Finally, the news that all Kenyan cricket fans have been waiting for has been confirmed: Bangladesh will visit Kenya next month to play a series of three One Day Internationals. The Tigers will meet Kenya in the first match on Wednesday 19th July, then play two more games on Friday 21st and Sunday 23rd. All of the games will be played at Kenya's top ground, Nairobi Gymkhana. Bangladesh are visiting Kenya in preparation for their 5 match tour of Zimbabwe, and will no doubt be looking at the tour as a means of getting more points under their belt in the ICC rankings.
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For Kenya, this is a fantastic coup. Firstly, and most importantly, we will be hosting a Test playing nation. It will be a great opportunity to showcase the game in Kenya and generate interest amoungst the public. It will also seriously strengthen Cricket Kenya's position in their search for a sponsor for the national team. Then there will be the further experience gained by the players against a quality side. In the lead up to the matches against Canada and Bermuda, this will prove invaluable. Finally, it will give Kenya a chance to exact revenge for the 4-0 drubbing we received earlier in the year. I mention this last, as it is going to be a huge ask for the team to achieve this, and in the long term, it is the least important. I'm sure however, that it will be one of the things we see talked about in the press. Realistically, Kenya will do well to win even one match, but if our players can perform to their potential, which on the whole didn't happen when we toured Bangladesh, it is certainly a possibility.
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Now that the administrators have done their part and secured the opponents, it is now time for the selectors and coaches to do their bit. With the A team in action over the next month, there will certainly be a chance for some of the youngsters to state a case for national selection, so it will be interesting to see what approach the selectors take. My view is that they should pick a large initial squad to go into training, and then whittle it down with the understanding that places are also up for grabs by those currently playing for the A team. It is then up to Roger Harper and the captain to drum the team into shape in just over a month. Plenty of hard work ahead, but there is a definite prize at the end of it for those who prove themselves worthy.
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The fixtures list has now been updated to include this tour.
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1 comment:
very well written feature. much better in the sense that it showed due respect to a side like bangladesh. in the past, even just before kenya's last visit to bangladesh the articles used to use poor words about bangladesh out of ignorance. during their last visit to bangladesh they perhaps realised the real strength of a test nation. however, bangladesh certainly enjoyed to play against kenya. kenya has always showed fighting spirit. they are a good one day team.
good luck kenya. bangladesh will feel proud to be with the countries like kenya in their progress in cricket.
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