Kenya: Swamipaba Confident Ahead of Final Duel Againast Gymkhana

Nairobi Star (Nairobi)

Dun Okinyo

10 March 2011

SWAMIBAPA captain Joseph Angara has said his team can’t afford to be complacent ahead of their NPCA 40-40 tournament final match against youthful Nairobi Gymkhana this weekend.

Gymkhana beat league champions Kanbis to book a place in the finals and would be looking to end the season on a high when they host the final. Despite the absence of the national team members, Angara wants his players to remain focused. “We want to win the tournament but at the same time we should not be over-confident. We have to be in our best frame of mind. We are taking care of the things but we will have to improve on our fielding and death bowling,” he said.

Swamibapa didn’t achieve great success this year and would be keen to get back to the groove. They lost their league and T20 titles to Kanbis. The team’s fielding has been their area of concern in the Twenty20 matches and Angara hopes to change tact this time round. “We need to get our basics right and we seriously need to imrove on our fielding,” he said. Swamibapa will be keen to have Shashikant Sangani and Mitesh Sangani in their batting line-up. The two who are second team regulars have continued to impress for the main team since last year. “They are our most experienced batsmen. It’s important to have those kind of players and I am hoping they will have a good day. We know of the wicket it’s so good to bat on,” he said.

Angara also said they need to bowl better in the death overs. “Variation is important and at the same time you have to bowl good yorkers. That is the key. A good death bowler should have yorkers. We are improving and done well in patches. We need to be consistent with the ball in the last eight or ten overs.”

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