Samaj School clearly the leaders in the development game

SCLPS clearly showed their dominance in the development stakes as both A and B teams took out their respective finals, while St Marys were the third victorious side. The number of new names to followers of Kenyan cricket should be as exciting as it must be daunting for the incumbents in the national age group sides. Perhaps if events like this were run before regional age group finals, Kenya would field stronger sides...

Report and results courtesy of the NPCA:

FINALS FOR THE NAIROBI SECONDARY SCHOOL LEAGUE HELD ON

20^TH MARCH, 2010 AT NAIROBI GYMKHANA AND SIMBA UNION.

17 schools had participated in the tournament and the finals concluded on Saturday 20^th March 2010. The occasion was graced by most of the schools, NPCA committee headed by our Chairman, Kenyan Cricket team with the coach, the school organizing committee and all the Development Officers from Cricket Kenya and Supporters. Prize giving was done in the afternoon and each and every participant in this league was issued a certificate.

POOL A

S.C.L.P.S “A” 142/4 (RAHUL HARISH 66, PANKAJ NARENDRA 24, SANDIP KERAI 25, TOM NICKLN 2/32)

DEFEATED

HILLCREST “A” 55/10 (PADDY CANRIFF 13, NEHAL PINDOLIA 10, NILESH MANDANI 2/8, BHAVESH HALAI 2/7, NITIN HARISH 2/9, PARTH KAKAD 2/4)

87 RUNS

POOL B

PARKLANDS BOYS 103/10 (EMMANUEL BUNDI 26, KEN OWINO 21, JAMES MWANGI 12, YOGESH KABARIA 2/24, DIPAK PATEL 3/8, JIGAR KERAI 4/11)

LOST TO

S.C.L.P.S “B” 104/4 (DIPAK PATEL 22, YOGESH KABARIA 36, NIRAJ VAKARIA 15, EMMANUEL BUNDI 1/12, MARTIN OKOTH 2/19, BOAZ ONYANGO 1/28)

BY 6 WICKETS

POOL C

NAIROBI SCHOOL 68/10 (JAIKRAT SINGH 10, COLLINS LESALON 13, NAWFAL COCKAR 6/10, UMAR SLATCH 2/8)

LOST TO

ST MARYS 69/1 (HAMZA MALIK 39*, NAWFAL COCKER 20*)

BY 9 WICKETS

AWARDS

BEST BATTERS

POOL A

RAHUL HARISH (SAMAJ “A” SCHOOL) 199 RUNS

POOL B

YOGESH KABARIA (SAMAJ “B” SCHOOL) 98 RUNS

POOL C

HAMZA MALIK (ST MARYS SCHOOL) 185 RUNS

BEST BOWLERS

POOL A

AKASH SHAH (NAIROBI SOUTH) - 9 WICKETS

POOL B

YOGESH KABARIA (SAMAJ ‘B’) - 9 WICKETS

POOL C

PATRICK MAINA (NAIROBI SCHOOL) - 11WICKETS

PLAYERS OF THE TOURNAMENT

POOL A

RAHUL HARISH (SAMAJ “A”)

POOL B

YOGESH KABARIA (SAMAJ “B”)

POOL C

HAMZA MALIK (ST MARYS SCHOOL)

Youngsters get the nod for IC and 20-20s

Cricket Kenya has today released the team for the upcoming Intercontinental cup clash with top-of-the-table Scotland and the 20-20 series with Scotland and Uganda that follows. While the batting line up is much to be expected, the selectors have opted to keep faith with three of the youngsters who played in the recent series vs Uganda. This means that at least one of Shem Obado, Nelson Odhiambo or James Otieno, maybe all, will get a full cap before the series is out. Strangely given the decision to go with the youth, there is no place for Lucas Oluoch who was perhaps the standout of the players that was blooded against Uganda.

There is also no place for the vastly experienced Peter Ongondo and with both Thomas Odoyo and Rageb Aga unavailable due to injury, this leaves Kenya with a very inexperienced front line attack. For the Intercontinental Cup only, Alfred Luseno is retained and will open the bowling with his extra pace with Elijah Otieno and Nehemiah Odhiambo the other likely seamers.

The top order batting line up retains the services of Seren Waters for the Intercontinental Cup, but he returns to university afterwards to make way for Tony Suji in the side – another strange selection given that the selectors are obviously choosing with one eye on the future. With Waters likely to open and Ouma (Cpt) and Steve Tikolo certainties, the other batting slots will be between David Obuya, Rakep Patel, Alex Obanda, Collins Obuya, and Shem Obado. The spin department must surely be lead by Hiren Varaiya while Jimmy Kamande will retain his place as Vice Captain.

The 20-20 series will likely be where the youngsters get their chances as coach Eldine Baptiste will need to do some tinkering before the team heads off for the World Cup qualifiers. All three should get a run at some stage, but may lose out if Suji is included.

This squad gives several younger players a real chance to step up and prove themselves, but the lack of experience could be costly, especially in the longer format where a player such as Ongondo would have been valuable both with the ball in hand but also as a steadying influence on the less experienced players. Elijah Otieno and Luseno will really need to bend their backs to get the early breakthrough to avoid the pressure building up. Kenyan fans will be hoping it is a gamble that pays off – it is about time Kenya started to put together a string of wins.

Full Squad:
1. Morris Ouma (Captain)
2. James Kamande (Vice Captain)
3. David Obuya
4. Rakep Patel
5. Collins Obuya
6. Stephen Tikolo
7. Hiren Varaiya
8. Nehemiah Odhiambo
9. Elijah Otieno
10. Alex Obanda
11. Seren Waters
12. Shem Obado
13. Nelson Odhiambo
14. Alfred Luseno
15. James Otieno Ngoche

Alfred Luseno and Seren Waters leave the squad for the 20-20s, Tony Suji comes in.

U17 Squad Named

Under-17 Kenya Squad

1. Ken Owino (Captain)

2. Raj Shikotra (V-Captain)

3. Emmanuel Bundi

4. Irfan Karim (Wicket Keeper)

5. Bhavya Thaker

6. Raj Savala

7. Neel Shah

8. Harrison Ambani

9. Joseph Onyango

10. Siddant Taneja

11. Rajiv Sutaria

12. Vinit Shikotra

13. Vishal Shikotra

14. Anthony Everard

Under 17 Trials next 3 days

Trials for the national Under 17s team will be held at Ruaraka Sports Club over the next three days as Cricket Kenya look to name a side to play in the Africa zone finals at the end of the month. Kenya will host the three team event which also includes Namibia and Ghana who won their respective regional tournaments.

After the dissapointment of the U19 and U13 teams earlier this year, this is a chance for Kenya's young cricketers who have undoubted talent to show their worth.

Below is the Cricket Kenya press release:

PRESS RELEASE - UNDER 17 TRIAL MATCHES

Cricket Kenya wishes to inform members of the press that we will be conducting trial matches for Under 17 players. This exercise is aimed at selecting a team to take part in the ICC/ACA Cup finals in Nairobi from 27^th to 30^th August 2009.

The trial games will take place at Ruaraka Sports Club on 13^th, 14^th and 15^th August and will involve players from Nairobi, Coast and Rift Valley provinces.

Important to note is the cut off date which is 1^st September 1991.

Suji to coach team in Canada

With the new national coach yet to be chosen, it is understood that Martin Suji will travel in that capacity when Kenya tour Canada next month. According to a report in today's Nation it will now not be until September that the new coach is named. This is a frustrating delay in some ways as it may well be almost half way through the current Intercontinental Cup campaign before he takes charge. Given that there will then be a settling in period, Kenya's fate in the competition may well be as good as sealed by the time his influence kicks in. According to the article, 5 shortlisted coaches will be invited travel to Kenya for one-on-one interviews in August. It is not clear who will be footing the bill for this.

While the delay is frustrating, it gives further experience to Suji who could possibly be the man to step permanently into this role in the future, or sooner should he be able to get results while he is in charge. Ultimately, a home-grown coach would be ideal for Kenya provided they were of sufficient standard.

With most of the current national team also in fine form in the NPCA league, it looks unlikely that there will be much change to the team when it is announced next week. On current form, the one player outside the national squad who is returning exceptional figures is Stray Lions bowler Darshit Shah. Another good weekend ahead and it would surely make it hard for the selectors not to at least consider him. He is the only bowler to have so far picked up 4+ wickets in both weeks, though Nehemiah Odhiambo does match his 9 wickets so far for the season.

Maurice Ouma is Kenya's new Captain

Cricket Kenya have today released the squad to travel to Ireland along with the new appointments for Captain and Vice Captain. In a move that was guessed at by only 2% of the readership of this blog, Kenya's new Captain will be Maurice Ouma (Right) with Jimmy Kamande acting as Vice Captain. It is a bold decision by Kenya's selectors and is certainly made with an eye on the future as both players are likely to be around for a long time yet.

There is only one change to the rest of the 15 man squad with Rajesh Bhudia making way for the in-form David Obuya to return to national colours. Ragheb Aga, who has been in fine wicket taking form and Peter Kituku are the two other players who could count themselves unlucky to have missed out. Aside from the captaincy, this is a squad that contains few surprises. David Obuya brings much needed depth to the batting while the recent form of Lameck Onyango (Ngoche) allows the selectors to sacrifice a bowler in order to do this. As announced earlier, Andy Kirsten will travel as coach for the Intercontinental Cup tie and the one day series which will consist of three games rather than two as initially thought.

Full squad:

1. Morris Ouma (Captain)
2. Jimmy Kamande (Vice Captain)
3. Kennedy Obuya
4. Alex Obanda
5. Steve Tikolo
6. Collins Obuya
7. Thomas Odoyo
8. Nehemiah Odhiambo
9. Lameck Ngoche
10. Peter Ongondo
11. Hiren Varaiya
12. Rakep Patel
13. Elijah Otieno
14. Seren Waters
15. David Obuya

Further comment to follow shortly.

Photo courtesy of Joseph Mutisya.

Getting it together at the right time

Having narrowly lost their first warm up game to the Windies, Kenya were able to hold on to an even closer game against the Dutch in their final run before the World Cup starts in earnest against Canada on March 14th (15th if you are in Australia like me).
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In both matches, Kenya scored in the region of 250 - a score seen by many as par for many of the new pitches in the West Indies. This is a very positive sign for Steve Tikolo's men as it shows that the batting is continuing to improve and importantly that players are finding form and building partnerships. In the 2 warm up games, the following batsmen have made decent scores:
Shah (41 v WI)
Tikolo (34 & 51)
Collins Obuya (54* & 33)
Suji (47 v NED)
Odoyo (73 v NED)
Basically, the middle order look like they are doing their job well, especially the combination of Odoyo and Obuya (and to a lesser extent Suji and Kamande) in the final overs.
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A slight worry is still the opening pair. They did fantastically well in Nairobi and were a big reason that Kenya was able to win the WCL, but Ouma (10 & 4) and David Obuya (7 & 13) have not had great warm up games. They have both proved to themselves and everyone else in the past few months that they are capable of making decent scores and if Kenya are to cause an upset, they must rise to the occasion and provide the middle order with a decent platform.
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Tanmay Mishra (22 & 4) has also not been his reliable self, but is of a class where he should be able to step up once the Cup proper starts. He scored a match winning 62 against the Canadians in Nairobi during the WCL, so can hopefully repeat that performance or go better when the teams face off in a couple of days time.
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With the runs given to Malhar Patel and Tony Suji, it has looked as though the team have experimented with slotting in an extra batsman at number 4 and moving the rest down one which is interesting. So far, the batting has looked fairly solid, but we have on both occasions failed to bowl the opposition out. Bringing in Suji - he performed best out of the two, will be at the expense of a bowler and is this something Kenya can afford?
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Leaving out Suji and the bowler for the moment, the team looks like this:
Ouma
D Obuya
Shah
Tikolo
Mishra
Odoyo
C Obuya
Ongondo
Varaiya
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There will need to be a third seamer which will be between Odhiambo (the most likely on performances in the warm ups), Onyango (who has been expensive) and Bhudia (who has not bowled enough to suggest he is likely to play).
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If we assume Odhiambo gets the nod - he also gives the option of a quick scoring bat, the battle for the final place is then between Suji - a batsman and Kamande - a spinning all-rounder.
This is a tricky decision. Suji has played well with the two chances he has been given making 16* batting at 9 against the Windies and 47 batting at 4 against the Dutch. Kamande has only had the one chance with the bat - a quickfire unbeaten 19 against the Dutch. Bowling wise, he went for 6 an over against the Netherlands, so one would initially think Suji would get the nod going purely on his batting form. This would however leave Kenya with only 5 bowlers, and against good batting sides, this is a big gamble. It means that there is no one Tikolo can turn to if one of them is getting a belting, a definite possibility with the likes of Pietersen and Taylor looming.
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Importantly, Kamande is a spinner and there are two reasons why this is in his favour. First, the pitches in the West Indies seem to be holding up to expectations and taking spin well. Going into a game with three spinners capable of stifling runs and taking wickets would give Kenya an edge over the other teams in their group. Second, Tikolo is a great marshal of spin bowling. Possibly because he is a spinner himself, he seems able to really get the most out of the middle overs when Kenya need to slow the run rate and frustrate the opposition. This has been one of the team's strong points over the last 12 months and it would be wise to take advantage of it.
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Finally, there is the fielding aspect. Kamande has always been a great fielder and his athleticism in the final of the WCL contributed a great deal to Scotland's uncertainly in the middle. The Obuya brother may have got the run outs then, but it was Kamande who put the pressure on with several great stops and two direct hits - one from square on. His presence in the field can only benefit the rest of the team just as Jonty Rhodes did for South Africa and Symonds does for Australia. For once, Kenya are faced with a selection decision based on good performances. It will be tough for Suji to miss out, but on balance maybe this is Kamande's turn.
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Hopefully Kenya's bowlers will be able to do what they failed to do in the two warm up games and take regular and early wickets to put pressure on the opposition. Odoyo has looked in good touch so far and will be key. A couple of early breakthroughs from him will allow Ongondo to tighten the screws at the other end. It will then be up to the spinners to keep the lid on. Things are coming together at just about the right time for Kenya and if they should be happy with the preparations. There are just one or two final things to be worked on, but if the team all play to the potential they have shown, this could be a very exciting couple of weeks indeed for Kenyan cricket.