Blitzed!

The less said about Kenya's batting effort in the third ODI against Bangladesh, the better. Several players looked as thought they had got starts, then got out. Mortaza finished with 6/26 and we were all out for 118. Kamande made way for Malhar Patel who made 15 off 54 and Modi was dropped in favour of Brijal Patel, who made 1. Odoyo top scored with 29.

Ouch - thank god I was at work cleaning up a flood rather than watching that all unfold.

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It is a real shame for the Kenyan bowlers that the batsmen have been unable to give them a decent total to bowl to. In each match so far, they have taken wickets and had our batsmen made anywhere upwards of 220, we could have been looking at a 3-0 sweep the other way. As it is, we are going to spend the next couple of months fending off accusations of mediocrity and questions as to why the standard of cricket has fallen so much.

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In a couple of weeks, the Commonwealth centre of excellence team arrive to play 3 One Dayers against the national team. In my opionion it would benefit us far more if that were changed to be one 4-day match. Cricket Kenya also need to get the top 50 or so players in the country playing the longer version of the game. If we do not do something to improve our standards, the WCL in January and the World Cup after are going to be very painful indeed.

Heroes Or Zeros

Today sees the third and final ODI match against Bangladesh and Kenya have one more chance to snatch an unlikely victory. The visitors will go into the match favourites having won the first two games, so a win for Kenya would indeed be an upset and the team would be looked on as heroes. A loss would, according to the Predictor for the ICC ODI Championship table, leave Kenya with 0 points, and a rating of 0 after '9' games. Why the two wins against Canada are not counted, I have yet to work out. In qualifying for the place on the table, Kenya earned points from matches before they were on the table and were awarded these when they got their place back. Canada, not being on the table, would be considered to have 0 points, so for the wins against them, Kenya should have been given 50 points for each game. This should have given us a rating of 16 going into the Bangladesh series rather than 7. It doesn't make a huge difference to us as we would still be in 11th spot, but at least we would not be looking at 0 points if we lose the last match. It could however become a serious issue once a second Associate gains a place on the table.

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If the ICC was serious when it granted the six top Associates One Day status, surely any matches played involving them should earn points towards the Championship table. In the FAQ section, the blurb even says:

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"EVERY ODI will count (apart from No Results)"

and

"All ODIs are treated equally."

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Yeah right. If that was the case, why is it not happening? Or are some more equal than others. As the Associates get to play more matches, especially against each other, this will become a big issue. You will have teams coming on to the bottom of the table with skewed points as they will only carry through those from playing teams already on the table. This does not and will not give an accurate picture of the relative standings of the lower ranked teams.

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So far, Sri Lanka should have earned points for beating the Netherlands, England for beating Ireland, Pakistan and Ireland for beating Scotland and Kenya for beating Canada. As far as I can tell, none of this is happening. Only when Full members can actually earn points by playing the Associates will OD status actually mean anything and encourage them to play more of these matches. The ICC have done good work in spreading the game, but only when there is an even playing field for ALL teams and a way of ranking them, can they be considered to actually have achieved anything of substance. Until then, it may as well be hot air.

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In the mean while, good luck to the Kenyan team in their efforts to salvage a win from the last game of the series. It can be done, only one player really fired last game and that nearly did it for us. If three or four can do it this game, who knows. Unfortunately, I will not be able to comment much on the first innings, but should get home from work mid way through the second. I will post my two bits then.

NPCA Results Week 2

Sorry it has taken so long to post these results from last weekend (6th Aug). They only came through on Saturday and I got too caught up with the ODIs to post them until now. This weekend's games (12 Aug) were also postponed to allow as many players as possible to attend the two ODIs. Normal play will resume next week.

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With several players away on national duty, there were no matches in the Super Division.

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DIVISION I:

Kanbis Sports Club 'B' Vs. Parklands S.C Rhinos at Eastleigh Sec Sch
An amazing result saw a tie between the teams. Kanbis posted 177 All Out which was equalled by Rhino's 177 For 9 Wkts. Kanbis got most of their runs from Harish Vekaria (37) and Dharmendra Mepani (35) while it was Arun Balaram (43) and Hitesh (34) who top scored for Rhinos. Hitesh also chipped in with the ball taking 4/29 assisted by a miserly 3/14 from Rohit Vekaria. Kanbis's best bowlers were Altaf (2/39) and Vijay Jesani (2/41).

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Ngara Sports Club Vs. Swamibapa 'B' at Ngara S.C.

The hosts batted first and were reduced to 90 all out thanks to great spells from
Narendra Kanji (3/14) and Sailesh Vekaria (3/16). Top scorers for them were
Rajan Patel (17) and Kush Patel (13). Swamis looked very comfortable in reply with opener Maurice Ouma hitting an unbeaten 58, no doubt partly responsible for his return to the national team over the weekend. Kalpesh Patel (1/23) and John Mariga (1/23) both took a wicket, but after such a small total had been posted, it was always going to be Swamibapa's game and they went on to win by 6 wickets.

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Shree Cutchi Leva Youth League versus Kongonis Cricket Club 'B' at Pindolia Academy.

SCLYL batted first and were all out for 117, Paresh J Kerai (31) the only batsman to really make a mark. Alex Finlay (4/34) and Richard Collins (2/17) the main destroyers for Kongonis. In reply, a well crafted 40 from Kenyan sailing international, Christopher Childs, aided by Duncan Allen (18*) took Kongonis to a 4 wicket victory. Nishyant Premji (2/18) and Snehal Bhuva (2/29) doing most of the hard work for SCLYL.

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Premier Club versus Ruaraka Sports Club 'A' at Premier Club.

Batting first, Premier posted 129 all out, their main scorer Ketan M Patel with 31. Gopal Hirani (2/15) and Kapil Joshi (2/20) both finishing with economical figures. David Maina gave Ruaraka a big boost towards the total with 63, and despite no other batsman getting over 20, Ruaraka made it to victory with 3 wickets in hand. Alpesh Vadher (3/26) and Vijay M Patel (2/19) doing their best to keep Premier in the game.

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DIVISION II:

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Nairobi Nookers Cricket Club versus Simba Union Sports Club at Nairobi School.

Nookers batted first and posted a very commendable 279 for 9 Wkts. Both David (60) and Jerry (51) weighed in with half centuries, while the pick of the bowling for Simba Union were Vijay (4/66) and Ritin (3/37).
Union's reply was lead by a fine 56 from Nadeem, but their next best effort came from Manpreet (19) and they crumbled to 138 all out. Rajesh (4/35) and Alfred (3/20) ensuring that the good work of Nooker's batsmen was rewarded with a 141 run victory.

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Stray Lions Cricket Club 'A' versus Aga Khan 'B' at Simba Union.

Lions batted first and made 184 all out thanks to national team fringe player David Obuya (46) and Mohammed (46). Fellow Kenya team hopeful Ashiah Karia (4/30) Aha Khan's main striker aided by Mohsin Ali with 2/38. It was these two that starred in Aga Khan's reply as well with Ali just reaching an unbeaten hundred. Karia chipped in with 34, and it was enough to take Aga Khan home to a big 7 wicket win. Sai Gaurav (1/21) and Shinas Ahmed (1/37) a wicket each, but not enough for the lions.

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DIVISION III:

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Golden XI versus Oshwal XI at Highridge Pr Sch.

A low scoring match saw Golden XI bat first and struggle to 140 all out thanks to good bowling from Josephat (3/22) and Mehul (2/20). Harit (31) and Rushab (24*) the top scorers. Oshwal found the going even tougher thanks to an on fire effort from Somba (5/30) and Sanish (2/30). Top scorers were Pradeep (21) and Josephat with 20. Golden XI defended the low score to win by 18 runs, Oshwal all out for 122.

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Nbi Jaffery Sports Club 'B' versus Stray Lions 'B' at Nbi Jaffery S.C.

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Jafferys have their bowlers and Mujahid Khatau in particular to thank for a tight 2 wicket victory over Lions B. His figures of 5/8 the reason stray Lions only managed 120 all out. Qamar Abbas would normally have been top bowler with 3/15, but has to be content with the support role. Pradeep (27) and C V Rao (22) top scoring for Lions. In reply, what should have been an easy target was made to look difficult as Ashwin (3/21) and Sandeep (2/10) made the batsmen work for runs. Jafferys top scores exactly matched those of their visitors: Saqib Khan (27) and Amir Keshvani (22), in the end only the bowling making the difference.

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Parklands Sports Club - Ndovu versus Telca Cricket Club at Parklands S.C.

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Vinod (61) and Rohit Pankhania (41) lead the way with the bat for Ndovu who made a very respectable 223 All Out in their overs. Kenneth Otieno (3/45) and Ravikant (2/46) having to work hard for their wickets. In reply, Telca were aided by a celebrity appearance by Nelson Mandela who made a fine 46 to outshine the younger Otieno (26). I assume this is the scorer having some fun with a nickname...

Neel Shah (3/28) and Mansukh (2/28) and the other bowlers doing enough to ensure Ndovus stayed on top for a comfortable 59 run win.

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Ruaraka Sports Club 'B' versus Sir Ali Muslim Club 'B' at Ruaraka S.C.

I already posted the match report from this match, but a brief recap of the results: Sir Ali cruised to a massive 175 run win thanks to 115 from Abdul who followed it up with 4/7. They are looking very strong in this group and will no doubt already have one eye on Division II next season.

Robbed!!

Ok, now I am really iritated. Yes we lost, and yes Tikolo got a rotter of a decision preventing him from staying at the crease and preventing a collapse, but things like that happen in cricket and you need to move on. What has really got me ticking this morning is seeing the Man-of-the-match award go To Mortaza rather than Odoyo. To my mind, the award should go to the player whos contribution makes the biggest differenct to the match. Yes Mortaza played well, but basically performed to expectations. From 6/45, Bangladesh would have looked bloody silly if they had lost this game. One man nearly made that happen. Thomas Odoyo not only stopped the rot, but went past his personal best in an ODI, marshalling the tail and inching Kenya's total towards respectability. Then he went nuts at the end of the innings to take Kenya to a defendable target. Not finished with that, he came back to take 4 wickets for 36 and keep Kenya in the match right up until the final couple of overs. Without him, there would have been no match, there would have been a rout. Thomas Odoyo, I don't have a great big cheque, or bottle of bubbly to present you, but I'm sure I do have the support of every Kenyan fan when I name you our Man Of The Match. May the flatulence of a thousand elephants disturb the sleep of whoever decided to give the award to someone else.

Bangladesh Reply 2nd ODI

Over 46:

Mortaza takes a single off the first ball. two dot balls then a 4. Bangladesh have the series in their hands almost now. So sad. Two dot balls to end mean Kamande will have to bowl. Mortaza will be licking his lips. In fact it is Collins Obuya who is thrown to the Tigers. A no-ball hit for four gives Bangladesh a 2 wicket win and the series. We came so close and yet ended up so far away. There are lots of IFs and Buts from this match, but in the end, Bangladesh were just too good. Still, from 6/45 in the first innings, it was a great fightback, and while I mourn the loss, spare a thought for Thomas Odoyo. What a great effort from him. We have lost the series, but today was no disgrace and should give the team the confidence that they can win the final game on Wednesday.

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Over 45:

Almost the last throw of the dice for Kenya. Ongondo delivers three dot balls, but we need wickets. Mortaza takes a single off the 4th. Ongondo has 2 to get rid of Razzak. No joy, he is able to keep them out. Tikolo will now have an over, but then must bowl Kamande. Bangladesh almost there. So very disappointing.

10 required off 30 balls.

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Over 44:

Odoyo would like another over, but has had ten. Odhiambo comes back for his last instead. Not a good one for us. 2,1,1,4 from the first 4 balls despite a decent line and length. Another 4 from the 5th and Mortaza seems to have almost taken this away from Kenya. 13 runs from the over leave the Tigers only needing 11 more to win. Where are those last 2 wickets coming from?

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Over 43:

Tikolo going for broke brings in Ongondo. Kenya must get 2 wickets if we are to pull off this upset. Ongondo is all over Razzak getting him to swipe, then beating him all ends up. Edge off the last ball, but doesn't carry to slip. SO frustrating.

1 off the over. 8/167. Bangladesh need a further 24 off 42. Kenya really need the last 2 wickets.

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Over 42:

Tikolo tosses the ball to Thomas Odoyo. Nairobi holds its breath. He starts the over with a god line and the first three balls are dots. Then there is the familiar no-ball. We need that wicket. Instead Mortaza crashes a 4. Things are slipping away again. Odoyo finishes his 10 overs with 4/36, a fine effort in itself, even better when put next to his great effort with the bat (a personal record by the way). Bangladesh doing thier best to spoil the party though.

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Over 41:

Tikolo starts well, but after a couple of singles, Razzak belts it back over his head for a six. Not good for Kenya. We need Odoyo to come back and get one more wicket...

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Over 40:

Jimmy Kamande into the attack and bowls a loosener Kenya can ill afford conceding a boundary. Follows up with a full toss, but luckily Mortaza can't capitalise. He does get an outside edge off the third ball that flies past the keeper for another 4. Not good. Maybe Tikolo needs to bring on the strike bowlers and try for the final two wickets. Two singles give 10 off the over. Really not what Kenya needed.

8/146. 39 needed off 60 balls. Given that Tikolo will take 5 of the remainng overs and Ongondo, Odoyo and Odhiambo have 4 between them we need one more from Kamande. Maybe we need to gamble that we can bowl them out before we take this risk.

Over 39:

Tikolo continues to wieve his miserly spells. Only 2 runs off the over, and again the run rate needed creeps up. It is still achievable, but with only 2 wickets left, the pressure is well and truly on.

8/136. 49 needed from 11 at 4.25 Still very tight.

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Over 38:

Ababu to bowl his last over. A cuple of singles and a big swing and miss from Mortaza. It looks at first as though Ababu is going to end his effort wicketless, but no. Last ball of his 10 overs, he gets the reward he so richly deserves. A big wicket too as it is Khalid Mashud who makes his forlorn way back to the dressing room after trying to hook a short one. It goes miles into the air, but Modi has safe hands below and Kenya move that one step closer. A fitting end to Ababu's bowling. He finishes with 1/43 including a maiden off his ten. On a more fortunate night, it could have been 4-for.

8/134. Runs required: 4.25 per over.

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Over 37:

Tikolo continues. Worked away for two singles off the first two balls. Only one more off the over though, another one that keeps the run rate edging up. Kenya still need that 8th wicket to really keep on the pressure.

7/132. RRR: 4.07

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Over 36:

Ababu back for his 9th. Tikolo trying to use him up here I think leaving Odhiambo and Odoyo an over each for later if they need. Ongondo still has two left.

Ababu gets a dot ball, then Bangladesh work two singles. Another two dots and a single to finish. No boundaries means the pressure is maintained.

7/129 and for the first time, the required run rate reaches 4.

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Over 35:

Tikolo now into the attack. Great start by him mixing it up and using everything he knows to get past the batsman. Mortaza survives, but the pressure builds with another maiden.

Run rate required now 3.93

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Over 34:

Odoyo into his 9th. Has Mortaza in trouble, but again off a no-ball. Mortaza gets the 4th ball away for a single. Every run a battle for both sides now. Kenya desperately trying for that next wicket. Only the 2 from the over, Bangladesh 7/126 need another 59 runs. Odoyo has one over remaining, can he get that elusive 5 for he so deserves?

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Over 33:

Ongondo maintains his line and length. Mortaza more interested in keeping the ball out than scoring. Ongondo unlucky to concede an inside edge off the last ball. could easily have ben a wicket. Only 1 from the over, great support bowling to Odoyo.

7/124. Run rate required: 3.58

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Over 32:

ODOYO! ODOYO! ODOYO! Anyone in Nairobi not chanting that at the moment is a baboon. He's back in the attack and has taken another wicket with his third ball. Rafique out for a duck LBW to one that stays low. What a man, what a match!

Mortaza gets two off his first delivery courtesy of a fumble in the field, then a single to put Mashud on strike. Odoyo finishes the over with a dot ball.

7/123. Required run rate: 3.44

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Over 31:

Ongondo back in to replace Ababu. Good start, with 3 dot balls. Peter getting good length and a nice angle back towards the stumps. Obuya needs to be on his toes behind the wicket, the ball is really starting to vary in how much carry there is. Ongondo completes a maiden. Great bowling from him, but he would no doubt swap it for a couple of runs and a wicket.

Still 6/120.

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I lost an over back at over 23, so the last one should have been over number 30. Pole sana! Carried away by the excitement of it all.

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Over 29:

Odhiambo into his 9th over. Three dot balls to Mashud, then a single brings Mohammad Rafique on strike. No further runs. Odhiambo keeping the lenght well

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Over 28:

Incredibly tense stuff. That was a vital wicket for Kenya as Ahmed had really steped up his run rate. Kenya now have 2 batsmen at the crease who are yet to score.

Ababu continues. Two dot balls continue to frustrate Mashud, then the third finds the centre of the bat and beats a diving Hitesh Modi at mid on for 4. I'd like to see Tikolo in to the attack at this end to keep the lid on with Odhiambo, Ongondo and Odoyo rotated at the other end to go after the wickets. Mashud follows up with another drive, this time for 3. 7 off the over.

6/119. Require 3.14 off the remaining 21 overs.

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Over 27:

Odhiambo doing battle with Ahmed. Dot ball to start, but the second goes for 4 through covers. Odhiambo responds with 2 more dot balls. Ahmed keeps finding the fielders. YEEEEES GOTTIM!!!

Ahmed tries to pull a short pitched delivery straight at Tikolo who is fieldeing at square leg. This time the captainholds on and Kenya have their 6th, Odhiambo his second. C'MON!

6/112

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Over 26:

Two dot balls, then another contraversial decision. A wide ball by Ababu is followed and there seems to be a noise. Umpire gives a wide. Would like to see what snikometer would have made of that. Ababu can rightly feel to be very unlucky this spell - he should by rights be 3 for. Ahmed then gets a single, but Ababu prevents Mashud from geting off the blocks. He is runless now from 17 balls faced. Good effort from Kenya - just need to capitalise with his wicket now.

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Over 25:

Odhiambo lokking for that elusive second wicket. Run rate not a factor anymore, Kenya have to take wickets if they are to win this match. Great bowling from Odhiambo should have got him a maiden, but spilt by a wide. Again, Mishra at cover doing fantastically well with a sliding stop.

5/106. Require 3.25 an over

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Over 24:

Ababu continues, starting with two dot balls. Ahmed then plays a wonderful shot over long on off the next ball for 6 - what a way to bring up Bangladesh's 100. He follows it up with a four two balls later. Nuts. After all that good work too. Kenya need his wicket really badly. Ababu will be unhappy with that over - 10 from it and Ahmed has really stepped up a gear.

5/105

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Over 23:

Odhiambo back into the attack as Odoyo takes a well earned rest. Not a good start, flicked for 4 by Aftab Ahmed off the first ball. Two dot balls follow, then 3 more from Ahmed. Kenya need to get his wicket as he is now looking to get stuck in after a slow start. Odhiambo finishes well to Mashud for two dot balls, but 7 is an expensive over in this context.

5/95

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Over 23:

Maiden from Ababu. Great bowling to the new batsman, beats him at least twice, but again unlucky not to get the result. Riveting stuff in Nairobi.

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Over 22:

Odoyo continues, searching for that vital wicket that will get us into the tail. Some good fielding again by Mishra - nice to see that. Only 2 runs off the 5th ball of the over. Ababu gets to have a crack at the new batsman who is yet to face a ball.

5/88

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Over 21:

A good recovery from Ababu, only one run off the last ball. A good line and lenght maintained, this is a great foil for Odoyo steaming in at the other end. Well bowled.

Bangladesh 5/86

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Over 20:

Thomas Odoyo charges in trying to remove Reza who is looking troublesome. He is already on 15 and Kenya need to get his wicket before he really gets set. Thomas Odoyo is really doing his best for Kenya this match. Again, there is the no-ball, but he more than makes up for it with his third wicket of the day. Again, it is an important one, Reza frustrated by the 5 dot balls drives through covers. It looked like a four all the way, but Mishra diving down takes an absolute blinder. YOUUUU BEEAUUTY!!!!!

Bangladesh 5/85. 100 runs exactly required at 3.33, but now only 5 wickets in hand. Tense stuff indeed. Khaled Mashud the new man for Bangladesh.

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Over 19:

Ababu deserves a wicket. Induces the edge first ball, but it fails to carry to gully. Great effort to try for the catch, but too short. Batsmen take the run. More sloppy fielding results in another run. Not surprisingly, Kennedy Obuya is furious. Harper is going to need to have words with a coupld of the boys about keeping up the intensity out there. Fifth ball of the over is a real pie - short and down leg. Reza accepts the offering and takes the boundary. 7 off Ababu's over, maybe time for Tikolo to take over from him for a spell and put the squeezers on.

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Over 18:

Odoyo steaming in looking for that 3rd wicket. Another no ball midway through the over is compounded by a dopey fielding effort at square leg. Harper will be furious about that. Including the no-ball, only three off the over.

4/77.

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Over 17:

Ababu desperately unlucky not to get a wicket. Reza, the new batsman gets an edge, but Obuya standing up is not able to get glove to it properly and it runs away for four. Reza adds insult to injury by getting a second 4 off the last ball of the over. A big over for Bangladesh.

4/74 and starting to slip away again. Finely balanced match. Kenya still needing that next wicket to keep a lid on things.

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Over 16:

Again, a good start with 2 dot balls ruined by a no-ball. The batsman also scores a run off this. Wasteful. Odoyo comes back superbly to take another wicket off the last ball of the over. Again, it is Kennedy Obuya who takes an excellent catch after Ahmed has skied one outside off. Great work by the keeper, and certainly something for the selectors to consider when looking at his position in the team. He may be struggling for form with the bat, but he is doing great work with the gloves. A massive wicket for Kenya removing a potentially very dangerous player. We are definitely in this match now so long as we can keep the pressure on.

Bangladesh still marginally favoured at 4/65, but they must be feeling the jitters, and Odoyo will certainly have his tail up at the moment.

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Over 15:

Josephat Ababu comes into the attack. With each of the other bowlers already with a wicket to their names, Kenya need Ababu to follow suit. Not a bad start by him only conceding 2 runs. Interesting to see Obuya up for Asraful.

Bangladesh 3/62. Require 3.51 an over. Kenya have done well so far to keep this from falling too far since the start of the innings.

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Over 14:

Odoyo comes back into the attack, and his first ball is given the treatment, Hasan cutting away for 4. Odoyo responds with two dot balls, then Hasan glances fine for 2. Odoyo gets the last laugh though as Hasan edges it through for Kennedy Obuya to take the catch. Kenya refusing to give up, and the third wicket will put Bangladesh under pressure. Obuya may have had an ordinary time with the bat recently, but that was a great catch. A big wicket for Kenya as Hasan was beginning to look as though he was going to take the match away from us. A definite hope now. Bangladesh 3/56. Mohamed Asraful however comes to the crease and belts his first ball for 4. Not a good sign.

Bangladesh 3/60, run rate required 3.47

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Over 13:

Was a bad over for Kenya in the first innings and is again this time. Odhiambo goes for 2, then a four and is also warned about his follow through. Maybe time to bring on a change of bowler. 7 off the over all up leaving Bangladesh on 2/50

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Over 12:

Good bowling by Peter Ongondo. Three dot balls draw the shot on the fourth and he gets an easy carry to slip where the normally dependable Tikolo puts down a sitter. Not good. The sixth ball beats Ahmed and hits the pads, but again a no-ball. This is an area we really need to work on in the nets. Free runs in a tight run chase are going to cost us big time. A shame as otherwise this would have been a maiden over. Should have been a wicket maiden. I only hope Ahmed doesn'r make us pay.

2/43. Required run rate 3.73

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Over 11:

Kenya take the second power play.

Odhiambo is missed by ahmed off the first delivery, but they take a leg bye. His third is short and wide and justifiably punished. Nafees capitalising on maybe a lack of experience to get 4. Another wicket really badly needed by Kenya, and two balls later, Odhiambo gets his first as onother wide delivery is edged to Collins Obuya who takes his second catch. This time, it is a good one above his head. Kenya fighting back and desperately trying to make a match of this.

2/42. Run rate required 3.66

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Over 10:

Two nice balls from Peter to start the over. Aftab beats himself on the third ball, but gets off strike with a single from the fourth. Again only 1 from the over, good pressure from Kenya.

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Over 9:

A much better effort from Odhiambo, only 1 run off the third ball of the over, otherwise dot balls.

1/36

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Over 8:

Two dot balls to start the over, though Nafees got bat on both. Two singles follow, the second cut off by a diving gully, but the fielder unable to gather. Harper will no doubt have done some serious work on the Kenyan fielding. It has always been a strong point for both him and Kenya, so should be able to keep it tight. Nafees takes a four off the last ball of the over. Six from it, Bangladesh beginning to look dangerous.

1/35, run rate required down to 3.57

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Over 7:

Odhiambo again giving away extras. He needs to learn to tighten up his line in situations where we are defending small totals. Comes back well with a couple that beat the batsman though. Nafees gets a run off the fourth legal ball. Ahmed gets the first boundary of the Bangladesh innings with a great drive off the fifth ball, and Odhiambo gives away yet another wide. Extras are going to outscore Odoyo at this rate!

Bangladesh 1/29. 9 off that over undoes a lot of the good work so far. Kenya need to tighten up on those extras. Bangladesh have already faced at least one and a half, if not two extra overs.

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Over 6:

A dot ball, then the breakthrough that Kenya so badly need courtesy of none other than Peter Ongondo. Saleh cuts at one slightly on the short side and Collins Obuya takes the catch on the second attempt. You Beauty! Aftab Ahmed the new man in gets his second ball away for a single. Bangladesh rotate the strike, then Ongondo oversteps with what should have been the last ball. Finishes with a dot. Bangladesh 1/20, run rate required 3.75. A good over from Kenya's point of view, now they need to build on that success and keep the pressure on.

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Over 5:

Nehemiah Odhiambo early into the attack. Odoyo maybe feeling the effects of his effort with the bat. Not a good start by the youngster - 3 wides before a legal ball is bowled in the over. He will need to do better than that. He does better with the next two balls, the second not far off the stumps either. Third ball strays onto the pads and Nafees gets 2. Well finished in the end the over, no further runs comng from it. Bangladesh on target at the moment on 0/17. Need only 3.73 an over to take them home. Kenya need to keep that rate down and take wickets as well.

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Over 4:

Only a single and a wide from Peter Ongondo. Again, nearly tempted Saleh into an edge off hte last ball. Some encouraging signs for the bowlers with the new ball. Watchful play by Bangladesh.

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Over 3:

A better one from Odoyo, anly 2 off it, and unlucky not to get an edge off a play and miss. Bangladesh end on 0/10 still looking comfortable.

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Over 2:

Ongondo opens at the other end. Again, a bye a single and a 2 give Bangladesh 4 off the over. A solid start from them. An early wicket really needed by the hosts.

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Odoyo opens the bowling for Kenya. Two no-balls to start is not really what Kenya require. Only two singles off the legal ball though, but this match is going to be about wickets for Kenya.

Bangladesh end the first over 0/4