The Weekend Ahead

I am toddling off to Tasmania tomorrow for a weekend away, so this will be my last post for a couple of days (not that Tasmania don't have the internet, I will just be on holiday).

There is a bit of cricket ahead involving Kenyans, so here goes:

- Terry Jenner's Spin Clinic should wrap up today in Nairobi. Hopefully we shall see a press release from Cricket Kenya on its success, and how our youngsters found the experience.

- Nakuru will see Akshar A back in action as they take on Eldoret in a match that should provide the league winner of the Akshar Tournament. There are still a lot of games to go, but these two teams are looking significantly stronger than the opposition so far. Akshar will probably go into the match as favourites, though they have had less cricket than Eldoret, so we shall see.

- In England, James Clegg will lead Fairburn against Gawthorpe St Mary's CC in the Leeds West Riding League, lets hope he can keep up his good from so far.

- Also in England, Hitesh Modi is listed in the starting line-up for Chesham in their Thames Valley League match against Thatcham Town. Hopefully that means the news on his finger is good, and he will indeed be back in action. All the best to him for a succcessful return.

- Amit Bhudia's Danish side Herning have two league matches this weekend. On Saturday they play Albertslund who have so far lost the only match they have played, so hopefully Herning can continue this trend. Backing it up on Sunday, they take on KB II who have won one and lost one. Herning won their only league game last week helped by an unbeated 30 from Amit, so here's hoping he gets amoung the runs again this weekend.

- No news from the NPCA or CCA. It may well be that there is cricket going on in either Nairobi or Mombasa, quite possibly both, so if anyone wants to let this little mushroom know what is going on, that would be great.

- Internationally, there is the final of the Tri-series in Trinidad with Bermuda taking on Zimbabwe. They got belted yesterday, so will need to produce a much better effort if they are going to save face on Saturday.

- Namibia too face an uphill struggle in their Intercontinental match against Ireland. Dismised for a paltry 95 in their first innings, they are struggling with the ball too - Ireland are 3-78 in reply. Rain may still have a part to play in all this, but the Africans will be hard pushed to avoid a thumping defeat.

Avagoodweegend!

Test Status and The Intercontinental Cup

With the Intercontinental Cup well under way, and Zimbabwe looking less and less likely to be able to raise their standard enough to play Tests again next year, this seemed like a suitable topic for my first post on Caught Behind.
Should Zimbabwe decide not to return to Test cricket, or should the ICC decide not to readmit them, there will be a sizeable block left empty in the FTP. While some people will see this as a good thing and want to keep only nine teams playing at the top level, it will be a perfect opportunity for the ICC to bridge the current gap between the Test nations and the Associates.
Test cricket works well with ten teams playing. It gives the newer teams a chance to improve by playing against the best, and the big clashes are far enough apart that they create great anticipation. Currently, there is no avenue for the Associates to rise above the level of the Intercontinental Cup, just as there is no provision for a team to be dropped from Test cricket, no matter how low their standards fall. If the ICC were to open this last place on the FTP up to the best Associate (include Zimbabwe, as they are no longer playing Tests), it would effectively cover both shortcomings in the system.
My proposal is as follows: Every second year, the top placed team in the Intercontinental Cup be given the chance to play off against the bottom placed Test team for their slot on the FTP. Next year, this would be between Zimbabwe and the IC winner. The matches would be hosted by the Test team and would count as full Tests. The winner would earn the right to be part of the FTP for a period of 2 years. At the end of that period, the bottom ranked Test team would again have to play off against the top ranked Associate, as decided by the Intercontinental Cup.
This system would do two important things. First, it would put in place the final bridge between the Associates and Full members. To cross it, the Associates will have to prove they are at a high enough standard, but the opportunity is none the less there. It would allow Associates to aspire to Test status without watering down the quality of Test cricket played.
Second, it would act as a quality control for Test cricket - if a team's standards fall too low, they will be beaten by an upcoming team, and have to go back to basics in the Intercontinental Cup. It may mean that at some stage in the future, a traditional cricketing team loses out on Test status for a while, but should they really keep it if there are non-Test teams who play at a higher standard? Surely not.
There are practical considerations that would need to be taken into account for this to work - pitch quality for one, but the money and means are available to the ICC to assist in this. It is high time that quality is allowed the chance to shine in cricket wherever it comes from. No longer is cricket just a game for the Test nations, and the structure needs to be reworked to take that into account. The opportunity seems to have come about for just such a step.

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Cross Posted on Caught Behind.

Bermuda Add To Canada's Woes

For the second time in two outings, Canada's top order failed dismally. On Tuesday, the team was skittled for 75 in their huge loss to Zimbabwe. Yesterday, they did slightly better against a team most expected them to beat. It was only a rear guard action by a bowler, Codrington, that brought them respectability however, and they finished on 9-157. Bermuda were set a reduced target using the duckworth-Lewis system, and reached it with 3 wickets in hand off the last ball. In the end it was a close match, and it remains to be seen how Bermuda will fare against Zimbabwe, but for Canada it was still another loss. Kenya will be playing both Canada and Bermuda in July and August, and if these results are anything to go by, we will go in as strong favourites. That should not mean however that training should be slacked off, but rather the opposite. We need to find a ruthless streak, and record big victories against the other Associates when we get the chance. It is therefore heartening to hear that Cricket Kenya will soon be announcing a provisional squad for not only the World Cup, but that they will be starting continuous training very soon. This squad will form the backbone of the teams to Canada and must be in top shape to take advantage of their weakness.

Caught Behind SuperBlg Set To Launch

As some of you may know, Caught Behind have set up a Super Blog incorporating posts from some of the best cricket bloggers around - one representing each country. Due to there only being me blogging about Kenyan cricket, I get a place in the 'First XI' next to some very respected voices.

It is a great idea, and should be a very successful venture. Thanks to those who were kind enough to recognise that Kenya cricket matters enough to be included. The blog is set to launch Thursday 18th at midnight - Let play commence!

Fixture List Updated

Following the recent press release from Cricket Kenya, I have made the following changes to the fixture list:

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- Kenya tour to Uganda in May removed.

- Atul Shah Memorial Tournament in Mombasa included.

- Uganda tour to Kenya in September 2006 included.

- Under 15's Regional Tournament in August included.

- African Regional Women's World Cup Qualifiers in December 2006 included.

- Proposed tour by MCC in February 2007 included.

As far as I know, it now reflects the current calendar. I will include details and confirmed dates as soon as they become available.