Cricket Kenya Press Release:
Cricket Kenya is pleased to announce that it has agreed terms with Mr Tom Sears to take over the vacant position of Chief Executive Officer (CEO) of Cricket Kenya.
The panel of selectors for the new CEO included the office bearers of Cricket Kenya, the chairmen of the 3 provinces, Richard Done of ICC and Cassim Suliman (CEO of Africa Cricket Association).
Tom Sears is currently the Head of Business Development of New Zealand Cricket. He was formerly Chief Executive Officer of Derbyshire CCC (2005 -2008) and before that the Commercial Director of Worcestershire CCC (2000-2005). In terms of experience, he was in the eyes of the panel the most ideally suited candidate to take on this job given the breadth of his commercial and administrative experience and the reports received from those who have worked with him. The panel is confident that with his background and skills, Kenya’s cricket development will be in very capable hands.
Mr Sears, who is 40 years old, is of English extraction. He is married with three children.
He will accompany Mr Inamdar as one of Kenya’s two delegates to the ICC’s Annual Conference in Singapore (26th June – 1st July 2010) before commencing his duties in Kenya on 19th July 2010.
Showing posts with label administrators. Show all posts
Showing posts with label administrators. Show all posts
Monday, May 31, 2010
Tuesday, March 02, 2010
CEO shortlist yet to be decided
CRICKET KENYA PRESS RELEASE: CHIEF EXECUTIVE OFFICER RECRUITMENT
Cricket Kenya wishes to inform members of the media that it has received an overwhelming response to its advertisement to recruit a Chief Executive Officer.
Well over 60 applications have been received ranging from countries all over the world including Australia, Sri Lanka, India, New Zealand, United Kingdom, South Africa and USA. There has also been very strong interest in this position from local Kenyan applicants.
Cricket Kenya Chairman, Samir Inamdar, has appointed a sub-committee to consider the applications in order to prepare a final shortlist of candidates for interview. The sub-committee includes Shamji Patel (Vice-Chairman), Nasoor Verjee (Treasurer) and the three provincial chairmen Bipin Vora (NPCA), Pankaj Desai (CCA) and Martin Bentley (RVCA). Assisting this sub-committee in its deliberations will be Richard Done, the ICC High Performance Manager and Cassim Suliman, CEO, Africa Cricket Association.
Cricket Kenya wishes to inform members of the media that it has received an overwhelming response to its advertisement to recruit a Chief Executive Officer.
Well over 60 applications have been received ranging from countries all over the world including Australia, Sri Lanka, India, New Zealand, United Kingdom, South Africa and USA. There has also been very strong interest in this position from local Kenyan applicants.
Cricket Kenya Chairman, Samir Inamdar, has appointed a sub-committee to consider the applications in order to prepare a final shortlist of candidates for interview. The sub-committee includes Shamji Patel (Vice-Chairman), Nasoor Verjee (Treasurer) and the three provincial chairmen Bipin Vora (NPCA), Pankaj Desai (CCA) and Martin Bentley (RVCA). Assisting this sub-committee in its deliberations will be Richard Done, the ICC High Performance Manager and Cassim Suliman, CEO, Africa Cricket Association.
Tuesday, December 22, 2009
Cricket Kenya Press Release regarding Tom Tikolo's resignation
PRESS RELEASE
Cricket Kenya wishes to announce that an inquiry was held by the Cricket Kenya Board on Sunday 20th December 2009 at Parklands Sports Club to consider the allegations of misappropriation of cricket funds made against its Chief Executive Officer, Mr Tom Tikolo (“Mr Tikolo”), by an anonymous group of individuals calling itself “Cricket Kenya Stakeholders”.
These allegations had been circulated to a number of media houses and in light of the serious nature of the allegations made, Cricket Kenya resolved to carry out investigations and to hold an inquiry at the earliest possible opportunity.
Cricket Kenya invited Mr Sharad Rao, Advocate, to assist the Board at the inquiry as an independent advisor. Mr Rao is a former Deputy Public Prosecutor and is Kenya’s current representative on the ICC Code of Conduct Commission. His contribution was invaluable.
The allegations against Mr Tikolo centred around:-
1) A refund given personally to Mr Tikolo amounting to some US$3,000 by Kenya Airways in respect of funds paid by Africa Cricket Association (ACA) for the airfares of players from East Africa who participated in the AfroAsia tournament held in India in 2007.
2) A travel grant of US$ 10,000 payable to Cricket Kenya by the organisers of the Clico Under 15 tournament held in West Indies in 2008 which amount was alleged to have been paid in cash to Mr Tikolo who failed to account for it.
THE KENYA AIRWAYS REFUND
The inquiry considered the investigations carried out which included submissions made by Mr Tikolo as well as enquiries raised with Mr Cassim Suliman (CEO of ACA), Kenya Airways and travel agents in the UK and their respective responses. The following facts are pertinent.
1) Kenya Airways refunded the difference to Mr Tikolo on 4th June 2007. This was paid into his personal account and thereafter topped up on 5th July 2007 by a further remittance from ACA.
2) At the material time, Mr Tikolo was in South Africa on an extended stay attending a course for CEOs at Wits Business School and the ACA AGM in Johannesburg.
3) Mr Cassim Suliman confirmed:-
• that he had several meetings in Johannesburg with Mr Tikolo (in his capacity as ACA tournament director) to discuss the AfroAsia tournament in India which was imminent.
• that the refund related to a Kenyan player (Mr Thomas Odoyo) who was playing league cricket in the UK and who would not be joining the team in Nairobi but would be flying to India directly from London.
• that there were problems with Mr Odoyo's visa to travel and that UK travel agents were dealing with the Indian High Commission to enable Mr Odoyo to travel.
• that Mr Tikolo would utilise all the money paid into his account to pay the UK travel agents for the ticket, for visa services and transport for Mr Odoyo in view of the urgency.
• that Mr Suliman was aware of and approved the course of action taken in order to ensure the player concerned would arrive in time for the tournament.
4) The UK travel agents have confirmed that they duly received payment in full from Mr Tikolo for the services they had rendered.
5) Kenya Airways also confirmed that since Cricket Kenya only had a cash account with them and that since the initial payment had been tendered by Mr Tikolo, they were obliged, in line with their policy, to make out a cheque for the refund in his name.
The inquiry was satisfied with the explanations and evidence received from Mr Tikolo and the other parties involved. In particular, the fact that ACA, who had supplied the funds, was fully aware of and approved the course of action taken by Mr Tikolo, there was no basis for concluding that any misappropriation had taken place in this matter.
THE CLICO TRAVEL GRANT
The inquiry considered the investigations carried out which included submissions made by Mr Tikolo as well as enquiries raised with the organisers of the Clico Under 15 tournament in the West Indies and other participating cricket boards.
In January 2008, the Cricket Kenya Board received details from Mr Tikolo of an invitation for Kenya to participate in an Under 15 tournament in the West Indies sponsored by Clico, a local finance group. The Board was informed that all local expenses (hotels, meals and incidentals) would be met by the hosts leaving the cost of travel to be met by Cricket Kenya. The tour was approved by the Board.
The hosts had, in fact, offered a travel grant of US$10,000 towards the team’s travel. This offer was communicated by the Project Co-ordinator, Mr Anthony Harford, in a private email exchange between himself and Mr Tikolo. When asked how he wished the grant to be disbursed, Mr Tikolo asked that the grant be paid over to him personally in cash when he arrived in the West Indies as Team Manager.
The grant was paid by the hosts to Mr Tikolo in cash as requested. Subsequently, the money was stolen from a bag belonging to Mr Tikolo and he reported this to the hosts requesting assistance.
The inquiry considered the response given by Mr Harford to the query raised with him. Mr Harford advised that Mr Tikolo had reported the loss to him and was worried about the repercussions at home when it was found that the money was missing. Although the hosts were not able to replace the money they agreed, in consultation with West Indies CEO, Dr. Peters, that “they would be willing to assist in defraying expenses for a Kenyan development team up to US$7500 as compensation for the loss of funds” in any future tour made by a Kenyan development team.
Mr Tikolo accepted the inquiry’s findings
• that the grant was money which belonged to Cricket Kenya
• that he should have disclosed the existence of the grant to the Board before he left on tour.
• that he should have disclosed the loss upon his return when reconciling the tour account.
• that his failure to disclose constituted a serious irregularity – irrespective of how honest his intentions may have been.
• that he should have come clean on this episode when questioned about it
Mr Tikolo made it clear that he had no intentions of any dishonesty but felt it best, in the interests of the game, that he should step aside. He confirmed that he was solely responsible for his actions and that the entire Board was unaware of this incident. He further clarified that there was no money due to Cricket Kenya from the AfroAsia tournament in 2007. Cricket Kenya simply made available the three players who were selected to play for the Africa team and each of these players received their match fees and allowances personally in India from the organisers.
Mr Tikolo offered his immediate resignation to the Cricket Kenya Board which was accepted. Mr Tikolo further agreed to reimburse the funds due to Cricket Kenya in full and to work out the modalities of such repayment with the Treasurer at the earliest opportunity.
- END -
Cricket Kenya wishes to announce that an inquiry was held by the Cricket Kenya Board on Sunday 20th December 2009 at Parklands Sports Club to consider the allegations of misappropriation of cricket funds made against its Chief Executive Officer, Mr Tom Tikolo (“Mr Tikolo”), by an anonymous group of individuals calling itself “Cricket Kenya Stakeholders”.
These allegations had been circulated to a number of media houses and in light of the serious nature of the allegations made, Cricket Kenya resolved to carry out investigations and to hold an inquiry at the earliest possible opportunity.
Cricket Kenya invited Mr Sharad Rao, Advocate, to assist the Board at the inquiry as an independent advisor. Mr Rao is a former Deputy Public Prosecutor and is Kenya’s current representative on the ICC Code of Conduct Commission. His contribution was invaluable.
The allegations against Mr Tikolo centred around:-
1) A refund given personally to Mr Tikolo amounting to some US$3,000 by Kenya Airways in respect of funds paid by Africa Cricket Association (ACA) for the airfares of players from East Africa who participated in the AfroAsia tournament held in India in 2007.
2) A travel grant of US$ 10,000 payable to Cricket Kenya by the organisers of the Clico Under 15 tournament held in West Indies in 2008 which amount was alleged to have been paid in cash to Mr Tikolo who failed to account for it.
THE KENYA AIRWAYS REFUND
The inquiry considered the investigations carried out which included submissions made by Mr Tikolo as well as enquiries raised with Mr Cassim Suliman (CEO of ACA), Kenya Airways and travel agents in the UK and their respective responses. The following facts are pertinent.
1) Kenya Airways refunded the difference to Mr Tikolo on 4th June 2007. This was paid into his personal account and thereafter topped up on 5th July 2007 by a further remittance from ACA.
2) At the material time, Mr Tikolo was in South Africa on an extended stay attending a course for CEOs at Wits Business School and the ACA AGM in Johannesburg.
3) Mr Cassim Suliman confirmed:-
• that he had several meetings in Johannesburg with Mr Tikolo (in his capacity as ACA tournament director) to discuss the AfroAsia tournament in India which was imminent.
• that the refund related to a Kenyan player (Mr Thomas Odoyo) who was playing league cricket in the UK and who would not be joining the team in Nairobi but would be flying to India directly from London.
• that there were problems with Mr Odoyo's visa to travel and that UK travel agents were dealing with the Indian High Commission to enable Mr Odoyo to travel.
• that Mr Tikolo would utilise all the money paid into his account to pay the UK travel agents for the ticket, for visa services and transport for Mr Odoyo in view of the urgency.
• that Mr Suliman was aware of and approved the course of action taken in order to ensure the player concerned would arrive in time for the tournament.
4) The UK travel agents have confirmed that they duly received payment in full from Mr Tikolo for the services they had rendered.
5) Kenya Airways also confirmed that since Cricket Kenya only had a cash account with them and that since the initial payment had been tendered by Mr Tikolo, they were obliged, in line with their policy, to make out a cheque for the refund in his name.
The inquiry was satisfied with the explanations and evidence received from Mr Tikolo and the other parties involved. In particular, the fact that ACA, who had supplied the funds, was fully aware of and approved the course of action taken by Mr Tikolo, there was no basis for concluding that any misappropriation had taken place in this matter.
THE CLICO TRAVEL GRANT
The inquiry considered the investigations carried out which included submissions made by Mr Tikolo as well as enquiries raised with the organisers of the Clico Under 15 tournament in the West Indies and other participating cricket boards.
In January 2008, the Cricket Kenya Board received details from Mr Tikolo of an invitation for Kenya to participate in an Under 15 tournament in the West Indies sponsored by Clico, a local finance group. The Board was informed that all local expenses (hotels, meals and incidentals) would be met by the hosts leaving the cost of travel to be met by Cricket Kenya. The tour was approved by the Board.
The hosts had, in fact, offered a travel grant of US$10,000 towards the team’s travel. This offer was communicated by the Project Co-ordinator, Mr Anthony Harford, in a private email exchange between himself and Mr Tikolo. When asked how he wished the grant to be disbursed, Mr Tikolo asked that the grant be paid over to him personally in cash when he arrived in the West Indies as Team Manager.
The grant was paid by the hosts to Mr Tikolo in cash as requested. Subsequently, the money was stolen from a bag belonging to Mr Tikolo and he reported this to the hosts requesting assistance.
The inquiry considered the response given by Mr Harford to the query raised with him. Mr Harford advised that Mr Tikolo had reported the loss to him and was worried about the repercussions at home when it was found that the money was missing. Although the hosts were not able to replace the money they agreed, in consultation with West Indies CEO, Dr. Peters, that “they would be willing to assist in defraying expenses for a Kenyan development team up to US$7500 as compensation for the loss of funds” in any future tour made by a Kenyan development team.
Mr Tikolo accepted the inquiry’s findings
• that the grant was money which belonged to Cricket Kenya
• that he should have disclosed the existence of the grant to the Board before he left on tour.
• that he should have disclosed the loss upon his return when reconciling the tour account.
• that his failure to disclose constituted a serious irregularity – irrespective of how honest his intentions may have been.
• that he should have come clean on this episode when questioned about it
Mr Tikolo made it clear that he had no intentions of any dishonesty but felt it best, in the interests of the game, that he should step aside. He confirmed that he was solely responsible for his actions and that the entire Board was unaware of this incident. He further clarified that there was no money due to Cricket Kenya from the AfroAsia tournament in 2007. Cricket Kenya simply made available the three players who were selected to play for the Africa team and each of these players received their match fees and allowances personally in India from the organisers.
Mr Tikolo offered his immediate resignation to the Cricket Kenya Board which was accepted. Mr Tikolo further agreed to reimburse the funds due to Cricket Kenya in full and to work out the modalities of such repayment with the Treasurer at the earliest opportunity.
- END -
Tom Tikolo's Resignation
Following the recent attacks on my character in the press (read Standard Newspapers), I have as on 20th December, 09 offered to resign as the Chief Executive Officer of Cricket Kenya in an effort not to be seen as an impediment to the general development of the game in the country.
Even as I take this decision to resign, I want to deny any wrong doing in all the dealings mentioned in those allegations. At the same time and for clarity purposes, I want to state that none of CK Board members as constituted have had any dealings whatsoever in the said allegations.
Building CK from scratch to where it is now has been a long, challenging, but extremely satisfying journey. Where we are now, I believe, is right on course. We have cleared all the debts with players, have contracts with the national team, and have built systems to move the game forward. Indeed, the foundation that we have laid is solid. We now have vibrant Provincial Bodies, we have a full time Development Department (with a reach of over 50 schools), we have a full time technical team management, we have fully contracted national team players, fully operational office, growth of Women’s’ cricket (that we now have U15, U19 and Open Age National Teams), Elite National Leagues and age group teams. We have become the hub of East African cricket and ACA has continually looked at CK to host various tournaments.
I am convinced that Kenyan cricket is standing on sound ground. It is my prayer that corporate and well wishers will see the tremendous potential the game has to change lives in this country – and start sponsoring – especially cricket development around the country. That is currently the missing link between our feeders into the national team, and is the limiting factor towards
When I took office in 2005, I came in with one goal: to bring back confidence in the game – especially in its administration. Cricket brought me to what I am – and I am proud of my record – as a player, Captain, EA Development Manager and finally as the CEO of CK. I would not want this record to be tarnished. Therefore, when my personal mail is hacked into for the purpose of casting aspersions on my integrity, the honorable option for me is to step aside.
I wish all true believers in
I must note here that I am an ardent reader of books authored by Robin Sharma and one of his books that I hold very dear is “Who will cry when you die”. For those boys, girls, ladies, gentlemen, men and women that I have inspired and encouraged in this noble game of cricket, I urge you not to cry as I am not dead. But for those faceless enemies that are out to tarnish my reputation, do not rejoice as there is no grave that you will dance around on and collect soil for your traditional rituals.
Finally, I wish to thank the board of CK (which has as members, people of good standing in our society) for the excellent support they have provided, staff for untiring support amidst great challenges, the provincial bodies, media, well wishers, my dear wife and our children and all those who have given me the impetus to give my all: may God bless you all.
Tom J. Tikolo
Thursday, June 18, 2009
Or is it?
According to the latest article on cricinfo, the search for Kenya's next coach is more than just a two horse race. No new names are however mentioned, so we are still having to wait to see who it will be. The article does indicate that Andy Kirsten will continue as coach for the Ireland tour and that his contract will then finish at the end of July.
As there has yet been no official word from Cricket Kenya on anything to do with the selction process, so all is still pretty much conjecture at this stage. Does today's article mean that CK will not be choosing either Sandhu or Butcher? Or does it simply mean they are holding their options open for as long as possible before making a decision. If it is the latter, then perhaps the fans and players could be forgiven for wondering why it has already been this late given that Kenya's first match into the new Intercontinental Cup is only a couple of weeks away. Given the last result the team had under Kirsten in Europe, this is a fair question as he will again be at the reins for this trip.
Whatever the Cricket Kenya decision, it would be best it were made sooner rather than later. Already ground has been lost preparing for the 2011 World Cup and we are close to missing the boat in terms of bettering our 3rd place in the Intercontinental Cup.
As there has yet been no official word from Cricket Kenya on anything to do with the selction process, so all is still pretty much conjecture at this stage. Does today's article mean that CK will not be choosing either Sandhu or Butcher? Or does it simply mean they are holding their options open for as long as possible before making a decision. If it is the latter, then perhaps the fans and players could be forgiven for wondering why it has already been this late given that Kenya's first match into the new Intercontinental Cup is only a couple of weeks away. Given the last result the team had under Kirsten in Europe, this is a fair question as he will again be at the reins for this trip.
Whatever the Cricket Kenya decision, it would be best it were made sooner rather than later. Already ground has been lost preparing for the 2011 World Cup and we are close to missing the boat in terms of bettering our 3rd place in the Intercontinental Cup.
Tuesday, October 09, 2007
Cutting off the nose to spite the face
Swamibapa are a club with a history of contributing a great deal to Kenyan cricket and with the bulk of the Kenyan national team playing for them, they should be one of the flag bearers for the game in the country. Instead they have allowed petulance and selfishness to get in the way of duty and in doing so have done great damage to the game and to their own players in the process.
This season should have provided a three way battle for the title with Kanbis, Swamibapa and new comers Stray Lions all battling out for the top honours in Kenyan cricket. At the beginning of the season the clubs met with the NPCA and the issue of players away on national duty was raised. It was decided then that no matches would be postponed and the teams would have to delve into their lower grades to make up sides. Everyone was happy with this until Swamibapa started to lose matches because their players were away representing the country. They requested other matches be delayed and when the NPCA refused, they withdrew their team from the Super Division in protest.
What short sighted idiocy. Kenya's top cricketers get little enough cricket at is is, but now the Swamibapa players, who make up the bulk of the national team will go into the series against Canada and Bermuda with hardly any cricket under their belts since the 20-20 world Cup. Instead of biting the bullet and putting out the best side they could under the circumstances, Swamibapa have tried to hold the game to ransom. The NPCA, quite rightly, have stood their ground and all that has been achieved is that the players (whom both the club and the administration are essentially there to serve) once again get the raw end of the deal. Worse is that Kenya have two must-win Intercontinental Cup games coming up and go in under prepared as well as having no national coach. The latter is certainly no fault of Swamibapa, but the lack of cricket certainly is and if the team lose because of it, I for one will hold them largely responsible. It must be tempting for the selectors to look elsewhere at the players who have been in action and have shown good form. Harsh on the Swamibapa players perhaps, but maybe they should have prevailed more upon the club to do the right thing.
Swamibapa's stand is just the latest in a series of poor and selfish actions made by a variety of cricket administrators in Kenya over the last year. When will the buffoons that make these sorts of decisions realise that all they are doing by them is hurting an already fragile game. As administrators of the game, they are there to serve it, not the other way round. If they cannot grow up and do their job properly, they should not be running a bath let alone what should be Kenya's premier team sport. It is high time that politics and personal pride was kicked out of Kenyan cricket. There should be no space in the game's set up for it and the sooner those responsible grow up and realise where their priorities should be, the sooner the people that play and love the game can get on and do just that without senseless interference.
This season should have provided a three way battle for the title with Kanbis, Swamibapa and new comers Stray Lions all battling out for the top honours in Kenyan cricket. At the beginning of the season the clubs met with the NPCA and the issue of players away on national duty was raised. It was decided then that no matches would be postponed and the teams would have to delve into their lower grades to make up sides. Everyone was happy with this until Swamibapa started to lose matches because their players were away representing the country. They requested other matches be delayed and when the NPCA refused, they withdrew their team from the Super Division in protest.
What short sighted idiocy. Kenya's top cricketers get little enough cricket at is is, but now the Swamibapa players, who make up the bulk of the national team will go into the series against Canada and Bermuda with hardly any cricket under their belts since the 20-20 world Cup. Instead of biting the bullet and putting out the best side they could under the circumstances, Swamibapa have tried to hold the game to ransom. The NPCA, quite rightly, have stood their ground and all that has been achieved is that the players (whom both the club and the administration are essentially there to serve) once again get the raw end of the deal. Worse is that Kenya have two must-win Intercontinental Cup games coming up and go in under prepared as well as having no national coach. The latter is certainly no fault of Swamibapa, but the lack of cricket certainly is and if the team lose because of it, I for one will hold them largely responsible. It must be tempting for the selectors to look elsewhere at the players who have been in action and have shown good form. Harsh on the Swamibapa players perhaps, but maybe they should have prevailed more upon the club to do the right thing.
Swamibapa's stand is just the latest in a series of poor and selfish actions made by a variety of cricket administrators in Kenya over the last year. When will the buffoons that make these sorts of decisions realise that all they are doing by them is hurting an already fragile game. As administrators of the game, they are there to serve it, not the other way round. If they cannot grow up and do their job properly, they should not be running a bath let alone what should be Kenya's premier team sport. It is high time that politics and personal pride was kicked out of Kenyan cricket. There should be no space in the game's set up for it and the sooner those responsible grow up and realise where their priorities should be, the sooner the people that play and love the game can get on and do just that without senseless interference.
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