Kenya/Zimbabwe: National Cricket Team Take on Zimbabwe Tomorrow in a Formality Match

Nairobi Star (Nairobi)

Arjun Vidyarthi

19 March 2011

Kenya take on Zimbabwe tomorrow in their last match at this year’s World Cup. Both teams have no chance of making it into the quarter-finals of the competition and all at stake is pride.

Zimbabwe have two points from their 5 games played so far, thanks to a win over Canada; while Kenya sit at the bottom of the group with no point after a win-less run.

Kenya started off the competition in abysmal form after falling to New Zealand in their opening match. They could only manage to score 69 runs, and the Kiwis chased down the total easily.

Their next game was against Pakistan in Hambantota. The boys started this game in fine form, having Pakistan on 12 runs for the loss of 2 wickets. However, the quality of the Test nation proved a tough test for our bowlers, as they went on to score a huge 317 runs.

Kenya tried hard to reach their target but wickets fell at regular intervals as the Pakistanis managed to bowl us out for 112 runs, giving them a 205 run win. Sri Lanka was next in line and they managed to win their game by 9 wickets.

The most disappointing result of the tournament so far was the loss to Canada on March 7. This was a game the whole world expected us to win. I mean Canada are known for Maple Syrup, Ice Hockey, the Blue Jays etc; not Cricket. I think this game was a walk-up call for the players, because in their next match against Australia, they really proved what they can do. To have the best team in the world at 143 for 4 is no easy feat. If only a few things went our way, who knows what could have happened.

The players now have more confidence after the match. Collins Obuya scored an unbeaten 98, while Tanmay Mishra managed to get 72 runs. In the bowling department, Jimmy Kamande managed to take two wickets, while youngster Nehemiah Odhiambo took three. Hopefully, the players can take this energy into the final match against Zim.

The Zimbabweans are no walk in the park. They do have some really great players in their side. Tatenda Taibu and Craig Ervine have been in the runs in their last few games; and they have Charles Coventry who has hit 62 fours and 28 sixes in his 37 One Day Internationals so far. His highest score in a 50 over match stands at 194 not out. They also have some good spinners in their ranks. Ray Price, Prosper Utseya and Graeme Cremer have been their best bowlers in the competition so far. Despite this, if the boys play to the level that we all know they can, I predict two points to Kenya. It would be a consolation win; but I will take that with both hands.

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