Year in Review: Is Kenya making right strides in rebuilding cricket?
Kenya's batsman Irfan Karim (left) bats under pressure from Nepal's Wicketkeeper Aarif Sheikh during their first of the five International Twenty20 Cricket match at Nairobi Gymkhana ground on August 25, 2022.
What you need to know:
- Coach Obuya fears lack of contracts may affect preparations for final round of 2024 ICC T20 World Cup qualifiers
- Launch of Kenya Women’s National Cricket 35 Overs League, and Division One League in July among the bright spots in dull year
From a high of playing in five editions of the International Cricket Council (ICC) World Cup from 1996 to 2011, Kenya men’s cricket team has fallen down the pecking order.
The country became an associate member of the ICC in 1981, and was awarded the One Day International (ODI) status in 1996, a prestigious standing the country kept for 18 years till 2014.
Kenya's batsman Irfan Karim (left) bats under pressure from Nepal's Wicketkeeper Aarif Sheikh during their first of the five International Twenty20 Cricket match at Nairobi Gymkhana ground on August 25, 2022.
From a high of qualifying for the semi-finals of the 2003 Cricket World Cup in South Africa, Kenya currently plays in the lowly ICC Cricket World Cup Challenge League. It is proving a tedious journey as Kenya seeks to regain its old glory in all formats of the game.
The ending year has been a busy one for the men’s cricket team, which last month triumphed in the Sub-Regional Africa ‘A’ qualifiers of the 2024 ICC Men’s T20 World Cup. Kigali hosted the qualifiers. Kenya also hosted Nepal for bilateral series.
Kenya’s triumph in Kigali saw coach David Obuya’s side reach the final round of the qualifiers, the World Cup Africa Regional Qualifiers, to be held later next year in Namibia.
Kenya won the Africa Division Two Qualifiers for the 2024 ICC Under-19 Men’s Cricket World Cup, which were held in Abuja, to storm the final round of the qualifiers, which will also be held in Namibia in March.
But there was little activity for the national women’s cricket team, which is lagging behind in revival of the game.
Kenyan women only competed in two events; the just-concluded Kenya Quadrangular Women’s T20 Series at Nairobi Gymkhana, and the 2022 Kwibuka Women’s T20 Tournament held in Rwanda in June.
Kenya Batter Sharon Juma trains at Nairobi Gymkhana on December 12, 2022 on the eve of Africa Women's T20 Quadrangular Cricket tournament to be held at Nairobi Gymkhana.
In the World Cup Sub-Regional ‘A’ qualifiers for the 2024 ICC Men’s T20 World Cup, Kenya was on fire, finishing the competition unbeaten. They bagged maximum points in five matches, and drew two due to rain that forced abandonment of the fixtures.
Kenya came up against Malawi, Botswana, Saint Helena, Lesotho, Seychelles and Mali in the competition.
Runners-up Rwanda also qualified for the World Cup Africa Regional Qualifiers alongside hosts Namibia, Uganda, Zimbabwe, Tanzania and Nigeria.
The top two teams at the end of the continental showpiece will qualify for the 2024 ICC Men’s T20 World Cup, to be co-hosted by West Indies and the United States in June.
Players contracts
Coach Obuya fears that lack of player contracts could affect their preparations for the final round of the World Cup qualifiers.
“It will be difficult to have a full squad in training if the players are not contracted. They can only train twice a week because they are engaged elsewhere at work,” the coach said. The players are expected to be contracted once ICC release funds to Cricket Kenya.
Against Nepal in the bilateral series which brought a lot of excitement in local cricket since Kenya had not hosted an international match in almost a decade, coach Obuya sought to improve Kenya’s ranking in the ICC T20 Men’s standing.
But Nepal, coached by former Indian cricketer Manoj Prabhakar, showed why they are ranked 16th globally and 13 places above Kenya by winning the series 3-2 to lift the T20 title. The tourists also dominated the ODI series, thrashing Kenya 3-0.
Obuya blamed his side’s loss on the early collapse of his team’s top-order batting. Prabhakar was of the opinion that Kenya lost due to poor bowling.
“The main thing (for Kenya to work on) is the bowling. The medium pace bowlers are not very well matured. They are not at the level which can win matches for their country. They also need to improve on the line, length and pace,” said Manoj then.
Cricket Umpire Lydia Kaparo demonstrates four runs score in a cricket match between Kenya and Nepal on August 30, 2022 at Nairobi Gymkhana.
Before playing Nepal, Kenya played in ICC Men’s Cricket World Cup Challenge League ‘B’ fixtures in Jersey, finishing joint second with Uganda and Hong Kong on 12 points. Jersey triumphed with 18 points.
In September, Obuya’s men competed in the Africa Cricket Association (ACA) T20 Cup in Johannesburg, crashing out at the semi-final stage after losing by three wickets (DLS method) to Uganda.
Uganda beat Tanzania by eight wickets in the final to win the title.
Kenyan juniors won the Africa Division Two Qualifiers for 2024 ICC Under-19 Men’s Cricket World Cup unbeaten.
Kenya U-19 players Manav Devani (left) and Vaibhav Naresh training at Nairobi Sikh Union on September 23, 2022.
They trounced Nigeria by 11 runs in the final held on October 8 in Abuja. Kenya, runners-up Nigeria and third-placed Sierra Leone all made it to the last stage of the qualifiers where Uganda, Tanzania and Namibia are waiting. Only the overall winner of the tournament will qualify for the global championships.
Kenya women’s team, coached by Francis Otieno, lost by 44 runs to Tanzania in the final of the 2022 Kwibuka Women’s T20 Tournament.
At the Kenya Quadrangular Women’s T20 Series, Kenya lost by six wickets to Uganda in the final while Tanzania defeated Qatar by 28 runs in the third place play-off match. Pearlyne Omamo, the Director Women’s cricket at Cricket Kenya, said that the tournament that was sponsored by gaming firm Dafabet will be held annually.
On the local scene, it was a new dawn for women’s cricket following the launch of the inaugural Kenya Women’s National Cricket 35 Overs League and Division One League in July.
Kenya's all rounder Lucas Oluoch (left) bowls against Nepal monitored by Umpire Charles Kariuki during their first of the five International Twenty20 Cricket match at Nairobi Gymkhana ground on August 25, 2022.
Four teams namely; Lenana Twigas, Nelion Kobokos, Batian Farasis and Savanna Simbas - competed in the top flight league dubbed Emily Ruto Cup in honour of former Kenya captain Emily Ruto who succumbed to Leukemia in 2014. Sharks, Dolphins, Whales and Turtles competed in the Division One.
Several local tournaments also took place, the highlight being the Swaminarayan Pro20 tournament, which was graced by several foreign cricket players.
The foreign players included former Test players; Dwayne Smith (West India), Owais Shah (England), Kevin O’brien (Ireland), Richard Levi (South Africa), Thisara Perera (Sri Lanka) and Elton Chigumbura (Zimbabwe).
Mafuko Mavericks players celebrate with the trophy after beating Mahadev Strikers in the final match of the Swaminarayan Pro20 tournament at the Shree Cutchi Leva Patel ground in Nairobi on November 12, 2022.
The tournament, which attracted six franchise teams, was held at night at the Shree Cutchi Leva Samaj grounds. Funds from the tournament were used to fund surgery for at least 200 needy patients in Nairobi.
Mafuko Mavericks beat Mahadev Strikers by 38 runs in the final to emerge champions.
The Nairobi Provincial Cricket Association 50-Overs Super League was also held with only nine teams competing in the 2022 edition. Ngara Sports Club is the side that missed this year’s competition. The league is yet to conclude.
Purple Dot Ndovus' Owais Shah plays a delivery pressurised by Mafuko Mavericks wicketkeeper Irfan Karim during their Swaminarayan Pro T20 Tournament match at Shree Cutchi Leva Samal Patel Cricket Ground on October 30, 2022. Mafuko won by 17 runs.
The introduction of Kenya Twenty20 Premier League (KPL) from February 6 promises to give players more opportunities in the game.
CK announced in October that it had struck a deal with Absolute Sports Agency Private Limited (ASAPL) of India to hold the tournament for the next five years at Nairobi Gymkhana Club.
It will comprise six franchise teams with foreign players also taking part. The tournament will be held in a round robin format, with the top four teams progressing to the semi-finals stage, thereafter final.
In total, 33 matches will be played and televised live. The national women’s cricket team is also expected to be busier since several tournaments are lined up for them.
