Posts filed under 'Cricket'
It is not losing to New Zealand that is hard to take, they are a top side, it is the manner in which we lost. To lose by 148 runs is hard to take. We bowled adequately but there was no real threat there and we looked half hearted in the field. You can’t give away 29 extras including 21 wides when you are playing a better team and expect to remain competitive.
After winning the World Cricket League Division 1 championship in Nairobi last month, the Kenyan cricketers were quoted saying they had won “their world cup” implying that the real world cup is just gravy. Perhaps this subconsciously affected their play. There was a lack of intensity amongst our play. Intensity in sport is learnt. It comes from playing regular and competitive 1st class games.
The ICC need to get their act together and schedule more regular matches between the test nations and association nations. The current format of meeting every two years in a tournament is bogus for the development of the game.
Talking with some friends on Saturday we were debating what tactics Kenya should employ if they found themselves having to chase 300+ runs for a win. We all agreed; forget batting “within yourselves” and taking the chances that fall your way. You need madness and in cricket that means you need to get into Twenty20 mode from the get go. The purists of the game will probably choke on that, but you watch the South African domestic Twenty20 cricket championship and it quickly becomes clear how they were able to chase down Australia in March last year in the greatest One Day International ever played. Australia made 434 the highest score ever made in a one day international by a distance. Then the South African batsmen came to the crease with a Twenty20 on steroids attitude and chased down the total making 439. That’s what Kenya should have done. It you’re going down, go down in blaze of glory! Kidogo madness!
I still think we can beat England with or without their redemption song flowing in their ears. If they bat first and post a huge total, I hope our batsmen come out looking like madmen on a mission! If the rain comes we are screwed, that 148 runs loss has messed up our run average. On the bright side though, winning the World Cricket League Division 1 championship meant we qualified for the inaugural Twenty20 World Cup to be held in South Africa later this year, we’ll be sure to pick up some tricks!
[MsK stop watching cricket – you see what you did!]
Tags: 
cricket | 
cricket world cup | 
cwc2007
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Wednesday, March 21st, 2007 at 11:48 AM
First of all watching the TV shots of the crowds at the games it is clear that I am currently a few hundred miles from where I should be. I wish Kenyan women would take a leaf from their West Indian counterparts and come bask with me in the sun. No wonder cricket is increasingly becoming popular around these parts.
As shown below, Kamande has the best wicket celebration of any bowler at this world cup.
Saturday was a brilliant day at the Cricket World Cup with the revenge of the minnows, Bangladesh beating India and even more spectacular, Ireland beating Pakistan, and on St. Patrick’s weekend too.
The African teams have had mixed results with, Kenya and South Africa easily winning their opening games. Zimbabwe drew with Ireland and lost to the West Indies leaving them with a must win game against Pakistan.
It looks like in every major tournament Kenya suffers some serious bad timing. In the middle of 1999 World Cup Tendulkar lost his father. He flew back to England to play immediately after attending his father’s funeral. The match was against Kenya. Of course the man was on a mission as he was batting for his father and scored the first century of that World Cup in a fantastic innings. This time round, we play get to play England after half their team was caught drunk and their main player Flintoff had to be rescued from the ocean on his paddle boat. They were all fined or dropped for their match against Canada and have been slaughtered in the international and local press so they all want redemption and are eager to play the best game of their lives. Who is that game against? Kenya.
Today’s match against New Zealand will be a tough one to say the least. But I feel Kenya can spank England. England have no wicket takers, their formidable bowling attack of Monty and Flintoff averages one wicket each per match in ODI, and they only have two batsmen Pietersen and Collingwood. Sunday should be a good game. Of course I still believe we can beat New Zealand today, and then the match against England would be very very interesting.
As for South Africa, those guys are on a mission and they look menacing. Gibbs six sixes in an over was amazing to watch, unless you were Daan van Bunge (hehehe ati the guy is called bunge – perhaps we should get Gibbs to come and knock some of our MPs for six). Luuk van Troost, the Dutch captain said, “I didn’t know where to put my players anymore, it was a nightmare!” and on the bowling side Makhaya Ntini hasn’t even played yet and must be raring to go after the birth of his second child.
R.I.P Bob Woolmer.
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Tuesday, March 20th, 2007 at 3:57 PM
You hear a lot of nonsense about why Kenyans dominate long distance running. I’ve blogged about it before so no need to repeat myself there. I believe most important reason Kenyan runners are so dominating is because no one else trains like them.
In school we used to have some crazy sports teachers. One of them used to tell us that he would push us so hard so that nothing in game could ever come close to the intensity of training. That way when in the middle of a tough match you could draw the team together and tell them, “listen this is no where near as bad as that session we had last week, if we survived that surely we can beat these clowns.”
That seems to be the approach the Kenyan Cross Country Team coaches have taken. With less than two weeks before the World Cross Country championships take place for the first time on Kenyan soil in Mombasa, the Kenyan Cross Country team moved to Embu on the slopes of Mt. Kenya. In one of those sports reports which do not make it to the online edition of the paper, some members of the team had a couple of training session which involved running up the side of the mountain through in the bush. Up a side of the mountain, through the bush. Don’t give me any crap about Kenyans winning medals simply because they have, “these massive lungs”.
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Our first match at the cricket World Cup starts in 30mins time. 16.30 Kenyan time. What excuse can you give your boss to leave the office early knowing that the man will never appreciate your passion for the game? If we work out a list of excuses we can rotate them amongst us and we’ll all end up watching the game. Anyone know of any pubs in Nairobi showing the matches live?
At the world cup itself Michael Holding’s comments that “minnows” should not be allowed to compete at the World Cup are just silly. First of all Mr Holding should remind himself that a cricketing minnow country called Kenya spanked his very own West Indies in the 1996 world cup in what is one of the greatest sporting upsets of all time. And Kenya made it to the semi final last time around and although test nations like to say that was just because New Zealand refused to play in Nairobi (because Cape Town is so much safer you see) they conveniently forget we had to beat Sri Lanka to get there and nearly, nearly beat India in the semis as well.
Back to the West Indies a couple of years ago the Australian press were wondering, loudly, what the point of Australia playing the West Indies in a test series was as the WI were, according to the Australian press, crap. Legend after West Indian cricket legend appeared on Sky Sports to tell the Australians to shut up and remember that when Australia was crap at cricket the West Indies were amongst their strongest supporters arguing for their right to play test cricket. How quickly these legends forget. After Kenya I normally support the West Indies, this time forget them, its all about minnow power. (Yeah I know the government will probably not recall ambassadors on the back of this blog post but who knows.)
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I have a video clip from the first few minutes of the Mater Heart Run. Watch it and see if you can spot the Vice President’s undercover security team. They really blend into the crowd.
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A decade or so or more ago when I was in high school if students wanted time away from school they go on strike protestesting against the, “quality of the food”, the “quality of the teachers”, which would result in the whole school being suspended by that authorities = holiday. Now days school kids are on a whole new level, they manage to hire some ghosts to possess the whole school. I wonder how long that Kenya Times writer has been waiting to use the words “ghost buster” in an article. These ghosts/spirits are a bit strange in that they calm down once comforted by the blood of a white goat. I’m trying to imagine approaching my old headmaster, whom we called simply “THE Doctor”, and telling him,
“Sir, everyone has gone mad sir. We think its ghosts or evil spirits or something. We need the blood of a white goat.”
“Inform the school any pupil who has the misfortune of being possessed will have triple detention on Sunday.”
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Wednesday, March 14th, 2007 at 5:02 PM
Well done Kenya, champions of the inaugural ICC World Cricket League Division 1, spanking Scotland by 8 wickets in the final. For match reports and analysis I refer you the KBW resident cricket expert.
I attended two matches, on Sunday against Scotland where we beaten and the final on Wednesday against the same side where we beat them to lift the trophy.
To do wonders in the World Cup next month (as we will) the camaraderie within the team needs to be high and I am happy to report that it is. Steve Tikolo is a captain with quiet confidence and his bowlers and batsmen reward his faith in them. Tikolo is brilliant captain. After we lost to Scotland on Sunday, he was, of course, disappointed in defeat but still agreed to pose for photographs with over eager fans, even though he wasn’t smiling:
After winning the final he happy to pose again, this time all smiles:
Attendance to all matches were free and Kenya Cricket made sure that some kids from Kibera came to enjoy the matches.
Here are some more pics:
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Thursday, February 8th, 2007 at 6:51 PM
Despite my pro bono work for the Cricket World Cup organisers, despite them taking on the changes I recommended, I have not had even a scent of a free ticket to any games in the Caribbean next year. The indefatigable Nick Deverell who blogs over at Kenya Cricket has the price list for tickets for Kenyan fans who want to follow Kenya. Where the blazes am I going to get USD $1050.00 to watch us lift that trophy?
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Thursday, May 11th, 2006 at 1:23 PM
That’s more like it.
For the latest and in-depth news on Kenyan Cricket check out a KBW blog called, appropriately enough, KenyaCricket.
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Sunday, February 26th, 2006 at 5:16 PM