Cricket in The Wild Report

The winning Outram team from the inaugral Cricket in the Wild tournament held at Ol Pejeta conservancy.

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The following is Subash Modi's report on the recently concluded Cricket in the Wild tournament. Congratulations to the winners and the organisers for their efforts. A very worthwhile cause has had a great boost this weekend and it is wonderful that cricket was the catalyst that allowed this to happen.

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The 1st Ol Pejeta “Cricket in the Wild” tournament finished on Sunday afternoon, out of the seven teams playing in the tournament (From the UK Hugh Crossley and Tim Best, from Nairobi David Seagon, and Arnie Mitchell, from Laikipia Batian Craig and Giles Davies, and from Gilgil Chris Outram.) Chris Outram’s team from Gilgil was the team that took home the inaugural trophy - an elephants head carved out of an old cedar post holding a cricket ball in its trunk (carved by a community member).
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The final was between the Outram team and Tim Best’s team from the UK - we are very proud that the first tournament was won by a Kenyan team and the trophy will remain in Kenya for at least another year.
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The matches were carefully umpired by Subash Modi, Eddie Fernandes and Brian Haworth and the scoring was done by Aliya Bauer with Charity, “Jenga” and Wilson managing the score board.
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The event was set up as an opportunity to raise funds for development programmes within the communities surrounding Ol Pejeta Conservancy. Each team was required to raise money to enter the competition. The highest fund raiser was a team from England captained by Hugh Crossley. In total the tournament raised an estimated USD 120,000 – this money will be spent on the development of local schools, dispensaries and other facilities within Laikipia.
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In his closing speech Richard Vigne, Executive Director of Ol Pejeta thanked all the teams for participating and promised to make the tournament an annual event. The MP for Laikipia East and Asst. Minister for Energy, Hon. M Kiunjuri also congratulated all the teams for their fund raising efforts and the Ol Pejeta management team for taking the time and effort to develop and run the event.
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Ol Pejeta would like to thank the following for their kind contribution to the event:
East African Safari Air Express
The Driftwood Beach Club (The Larby’s)
Serena Hotels
Rhino Ark
Lewa Wildlife Conservancy
Lewa Ceramics
Wines of the World
The Glass Gallery
One Way
Sandra & Brendan Hill
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Callum Looman
Local Kenya Media & Nick Deverell
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For catering:
Alpana Patal and Sophie Graten
East African Women’s League (Nanyuki branch)
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For medical assistance:
Nanyuki Cottage Hospital.
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Ol Pejeta Conservancy Cricket in the Wild organizing committee members:
Sandra Hill
Richard Vigne
Brian Haworth
Sue Haworth
Brendan Hill
Batian Craig
Giles Prettejohn
Ali Prettejohn
Paul Leringato
Melissa Duveen

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Aussies Take Series 3-0

Tony Suji top scored for Kenya with 85 yesterday, but it was not enough to prevent the visiting CBCE side taking the final match and the series 3-0. While the result was perhaps not a surprise considering the margins of the visitor's victories over the previous two matches, at least Kenya showed signs of general improvement. We still lost by 59 runs, but that is at least a lot closer than 10 wickets and 200 odd runs.

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Batting first, the Australians set a target of 295 for victory with Voges leading the way with an unbeaten 126. None of the bowlers returned particularly good figures, but Nehemiah Odhiambo will be disappointed to have conceded 100 runs from his ten. Still, these matches are there to give the newer players to the team match experience, and he should have learnt a fair bit about what no to do from yesterday's match. Jimmy Kamande had the best figures with 2/53, but Hiren Variaya was the most economical with his 10 overs conceding 34 runs he can be proud of that comeback after getting some rough treatment the day before. All the other bowlers, with the exception of Ongondo, went for 5 or more an over. Even so, this was a better effort than Saturday and Kenya improved their fielding performance by about 100 runs.

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Unfortunately, the reply got off to a bad start as the openers went back to their troubled ways and were out cheaply. Tony Suji at 3 played well for his 85 and should have done enough now to keep his place there and silence his critics for a while at least. I am happy to be proved wrong, and he is one batsman from Kenya who can come out of this series with his head held high. David Obuya replaced his brother Collins in the team and gave Suji good support with his half century. Mishra chipped in with 23, not really what we need from him, but again an improvement on the last match. Odoyo rounded out the batsmen who made runs with a fighting 38, but in the end Kenya ran out of overs and finished on 8/234. Another loss, but at least this time we made over 200 runs and a couple of batsmen made decent scores.

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Kenya's next opponents are Uganda away and it is a series that we must win convincingly. Who the selectors choose will be interesting as it is a great opportunity to try out a couple of new faces before the Bermuda visit in November. It will also be good practice for the players expected to play in the Intercontinental Cup, so we may well see a strong side heading to Kampala. Whoever goes, let's hope they come back with a bundle of wins. Two 3-0 lost series is pretty bitter medecine to have to swallow, however much it may have improved our players.

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SCORECARD:

CBCE innings:
A Crosthwaite..........Ct..K Obuya............Ongondo......0
T. Paine....................Bowled....................Odoyo..........35
A. Voges....................not out.......................................126
A. Finch....................lbw..........................Kamande.....26
C. Ferguson..............Ct..K Obuya............Kamande.......8
G. Gailey...................run out.........................................42
B. Dorey...................Ct..Odhiambo..........T. Suji..........39
C. Bailey....................not out...........................................5
Extras........................(lb-2, nb-6, w-4)..........................12
Total......for 6 wkts, 50 overs........................................293
Did Not bat: G. Sullivan, B. Hilfenhails, D. Doran

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FoW: 1-8 (Crosthwaite), 2-50 (Paine), 3-123 (Finch), 4-143 (Ferguson), 5-222 (G. Bailey) and 2-276 (Sullivan).

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Kenya Bowling:

T. Odoyo..............10-1-57-1

P. Ongondo..........9-0-37-1

N. Odhiambo......10-0-100-0

H. Varaiya............10-?-34-0

J. Kamande..........10-0-53-2

T. Suji...................1-0-12-1

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Kenya innings:
K Obuya...........Ct..Paine............Sullivan..........4
M Ouma..........Ct..Paine............Hilfenhaus......0
T Suji...............Ct..Paine............Doran............85
D Obuya............lbw.....................Dorey............50
T Mishra..........Ct..Doran............Sullivan........23
T Odoyo............Bowled..............Hilfenhaus.....38
J Kamande.......lbw....................Hilfenhaus.......2
N Odhiambo....lbw....................Hilfenhaus.......2
M Patel.............not out.......................................6
P Ongondo.......not out.......................................3
Extras............(nb-3, nb-1, w-16).......................20
Total...for 8 wkts, 50 overs).............................234
Did not bat: H. Varaiya

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FoW: 1-10 (K. Obuya), 2-10 (M. Ouma), 3-115 (D. Obuya), 4-155 (T. Mishra), 5-214 (T. Odoyo), 6-220 (T. Suji), 7-223 (N. Odhiambo) and 8-230 (J. Kamande)

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Bowling:

B.Hilfenhaus................10-2-31-4

G. Sullivan....................8-0-25-1

D. Dorey.......................7-0-27-0

C. Bailey.......................8-0-58-0

D. Doran......................10-0-59-2

A. Voges.........................7-0-31-0

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Umpires: Ebrahim Fidahussein and Rocky D'Mello

Cricket In the Wild a Great Success

The inaugral Cricket in the Wild Tournament at Ol Pejeta Consevancy sounds like it has been a great success. The main aim of the event is obviously to raise money for a very wortheile cause, but great to see some competetive games being played in the right spirit as well. Subhash Modi, Kenya's leading umpire sends the following report from the initial couple of days:

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The three day prestigious Ol Pejeta Conservancy Cricket in the Wild Cricket Tournament started at the Ol Pejeta Conservancy yesterday with seven teams participating namely:- Outram, Crossley, Seagon, Davies, Craig, Mitchell, and the Best XI. Patels XI withdrew at the last minute as they could not raise the team.

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Richard Vigne, Executive Director of Ol Pejeta Conservancy and Sandra Hill - both members of the organising committee are really delighted with the progress and success so far of the tournament as all the teams are fighting for the top honours.

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The finals of the the tournament will be played tomorrow and a reasonably good crowd is expected to turn up.

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The Official umpires are:-
Subhash Modi, Brian Haworth, Eddie Fernandez and Martin Hamilton and the official scorer is Aliya Baurer.

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Results so far:
Davies(96/4 wkts) beat Seagon 95/4 wickets.
Craig(120/4 wickets) beat Outram 109/6 wickets
Davies 150/7 wickets beat Crossley 129/7 wickets.
Outram 99 for no loss beat Seagon 98/6 wickets
Best XI 131 /6 wickets beat Davies 113/9.

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All the officials and players as well as the spectators were pleased to see the clear view of the World Famous Mount Kenya from the cricket ground. The tournament is played in good spirit and the cricket ground, pitch, matting and the scoreboard are in good condition.

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The organisers of the Ol Pejeta Conservancy Cricket in the Wild Fund Raising Committee deserve pats on their back for excellent organisation and tremendous efforts for the noble game.

Humbled Again

Shaun Marsh dominated with the bat yesterday hitting 207 not out as the visiting CBCE side again handed Kenya a major belting. This time the Aussies batted first, and it looked initially as though things may be different from the first match as Odoyo had them reeling at 2/12. Marsh and George Bailey (152) then combined to give the Kenyans a lesson in how to build an innings and make big scores. Their effort took the total to 3/404 by the close (Ongondo finally clean bowled Bailey) and it was always going to be a formidable total.

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Kenya's reply got off to a better start than it has done recently with both openers actually getting into double figures. However, Kennedy Obuya fell for 17 with the score on 40, and Maurice Ouma perished shortly after for 23. Tony Suji again came in at 3 and this time he top scored for Kenya, though his 48 off 93 looks pretty meagre compared to the aussies' efforts. Malhar Patel made 33 and Nehemiah Odiambo a quickfire 41 as Kenya struggled to 199 all out in 49.1 overs.

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It is hard to keep being positive about losses, especially ones of this magnitude against a nation's third string side. Mind you going by Kenya's football international loss yesterday, if Harambee Stars played Brazil's 3rd or even fourth side, the result would probably be a loss of similar magnitude. At least there are signs of improvement in some areas. For a start we batted out almost the entire 50 overs. True, the runs required were miles away from what we reached, but at least it is an improvement on the last game. Suji did well at 3, but I am still yet to be convinced he is the man for this position. Rakeb Patel brought into the side as an all rounder batted at 8 and was only given 2 overs. Somewhat mystifying as he was no more expensive than any of the other bowlers who also went for 7+ an over. The idea of matches like this is that they give the players experience against top quality opposition. One would have thought that a youngster like Patel would be more in need of overs than an experienced player like Suji. That said, it is good to see the latter used as a bowler, his figures not withstanding, as I do not see him justifying a place in the side with his batting alone, despite his 48 yesterday.

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Today sees the final match of the series being played, and Kenya will be hard pushed to get a result that gives the aussies anything other than a 3-0 whitewash. Results aside, if the team members can each show improvement, then that at least will be something. January and the WCL is not far away now, and beyond that looms the World Cup. Both are tournaments in which it is vital Kenya perform well and we are running out of time to find a team that can do that consistently.

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SCORECARD:

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CBCE innings:
Tim Paine..........Ct..Odhiambo..........Odoyo..........13
Shaun Marsh......Not out......................................207
Adam Voges.......Bowled.....................Odoyo...........0
George Bailey.....Bowled.....................Ongondo....152
Extras:.....................(lb 4, w 6, nb 7).......................17
Total:............For..3..Wickets in 50 overs.............404

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FoW: 1-12 (T Paine), 2-12 (A Voges), 3-286 (G Bailey).
Did not bat: D Doran, A Finch, A Crosthwaite, G Sullivan, B Drew, B Hilfenhaus.

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Bowling:

T Odoyo...........10-1-73-2

P Ongondo......10-2-72-1

N Odhiambo.....9-0-93-0

H Varaiya........10-0-74-0

T Suji.................9-0-75-0

Rakeb Patel.......2-0-13-0.

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Kenya innings:
K Obuya................Ct..Crosthwaite..........Finch........17
M Ouma................Ct..Crosthwaite..........Finch.......23
T Suji.....................Bowled...................Hilfenhaus...48
M Patel..................LBW............................Voges.......33
T Mishra................Ct & B.........................Voges.........2
C Obuya.................LBW............................Doran........0
T Odoyo.................St..Crosthwaite...........Voges........11
R Patel...................Ct..Voges.....................Finch..........1
N Odhiambo.........Bowled.....................Hilfenhaus...41
P Ongondo............St..Crosthwaite........Hilfenhaus.....1

H Varaiya..............Not out............................................1
Total.......All Out in 49.1 Overs.................................199
FoW: 1-40 (K Otieno), 2-46 (M Ouma), 3-102 (M Patel), 4-104 (T Mishra), 5-105 (C Obuya), 6-123 (T Odoyo), 7-133 (R Patel), 8-179 (T Suji), 9-196 (N Odhiambo), 10-199 (P Ongondo).

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CBCE Bowling:

A Voges.......................10-2-25-3

D Doran......................10-0-25-1

T Paine........................4-0-24-0

B Drew.........................7-0-38-0

B Hilfenhaus................8-1-29-3

A Finch.......................5.1-0-22-3

C Ferguson...................2-0-24-0.

Trounced

Another serving of humble pie was doled out to Kenya yesterday as a team including many of our potential squad for the World Cup was handed a belting by the visiting acadamy side from Australia. Losing the toss, we were put in to bat on a wicket that is a batsman's nightmare in the morning. Only Kennedy Obuya (44) and stand-in captain Thomasa Odoyo (36) troubled the scorers as Kenya were bundled out for 143 in 43 of the allocated 50 overs. Edmilson was the pick of the visiting bowlers with figures of 7.1-0-20-3.

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In reply, the CBCE openers T Paine (66*) and S Marsh (70*) raced to the total in a mere 28.3 overs handing Kenya their worst defeat so far this year. While the pitch may be a bowler's paradise in the morning, there can really be no hiding behind excuses. We were handed a thrashing and something must be done to teach the batsmen to excercise patience, to build innings and partnerships and the importance of batting out the full 50 overs. Not that the latter would have helped looking at yesterday's scores. It is a real shame that our bowlers are not getting the chance they need to show their worth.

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I suppose the one bit of good news from the match was Kennedy Obuya getting into the runs again. His 44 may have taken 78 balls, but highlights the importance of staying at the crease and playing oneself into form. Hopefully he will be able to build on this innings over the next couple of games and restore his confidence and form fully.

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SCORECARD:

Kenya innings:

K. Obuya..............................44
M.Ouma................................0
T. Suji....................................5
M. Patel................................18
T. Mishra..............................12
C. Obuya................................0
T. Odoyo...............................36
R. Patel...................................1
N. Odhiambo........................8
P. Ongondo...........................0
H. Varaiya.............................0
Total..all..out..43 overs......143
143 all out in 43 overs

F of W 1-2, 2-11, 3-54, 4-80, 5-80, 6-115, 7-120, 8-140, 9-140, 10-143

CBCE Bowling:
Sullivan........9-1-25-2
Edmilson......7.1-0-20-3
Drew.............6-2-22-1
C Bailey........10-2-31-2
Vogel.............8-1-24-2
G bailey........2-0-13-0

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CBCE Innings:
T Paine...........................66*
S Marsh...........................70*
28.3 overs
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Kenya Bowling:
T. Odoyo............6-1-28-0
P Ogondo...........7-0-31-0
N Odhiambo.....5-0-29-0
H.Variaya..........6-0-19-0
R. Patel..............3.3-0-21-0
C. Obuya.............1-0-15-0
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A horrible thing to publish that - here's hoping the weekend brings different results.