah Odhiambo who had a fairly decent tour of Denmark, Rageb Aga (if he is indeed back with the squad), Rajesh Bhudia, Ashish Karia and possibly a couple of the other youngsters. Kenya will also have a fair number of spinners to choose from and one would expect the current practice game to have some bearing on the final 14. It would be nice to find a scorecard for this game to get some idea of how the players are performing.

Tikolo and Modi To Play Against Canada

In what will be a major boost for team morale in the lead up to their Intercontinental Cup tie against Canada, Kenya's two senior players are expected to join up with the squad soon. In this report in today's Standard, Cricket Kenya CEO, Tom Tikolo, is quoted as saying:

"We’ve talked to Steve and Modi and they have assured us they will soon join the team for the tour of Canada".

It was this pair that held off the Netherlands in Nairobi to give Kenya a draw, and their presence will not only increase morale in the camp, but significantly strengthen the batting line up.

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Regarding team selection, Tikolo gave July 22nd as the date for the training squad to be trimmed to the final 14 man squad that will travel to Toronto. No doubt the match currently under way at Ruaraka, and training over the next week will intensify as a result.

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While I am commenting on it, I feel the Standards article is unfair in saying that the team will leave after a poor preparation. They will have been in camp for a month by the time they leave, and while the senior players may not have had any competetive build up, the players in the A team have had two recent series to find their form. The article also points to the postponement of the Bangladesh tour as damaging the preparation. To my mind, they have this the wrong way round. Kenya's matches against Bangladesh will be harder than the ones against Canada, so infact the build up is structured correctly with the weaker opponent leading up to the tougher matches. Had we played Bangladesh this coming wednesday, I would agree that preparations had been poor, but for the Canada tour at the end of the month, they are looking just about right.

Sponsorship and Why The Bangladesh Tour Had To Be Moved

There has been a fair bit said about this on the net and in the press, and not all of it has been accurate. Talking to Cricket Kenya yesterday, their version of the story indicates that the changes were made for all the right reasons, and with the best interests of Kenyan cricket in mind.

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Bangladesh only confirmed the tour to Kenya in the first week of June (not surprisingly, it was Zimbabwe that were blamed for the delay) leaving Cricket Kenya only a month and a half to tie up sponsorship and arrange TV coverage for the tour. Despite the short time, Cricket Kenya were keen to go ahead as they did not want Kenya to lose the tour. Budgeting for the matches themselves was not the problem as has been reported previously. In fact, Cricket Kenya are confident that they could cover costs for the matches through a title sponsor, raising revenue by adverts in a brochure, signage around the ground and, of course, ticket sales. What they felt was lacking was television coverage. Cricket Kenya feel that in order to raise the profile of the game this is a necessity. It will not only raise the image, but would also significantly increase the revenue from sponsorship. Plus it would give the benefit of a third umpire with TV referrals.

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With neither of the local stations able to provide the sophisticated equipment needed, there is a need to bring in an outside broadcaster who has the experience of covering cricket and the equipment to do so. In short, the costs of this once the revenue from the broadcaster have been taken out would still see Cricket Kenya needing to raise around $180 000 just to break even if they want the matches televised. Even many of the established countries would find this too dear. Moving the dates back gives Cricket Kenya more time to sort out a number of issues relating to sponsorship. On a basic level, it allows for the organisation of a brochure, approach to advertisers for this and ground signage, ticket sales and corporate hospitality boxes to be finalised to a higher standard. More significantly, it gives Cricket Kenya and OgilvyOne, their marketing agents, more time deal with the major sponsors. Both cricket Kenya and the broadcaster are in negotiations with a variety of large corporate organisations regarding sponsorship (I have been asked to withhold names for confidentiality reasons), and we should hopefully hear good news before too long.

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To my mind, Cricket Kenya have gone about this in the right manner. Rather than simply going ahead with a series 'just because', they are trying to do it right. It has meant some nifty manoeuvring is and was required, but if it means that the matches are televised and promoted to their best effect, it will certainly be worth it. There is vast potential for growth of cricket in Kenya, but for this to happen the administration will need to make the most of every opportunity. In this instance at least, it appears that is exactly what they are trying to do.

A Satisfactory Solution To Changed Schedule

Cricket Kenya have confirmed new dates for Kenya's upcoming matches, and the news all seems to be good. The Intercontinental Cup match will be played, as per the schedule from 29th July to 1st August, inclusive. There is then a 3-day break before the two ODIs against Canada on 5th and 6th August. Kenya fly home on the 7th, and will then have 4 days to re-acclimatise and prepare for the Bangladesh matches which will now be played on August 12th, 13th and 15th. This means Kenya have two of the home games over a weekend, which gives the best opportunity to fill the ground and will do doubt be appealing to sponsors.

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There have also been moves to ensure good relations are maintained between Kenya and the other Associates. Bermuda have been invited to play all of their One-Day matches against Kenya in Nairobi around their visit for the Intercontinental Cup, and have been happy to accept. Due to the high costs associated with the Toronto Cricket Club, both Canada and Bermuda are in fact reported to be happy with the situation, as costs for the teams come out of the World Cup War Chests, so at the moment it looks like smiles all round.

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This was a tricky situation for Cricket Kenya, and they have negotiated the potholes better than a route 5 matatu. If things had gone wrong, we could have either lost out on playing Bangladesh, raised the ire of either Bermuda or Canada or even all three countries. As it is, Kenya seem to have come out of this unharmed, indeed in a stronger position as it gives us two extra home games, plus time to sort out sponsorship for the Bangladesh matches. Credit must go to Cricket Kenya for this, and indeed to the other boards for managing to sort this out in such a mature manner. Perhaps some of the Full members are watching and could take a few notes on how things should be done in this type of situation.

Kenya Squad To Play Trial Match Today

Kenya's squad have been working hard under Roger Harper in preparation for the upcoming Internationals starting at the end of the month. Training starts at 9:00 sharp in the morning and continues through to 4:oo in the afternoon with a short break for lunch. This is a new experience for some in the squad, but reports indicate they are impressed with Harper and his professional approach. So far, the format seems to have been net sessions in the morning followed by a more physical work out in the afternoon. It is good to hear that Harper is pushing the team hard, and it will no doubt stand them in good stead over the next couple of months.

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Today, things take an even more serious turn for the players hoping to be selected to travel to Canada. Ruaraka ground will be the venue for a 4-day practice match that will go a long way towards narrowing down the final squad in the eyes of the selectors. While the match will be split, with the first two days being played today and tomorrow, then the next two over Monday and Tuesday, it will give the players a chance to show what they can do in the longer form of the game. Hopefully, we will see some of the players stepping up and proving their worth with sensible batting and incisive spells with the ball.

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Saturday is scheduled as a rest day, while Sunday is left open to allow for the NPCA league to start. If the Nairobi matches do not go ahead, then Sunday will become a training day instead. While there is still time before the squad leave for Canada, visas will need to be organised soon, so a good performance in this match will mean a great deal in terms of team selection. It should make for an interesting few days of cricket in Nairobi. All the best to those taking part.

Akshar League Top Batsmen and Bowlers After 15 Games

Top Bowlers, selected purely on wickets taken (I do not have exact figures for strike rates, averages etc.):
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BOWLER..............CLUB.............WICKETS
Raju....................Diamond................12
Ghanshyam........Akshar..A...............10
Shanti...................V.O.C....................10
Tejash..................Eldoret..................10
Batuk....................V.O.C.....................9
Dipesh.................Kericho...................8
Jignesh................Kericho...................8
Rakesh.................Eldoret....................8
Rashmi................Kericho...................8
Akshay.................Kericho...................7
Kakul...................Diamond................7
Ravi.....................Akshar..B................7
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Top Batsmen by average (must have 2 or more innings):
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BATSMAN.....CLUB.....Innings.....Not..out.....Runs.....Average.......50s
Lalji...............Kericho........3...............2.............68..........68.00........0
Vimal...........Diamond.......2...............1.............65..........65.00.........0
Rakesh..........Akshar..B.....3...............2.............49..........49.00.........0
Jigar..............Kericho.......2...............0.............93...........46.50.........1
Jogesh..........Akshar..A.....3................0............116..........38.67.........1
Jayesh.P......Naivasha.......2...............1..............37..........37.00.........0
Deval.............Akshar..A.....3...............1..............53..........26.50.........0
Viral.............Akshar..B......3...............0.............74...........24.67.........0
Bhavesh.......Diamond.......2...............0.............48...........24.00........0
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Top Batsmen by Total Runs Scored:
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BATSMAN......CLUB.......Innings.....Not..out.....Runs.....Average.....50s
Jogesh..........Akshar..A........3................0.............116........38.67.........1
Jignesh..........Kericho..........5................0..............98........19.60.........1
Jigar..............Kericho..........2................0..............93........46.50.........1
Sunil.............Akshar..B........4................0..............81.........20.25........1
Ketan.............V.O.C..............5................0..............75.........15.00........0
Viral..............Akshar..B........3................0..............74.........24.67........0
Dilpesh..........Kericho...........4................0.............74..........18.50........0
Lalji...............Kericho...........3.................2.............68.........68.00.......0
Swapnesh......Eldoret............3................0.............67..........22.33........0
Vishal............Eldoret............3.................0.............66.........22.00........0

Akshar League Standings After 15 Games

Officially, there are two results from this weekend. Kericho beat Diamond in the game played. Eldoret, who were meant to play Akshar B, forfeited for the second match running giving Akshar B the 12 points for the 'win'. Kericho's victory takes them clear at the top of the table, and they will almost certainly play in the final. Who they meet is still wide open with Eldoret and Akshar A the most likely contenders.

There is also an extra bowling point added for Akshar B for their match against Akshar A. I had given them 3 points for taking 9 wickets, but as this constituted an 'all out' (Akshar A only had 9 players), they should have been awarded 4 points.

The table as it currently stands:

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TEAM...........Played.....Won.....Lost.....Bat.....Bowl.....Win.....Total
KERICHO.........5............4...........1..........13........19........48.........80
ELDORET........5.............3..........2...........5.........12........36.........53
AKSHAR..B......5............2...........3..........11.........11........24.........46
AKSHAR..A......3............2...........1...........9.........12........24.........45
NAIVASHA......3............2...........1...........2...........7........24.........33
DIAMOND.......4............1...........3...........6.........13.........12.........31
VOC..................5.............1..........4...........3..........14........12.........29

Kericho Win Thriller in Akshar League

Diamond won the toss and decided to bat first in a thrilling encounter in Nakuru over the weekend. Despite losing a couple of early wickets, Vimal settled the innings down with two valuable partnerships, first with Kakul, and then with Bhavesh. With the latter going well, it looked as though Diamond were going to post a big total, but Dipesh had other ideas. He took a hat-trick to bring proceedings back under control for Kericho. A great bowling effort by him, taking 5 wickets for the innings. Diamond will have been disappointed with only finishing on 159 all out after a decent start.
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In reply, Kericho also lost early wickets, and the match seesawed to and fro. Jigar was the main protagonist for Kericho, holding the innings together with a fine half-century. He should be proud of his effort in becoming the second Kericho player past this landmark after Jignesh, and only the fourth in the competition so far. Despite his efforts however, Diamond were able to keep a lid on proceedings, and with the fall on the 9th wicket with the score still on 141, they would have considered themselves almost there. Once again the game swung however, and a fighting last wicket stand between Dipu and Khimji saw Kericho home. A good win for them and it should almost certainly see them through to the final.
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SCORECARD:

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Diamond Innings:
Amit…………..Ct & B………...Lalji……09
Bakul…………Bowled………..Tulsi…...01
Kakul…………Bowled…….…Jignesh...17
Vimal…………Ct & B……….Bhimji….48
Singh.V………Bowled……….Dipesh...00
Minesh……….Ct & B…………Tulsi…..06
Bhavesh……...Bowled……….Dipesh...39
Raju…………..Bowled……….Dipesh…00
Ghanshayam….LBW…….…Dipesh...00
Jigar…………..NOT OUT….…………….01
Pranav…………LBW…………Dipesh….00
Extras………………………………….....…..38
Total………………………………….....……159
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Kericho Innings:
Jignesh………Bowled………..Singh…....01
Jigar………….Ct & B…………Kakul…....58
Yatish………..Run Out………..…………...10
Tulsi………….Bowled………...Kakul…...02
Dipesh……….Bowled……….Bhavesh....15
Akshay…….Ct Bhavesh………Kakul…..02
Nilesh………..Ct & B…………..Raju…....02
Vipul…………Bowled……….Bhavesh.....00
Lalji…………..Run Out………………….....08
Dipu…………NOT OUT………………...…28
Khimji……….NOT OUT………………..…05
Extras…………………………………….........29
Total…………………………………….........160
Kericho Win by 1 wicket.
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Points: Kericho: Bat 3, Bowl 4, Win 12, Total: 19
Diamond: Bat 3, Bowl 3, Total: 6

Rescheduled Bangladesh Trip Jeopardises Bermuda ODIs

With Cricket Kenya postponing the Bangladesh matches by three weeks, there is a major question hanging over the rescheduling of Kenya's fixtures. Three weeks from the first scheduled match against Bangladesh will be the 9th of August. This would tie in nicely with Bangladesh, who play their last match against Zimbabwe on the 6th and leave Zimbabwe on the 7th. According to the BBC, the matches against Kenya are now scheduled for the 10th, 12th and 14th. All well and good from a Bangladesh point of view. They get to fly to Nairobi, have a couple of days to acclimatise, then play the matches.

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Things are not so rosy from Kenya's perspective. We are scheduled to play Bermuda in two ODIs on August 9th and 10th. It does not take a rocket scientist to work out that we cannot be in two places at one time, so someone, most likely Bermuda, is going to miss out. A precedent has already been set earlier this year when Kenya cancelled an ODI against Holland to fit in the tour to Bangladesh. That would have angered the Dutch, and now we risk alienating two more of the Associates. Bermuda will feel very hard done by if we cancel on them to play someone else, whoever it is. Canada, who were due to host the matches will also lose out. Cricket Kenya are going to need to do some serious manoeuvring to ensure both countries are kept happy. Apart from it being a poor way to treat someone else, what goes around comes around. Kenya cannot afford to lose friends at the moment, and we are looking at doing just that by messing other Associates about.

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It is great that we can reschedule the matches against Bangladesh, and that they have been able to accomodate us. Now, we have to find a way to reschedule the matches against Bermuda so that they do not lose out on two vital ODIs, and Canada do not lose out on hosting two matches. If we don't do this, not only will we lose even more respect internationally, but we will face teams becoming ever more reluctant to play us because of our unpredictability. We owe our fellow Associates a fair go, especially now that Samir Inamdar has been elected to represent them on the ICC board. Lets hope Cricket Kenya realise this and do something to sort the mess out.

Where Are The Sponsors?

Rumours about this move by Cricket Kenya to postpone the tour by Bangladesh until after the Intercontinental Cup visit to Canada have been circulating for a few days now, but seem to have finally been confirmed to day with this report on Cricinfo.

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This is worrying news for Kenya, but there may be some answers to the puzzle as to why Kenya are not attracting sponsors in how the news was released. Despite being on the mailing list for press releases from Cricket Kenya, the first I heard of this officially, was the report on cricinfo. Not surprisingly, there is nothing about it in the Kenyan online dailies. Cricinfo have not been that friendly towards Kenyan or indeed any associate cricket just recently, and one would have thought it would make more sense to have released this to a wider range of people where at least there is some support.

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If Cricket Kenya want to attract sponsors and TV broadcasters, and with the high profile of cricket in Bangladesh there is no reason why this should not happen, they must market the game to those sponsors. By this I mean they need to create an interest in the game in the national press. This means keeping them informed of what is going on, and the progress being made.

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Cricket Kenya's administrators are working hard at building Kenya back up again on the international scene, but not enough of what is done is being communicated to the press. Attending ICC meetings in London is all well and good for the game, and it will help take it forward, but for local sponsors to become interested, things must move forward on the local front as well.

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There is still no Cricket Kenya web page up and running, despite the suggestions page having been open for more than a month. It should not take this long to set up a website, and Cricket Kenya should be asking their hosts why the site is not yet ready. It would go a long way towards increasing interest in the game both amongst the public, and importantly amongst the corporate sector in Kenya.

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There is still, as far as I know, no national domestic league set up, nor is there a junior league to feed into it. Sponsors will want to be able to see their dollars going somewhere. Getting them to show an interest in the Bangladesh series should not be a problem, but they may be holding back as there is no visible evidence of where their money will go afterwards. After all, they have been stung once by the KCA and as a result still seem wary of supporting cricket. Cricket Kenya need to look very seriously at changing this image.

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According to reports in the local press, it was only very late that the Kenya team went into training for the Bangladesh tour. Given that sponsors would want to be associated a competetive series, this may also have had an effect. Plus there is the fact that at least two of Kenya's best players are currently overseas. To attract sponsors, you need your best team playing. Again, Cricket Kenya may have to look at the small cost of flying those players back compared to the difference they should make in terms of advertising dollars.

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While there are very worrying signs in this development, there may also be some hidden benefits. For one, Roger Harper gets a month to prepare the team for their next outing (now vs Canada), rather than two weeks. That can only be of benefit, and should Kenya perform well in their visit to Totonto, that might make sponsors more likely to support a home series.

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There is also the hints by Tom tikolo that Kenya are near to signing a major sponsor. I certainly hope so. the longer we go without, and the more energy Cricket Kenya have to put into this rather than concentrating on the infastructure and development of the game, the further behind the other Associates we will fall. With the World Cup coming up next year, and US$1 million at stake for qualifying for the next one, this is something Kenyan cricket simply cannot afford.