THE KENYAN CRICKET TEAM
The Kenyan cricket team is the national cricket team of Kenya. The team are considered as the number one non-Test cricketing nation. They proved their skills by surprisingly proceeding up to the semi-final in the 2003 Cricket World Cup, which led for calls to grant Kenya Test status.
History
Kenya’s entry into international cricket came as part of the East African cricket team, a combined team representing Kenya in addition to Uganda and Tanzania. That team gained associate membership of the ICC in 1996. The Kenyan team did play the occasional game outside of that combination, including a drawn game against India in 1967. Kenya played their first first-class game in 1986, losing against Pakistan B. Their second first class game would be twelve years away, but in the interim, their cricket came on in leaps and bounds.
Performance
The team has been boosted over recent years with the batting of Steve Tikolo and Mourice Odumbe with the backup of other batsmen and bowlers, including spin bowler Aasif Karim, who holds the distinction of having captained his country both in international cricket and Davis Cup tennis. Their other famous upset was against West Indies during the 1996 Cricket World Cup.
Since the 2003 World Cup, Kenya’s progress towards eventual test status has been hampered by, among other factors, a lack of fixtures against the more established teams. Kenya went for a span of almost 18 months without playing an ODI after September 2004.
In February 2006, Kenya played an ODI series against Zimbabwe and did well to draw the series 2-2. It can be seen that the Kenyan Cricket Team’s recent performances have been of mixed fortunes. Kenya now need to play more matches in preparation for the 2007 World Cup.
Chances in the 2007 World Cup
After the 2003 World Cup, Kenyan cricket was plunged into a dark phase of controversies that seemed never ending. With match fixing allegations, payment disputes with senior players and striking, cricket suffered, however in 2005 the issue was resolved and with a new management at the helm of affairs, Kenya began their cricketing endeavors on a fresh note.
The team played a few matches and that made for some good preparation for the World Cup. They have to improve upon a lot if they wish to leave any impression in 2007 world cup. It might be a good exposure for the future of Kenyan cricket. They may play some good matches with their equals. However the Kenyan Team’s Chances in the 2007 World Cup seem bleak as the team is now left without a lot of their senior players who have either retired or been banned.