Close call for Sir Ali B in Group 2

while most games in Group 2 of the NPCA Bags and Balers 40 Over Knockout went as expected, Sir Ali B were run extremely close by a well drilled Ladies side that came ever so close to their second major scalp in as many competitions. In the end they scraped home by 1 wicket and will be relieved to get through to the quarters where they will face Simba Union who demolished the Golden XI.

Stray Lions B looked dominant against Goan Institute B and will take on Aaryans who accounted for Oshwal XI in their game.

SCLYL B and Goan Institute A byes in the first round and will meet each other for their first games in the Quarters.

Parklands match against Aga Khan due to be played at Nairobi Jafferys had to be postponed due to a wet pitch, so they will now play their first round match this weekend at Aga Khan.

In the Plate event Golden XI will need to raise their game to avoid an upset by the Women in a Quarter Final while Goan Institue B and Oshwal XI meet in a Semi Final

Full results below:

NPCA - BAGS AND BALERS LTD 40 OVERS KNOCK-OUT TOURNAMENT
GROUP B - ROUND 1
15th.Nov	TEAM	TEAM	VENUE	RESULTS
2009	Stray Lions 'B'	Goan Inst 'B'	Eastleigh	Stray Lions 'B' won
	120 / 3 Wkts	119 / 9 Wkts		by 7 wkts
	Suresh - 42*	Hardik Patel - 31
	Ram 30	Yassin - 26*
	Jatin - 2/16	Suresh - 2/17
	Aaryans	Oshwal XI	Nairobi School	Aaryans won
	199 All Out	149 All Out		by 50 Runs
	Kalpesh - 60	Josephat - 73
	Ken - 35	Ken - 4/24
	Josephat - 4/34	Gopinath - 2/6
	Niraj - 2/33
	Aga Khan	Parklands	Nbi.Jafferys	No Match wet
				wicket - To be played
				on 22/11/09 at
				Parklands
	Sir Ali 'B'	Women XI	Sir Ali	Sir Ali 'B' won by
	151 / 9 Wkts	150 / 7 Wkts		1 Wkt
	Ali - 51	Ruth Mwihaki - 30*
	Hamza - 26	Parlyne O - 29
	Dan O - 5/7	Mehmood - 2/17
	Belinda M - 2/21	Iqbal - 2/26
	Simba Union	Golden XI	Simba Union	Simba Union won
	326 / 6 Wkts	160 All Out		166 Runs
	Avtar Kundi - 85*	Shijas - 69
	Hitesh P - 67	Mitesh - 28
	Ankil - 2/62	Manpreet - 5/19
	Vinesh - 1/21	Hitesh P - 2/26

No Surprises in Group A

The NPCA Bags and Balers 40 over knockout started last weekend with all of the results in Group A seeing the favourites for the match safely through to the Quarter finals.

At Ruaraka, Swamibapa A cruised to victory over their hosts thanks to a superb 4 wicket haul from James Ngoche and an unbeaten 69 from Nehemiah Odhiambo. They will now face SCLYL A who were puched all the way by the newly promoted Nairobi Nookers.

Swamibapa B defeated a youthful Nairobi Gymkhana will take on Kanbis B after their win over Premier Club.

Stray Lions A had a free ride through the first round due to their performance in this tournamnet last year and they will take on Sir Ali A who accounted for the Kongonis Development XI.

The final two places in the Quarter Finals will also be for teams that had byes in the first round and should be a one sided affair as Kanbis A travel to Nairobi Jafferys.

In the Plate event, Kongonis will be hosted by Nairobi Gymkhana in one quarter with the winner to face Premier in the semis, while the other semi will be between Ruaraka and Nairobi Nookers.

Full results below:

NPCA - BAGS AND BALERS LTD 40 OVERS KNOCK-OUT TOURNAMENT
GROUP A - ROUND 1
15th.Nov	TEAM	TEAM	VENUE	RESULTS
2009	Ruaraka	Swamibapa 'A'	Ruaraka	Swamibapa 'A'
	103 All Out	106 / 1 Wkt		won by 9 Wkts
	Ketan Vaghani - 31	Nehemiah O - 69*
	Manoj Ashani - 26	Shem Obada - 26
	James Ngoche - 4/10	Manoj Asani - 1/20
	Elijah Otieno - 3/23
	SCLYL ' A'	Nbi.Nookers	Pindolia Academy	SCLYL 'A' won
	231 / 8 Wkts	227 / 8 Wkts		by 2 Wkts
	Ashwin R - 86*	Amit - 86*
	Rahul N - 27	Kennedy O - 54
	Ebrahim - 3/42	Ravji V - 3/18
	Nilesh - 2/18	Suraj V - 2/30
	Nbi.Gymkhana	Swamibapa 'B'	Nbi.Gymkhana	Swamibapa 'B' won
	101 All Out	104 /4 Wkts		by 6 Wkts
	Karan Kaul - 34	Shashikant S - 46*
	Emmanuel B- 24	Ashish B - 16
	Prakash P - 3/10	Kirit T - 1/17
	Mitesh S - 3/17	Mahendra A - 1/22
	Premier	Kanbis 'B'	Premier	Kanbis 'B' won
	Kongonis Dev	Sir Ali 'A'	Nairobi Club	Sir Ali 'A' won

Are Cricket Kenya winning over the media?

If the response to the CK organised Media Challenge is anything to go by, it seems so.
The following is taken from the as yet unofficially launched CK website:

"Journalists gear up for Cricket action

Anxiety is building up ahead of the inaugural Media Cricket Challenge due December 6, this year at the Parklands Sports Club.

Most media houses have already named their squads besides getting down to training ahead of the event that is supposed to enlighten journalists on the intrigues and rules of the game.

Precisely, 14 teams have confirmed participation and more are expected for the one-day eight-aside championship that will feature eight overs. Each team is required to provide 10 players for the tournament while Cricket Kenya (CK) will boost them with two national team players each.

CK chief executive officer, Tom Tikolo said it’s their intentions to stage a memorable and successful event adding that the championship would be inscribed in their annual calendar of events.

“ We want to make it an annual extravagannza where besides teaching journalists on the dynamism and rules of the game, they should be able to interact with each other and know cricket governors and national team players,” said Tikolo.

Tikolo explained this would empower journalists to confidently write and analyse cricket matters now that Kenya has qualified for the 2011 Cricket World Cup. Playing jerseys will be availed to all the teams with the names of their respective members inscribed on them. Glamorous prizes would be at stake for the winning teams and special awards for individual brilliance and skills.

“We want to run it just like any other major championship with rules being followed up to date,” said Tikolo. “However, each player in the team will have a chance to bat, bowl and field.”

Tikolo explained that teams should take advantage of the grounds at Parklands and train adding that CK has already set aside coaches who will conduct clinics during the training.

“The grounds are free daily from 12pm and our technical team will be available upon request from the teams. Let them embrace this opportunity and polish up ahead of the event,” Tikolo said.

Among the media houses that have confirmed participation are Nation, Standard, Kenya Television Network (KTN), Kenya Broadcasting Corporation (KBC), East FM, Radio Jambo, The Star, People Daily, K24 and Citizen TV.

“The event has attracted so much attention that some media houses will provide two teams for the championship,” said Tikolo. "

So far, things are looking good. If there is genuinely this much interest in the media, CK could have hit upon a winner. For too long, Kenyan cricket has suffered at the hands of media that do not understand the complexities of the game and the challenges inherent. This tournament should break that down and cement some of them as true fans along the way. It could be the single greatest achievement of this administration if the media get on board and start backing the game again. Fingers crossed the teams rise to the challenge and take up the opportunity. There could even be a case for a combined media team to enter a team into future NPCA competitions...