Kericho And Eldoret Eye Top Spot In Nakuru

Rain permitting, Eldoret take on Kericho this Sunday in a match that will see the winner go top of the Akshar League standings in Nakuru; at least until Akshar A play bottom placed Naivasha next week. It should be an interesting struggle, as so far it has been Kericho's batting that won them their first match, while Eldoret needed some tight lines from their bowlers to defend a low total. Kericho will no doubt be looking for another decent knock from their top and middle order batsmen, and are my picks to walk away with a victory. In their last match Rashmi, Toxy and Dilpesh all looked capable with the bat, while Jignesh will be expected to do the damage when he opens the bowling. Eldoret will really need their batsmen to step up a notch this match, and will again be looking for all-rounder Tajesh to make them competitive. If he can get somewhere close to his six-wicket haul of the last match, they may yet be in with a shout. Fingers crossed that the rain holds off just long enough for them to get the cricket in!

NPCA season to kick off with 6-a-side Competition

Nairobi's 2006 season is set to begin on Saturday 29th of April with a 6-a-side competition that will run through to the Public Holiday on Monday 1st of May. Hosted by Shree Cuthci Lewa Youth League, the tournament is expected to be attended by most Nairobi clubs. Invites are already out to the NPCA sanctioned event, and it looks like being a very enjoyable festival of cricket in the capital. The Nairobi board are also working with the Rift Valley association to promote a similar event to be held in Nakuru towards the end of May. It is the intention of the NPCA to use the Nairobi event to launch the calendar for the new season, and will also likely see the opening of the 2006 Transfer Market.

Meanwhile the heavy rains in Nairobi have put a hold on most of the cricket in the capital. The NPCA 45-over tournament is still at the semi-final stage, and they are waiting for the weather to clear up before play can be resumed. Rain permitting, it is hoped that this can happen before the end of April, but this is looking increasingly unlikely. Still, it is well needed rain for the country, so no-one is complaining just yet.

Emphasis On Coaching In Nairobi

With Nairobi looking forward to Terry Jenner's visit in May, local players and coaches have also been put through their paces during a 4-day Level 2 coaching course. Organised through Cricket Kenya and ICC Africa, the course was conducted by Harry Shappiro who was assisted by National Team coach Roger Harper. 15 players and coaches from around Kenya attended the course, and are looking forward to putting their new skills into practice. A set coaching pathway is due to be discussed during the ACA meeting coming up in South Africa.

Coaches who attended the course were:

• Alfred Njuguna (Asst. National Coach)
• Charles Obuya (Development Coach U 17) he did not attend the last two days
• David Asiji (Development Coach U 15)
• Rajab Ali (Ex- National Team Player and Development Coach Rift Valley)
• Isak Khanna (Development Coach - Coast)
• Dun Okinyo (Development Coach Ladies Cricket)

Good to see the three main regions represented, as well as the different national team coaches and the ladies. Lets hope they put this knowlege to quick use.

Players who attended the course were:

• Steve Tikolo (National Team Captain)
• Thomas Odoyo (National Team V/Captain)
• Martin Suji (National team Opening Bowler)
• Peter Ongondo (National Team Player)
• Jimmy Kamande (National Team Player)
• Kennedy Obuya (National Team Player) he did not attend the last day with no reason given.
• Collins Obuya (National Team Player) he did not attend the last day with no reason given.
• Morris ouma (National Team Player)
• Joseph Angara (National Team Player)

It is great to see these players attending and keen to use the knowledge to help in cricket development within Kenya. A shame that the Obuya brothers were not able to attend the final days. Hopefully it was nothing serious that kept them away. Incentives like this are a great way of helping promote the game. Not only does it improve the level of coaching past and present players can give to those of the future, but it also helps towards giving them a continued career in the game once their playing days are over. Every project starts with baby-steps, but it certainly seems at the moment that Cricket Kenya is moving in the right direction.

Jenner To Spin His Magic In Nairobi

Australian spin-bowling guru Terry Jenner will be in Nairobi to run a 4-day spin coaching clinic between 16th and 19th of May. Not only will this enable Jenner, widely regarded as the mentor behind the success of Shane Warne, to follow up on his earlier work with Collins Obuya, but will also benefit several of Kenya's up and coming spinners. For the youngsters selected to take part, this will be a priceless opportunity to work with a real coaching genius. The camp, organised by Cricket Kenya in conjunction with the ICC's High Performance manager Richard Done, will also be attended by a selected bowler from each of several other African countries. This camp is a huge coup for cricket organisers in Kenya, and is a further illustration of their efforts, and those of the ICC, to improve the standard of the game. There is no doubt that those attending will learn a lot in those four days. We look forward to seeing the results when Kenya A travel to denmark.

Forum and Caught Behind

It didn't take me too long to get fed up with the pop-ups, so I have moved the forum to join the Caught Behind site. This makes sense for a couple of reasons. One is that Caught Behind have decided to put together a joint blog comprising some of the best bloggers from each country. There being no other Kenya cricket blogs, that means I make the starting XI. Ha! Actually, I think it will be a very successful idea, and one I am proud to have been invited to be a part of. I believe the launch is coming up in the next couple of weeks, so watch this space...

The second reason is they offer the equivalent of what I would have to pay other sites to get, so it should work out quite well. Let me know your views if you don't like it, otherwise I look forward to sharing opinions and chatting about the game. I have linked direct to the Kenya forum in Cricket links. Once there, it is easy enough to visit the rest of the site if you wish. I will also put in a link to the blog aggregator when it is up and running.