A different game

There is a preview of Kenya A's Logan Cup campaign now up on cricket Europe. No more needs to be said here except to repeat the point I made about Cricket Kenya having to set up a local tournament to give our own players experience at the longer version of the game. I know it is something they are working on, and that there are difficulties. However, that is what they are in office to overcome and we need to see at least some dates soon.
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In the mean time, all the best to the boys for their tour to Zim. Here's hoping it is successful both in terms of results, but more importantly in terms of helping the players improve their games. That is after all what this tour is all about from a Kenyan perspective.
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I will do my best to keep up to date with the scores on cricketEurope Kenya, but zimcricketnews is also a good place to check for scores from the tournament.

A poor way to lose

Again, there is a match report on CricketEurope Kenya, so I won't repeat myself (scorecard), but there are some areas that were of real concern for Kenya in the loss to New Zealand.
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Some of these were things that are to be expected when an Associate team plays a Full member, but there were several where we were our own worst enemy. For Kenya to beat a Test team, we need them to play below themselves and we need to play above ourselves. Unfortunately, against New Zealand, the opposite happened. The Kiwis were on fire and we were ordinary.
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In the fielding, a discipline that Kenya are normally strong in, there was a definite slackness. Several misfields allowed extra runs to be taken and catches were put down as well. True, they were not all easy, but in international cricket if a player gets his hand to a ball in the air, it is deemed a chance. The adage 'catches win matches' did not spring up for no reason and had they been held, New Zealand would have scored considerably less runs.
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Our bowlers, who had been so sharp and accurate against Canada, found it difficult to keep to a line and length that troubled the opposition. Thomas Odoyo is perhaps the exception here, especially his first spell which had the opposition openers in no small trouble. On the whole though, New Zealand's job was made easier by bowling that strayed off the line and often pitched too short allowing the big pull shots. New Zealand hit 12 sixes of which at least half would not have been possible had the bowling been a fuller length. Bowling short to Test quality batsmen who are used to facing real express bowlers is asking for trouble. Kenya's strengths in bowling are the accuracy of our bowlers, not our speed and we need to play to those strengths. If we can get it right, and we showed we can against Canada and if the fielders back it up as again we have seen them do before, there is no reason we cannot frustrate the opposition into mistakes.
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Extras are another thing we have to cut out. The bowler's must keep their front foot behind the line and have to refrain from sprays down leg. Ouma behind the stumps also needs to brush up on his glove work, but to be fair, should not have to expect the ball in that area. 26 wides and no balls is simply way too many against any side, and a Full member is going to tear you apart if you give them that many free runs. Not to mention the extra balls new Zealand got to face.
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Batting also was a worry. Not so much how we handled the extra pace - that is something only experience can help with, but how we ran between the wickets and gave them away. Maurice Ouma's stroll down the wicket for an easy single was plain and simply, lazy cricket. From a school level one of the things a cricketer is taught is to run the first single hard. It doesn't matter if there seems to be plenty of time or not. Firstly, there is always the possibility of a second if there is a fumble, but more importantly, while you are out of your crease, you are in danger. At international level, there are so many top fielder who can throw down the stumps from almost anywhere on the park, it is criminal to give them that chance unless it is in the dying overs and quick singles are at a premium.
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Collins Obuya's run out was again poor cricket. Running as a pair requires communication and calling between the batsmen. This did not happen, and a partnership that looked as though it could be quite fruitful came to a needless end. Lameck Onyango was found guilty by the same method as Ouma, and several others were nearly caught out this way as well. At the top level, batsmen need to be as sharp as the fielder, otherwise they will be run out. Chasing a large total against better bowling was always going to be hard. Losing unnecessary wickets made it an impossibility. This must be sorted out before Saturday and England.
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Tirade over, there were some bright spots. Odoyo bowled well for the most part and should be congratulated on his 100th ODI wicket. He is now the first player outside the Test teams to have 100 wickets and 1500 runs. Tanmay Mishra fielded well as usual. He did drop the one catch, but it would have been a blinder had he held it, and on the whole looked sharp. Collins Obuya's attitude both fielding and batting was aggressive and we need that if we are to cause an upset. Ravindu shah rode his kuck a bit, but that is what cricket is about, and he played some fantastic shots for his second highest score in ODIs - he also passed the mini-milestone of 1500 runs. If the rest of the batsmen can build around him, there is the possibility of a decent score against any team.
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all in all, it was a disappointing performance, but as Steve Tikolo himself acknowledges, the team know they can do better. Do they have a chance of an upset against England? It depends which Kenya turn up on the day. If it is the team that played Canada, I believe we could give anyone trouble. If it the team that played New Zealand, we would struggle against the Associates even. Let's hope the yips are out of the way and it the team play to their potential.

Engel, Ponting, Holding: Read it and weep

To the above mentioned and all other Doubting Thomas' who believed that there is no place for the 'minnows' at the World Cup 17th March 2007 will be a difficult day to come to terms with. Not only have two nations outside the supposedly impregnable fortress that is the "Top 8" proved that they can mix it with the best, they have comprehensively beaten them.
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First Bangladesh beat India by 5 wickets, then the Irish proved that dreams can come true and gave their fans a real St. Patrick's day present by booting Pakistan out of the competition. Does anyone anywhere need any more proof that expanding the game is a worthwhile cause? Can anyone still say that the lower ranked teams do not deserve to be at the World Cup?
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What a great day for cricket this is. To Ireland and Bangladesh: Congratulations, you have just raised the hopes of all players everywhere in the World outside the Test nations that with the right commitment, training and a bit of luck, any team can become good enough to not just play in a World Cup, but compete against the best there too.
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To Matthew Engel, Michael Holding and Ricky Ponting (despite changing his tune just recently) and all the other idiots who said that the Associates do not deserve their status and places at the World Cup. To all those who have made derogatory comments about the standard of Associate cricket, who have made cheap jibes without doing their research. To all the disbelievers and stuffy traditionalists who would keep the game away from the rest of the World: Congratulations to you too. You are now the new joint holders of the Mbuni Award - so much EGG ON FACE, can only come from the biggest bird there is. Lap it up boys, lap it up! And while you are doing so get used to our presence. The Associates are here to stay!

A good way to win

Kenya got their world Cup capaign off to the perfect start yesterday beating Canada by 7 wickets at Goss Islet in St. Lucia. I wrote a full match report on CricketEurope Kenya, so won't repeat myself here, but will concentrate on what the performance means to Kenya.

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Firstly, what a great performance by the team. It was not the fact that they won, but the way in which they won. There may have been some concern over the lack of penetration from the opening bowlers, and they will no doubt face a stiffer test against the Kiwis and Poms, but they bowled well on the whole and did not let Canada get away in the early overs. Nehemiah Odiambo got the treatment, expecially in his second over from Geoff Barnett, and it will be interesting to see how Harper responds in terms of the third seamer for the match against New Zealand. He could either bring in Onyango or Bhudia or give Odhiambo a chance to redeem himself. It is a difficult decision as aside from the bowling, Odhiambo gives the option of a pinch hitter as well.

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By far the most outstanding performance came from the spinners. Tikolo and Kamande both took two wickets to Varaiya's one, but it was the latter's economy rate that really made the difference as soon as he came on. Kamande provided fantastic support, and it was really these two that took the match away from the Canadians. With Tikolo as the third spinner, Kenya are looking good in the middle overs, especially if Varaiya is able to come on and bowl during the third powerplay as he did yesterday. It means that Tikolo has the option of only using the third seamer sparingly, or protecting him as was the case with Odhiambo. It might not be a combination that works so well against the Test sides, or on other pitches, but witht the St. Lucia pitch giving assistance to the spinners, it looks like a potent weapon for the moment.

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My only real concern with the bowlers, other than the third seamer, is with the closing overs. Peter Ongondo tried to find the yorker without success and Odoyo bowled a good line, but while Canada were not able to capitalise, New Zealand and England are likely to be a very different story.

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Fielding wise, Kenya looked like a polished unit. They were alert in the circle and quick enough to prevent singles. Only one catrch was put down, and Ongondo redeemed himself for that before too much damage had been done. In the outfield, the Kenyans were quick across the ground and threw themselves around to stop boundaries. Three players stood out for their efforts. Tanmay Mishra looked World Class wherever he was put, but it was his catch on the ropes to dismiss Barnett that was particularly special. Had he got it wrong, he would have given away a six, but he positioned himself perfectly, checked his position with respect to the rope, steadied, then took the catch cleanly high up. Fantastic stuff. The other two were Kamande and Varaiya off their own bowling. When a bowler covers a few yards either side of the wicket well, it gives the skipper less space to worry about in terms of placing fielders. Both did this well, and the rewards were obvious. If Kenya can field like this in the remaining matches, they will at the least win plenty of respect.

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Batting wise, it was a clinical effort for the most part. David Obuya looked troubled by Cummins, eho eventually removed him, and it is a concern how he will fare against the likes of Bond. Maurice Ouma however shoed a touch of class in making his fifty and aside from the hoick that got him out played sensibly. Hopefully a sign of things to come.

Shah looked out of sorts, but is a classy enough player to find form again quickly. He will need to do so befoer we face New Zealand as he is a crucial part of the line up. Tikolo and Mishra did just what was neccessary, though both showed that had they needed, they could have stepped it up a notch. Tikolo's consecutive fours to bring up his half century were sublime and he showed again what a class act he is. Mishra responds well batting with his captain and once again provided a significant contribution to a Kenyan win.

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All in all, this was a very professional effort from Kenya, and one they should be proud of. Sterner tests lie ahead, but if they play like they did yesterday, they will give any opposition a run for their money. If everything goes right, they could well even cause an upset, and it only needs one now to get them through to the next round. Here's hoping...

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.