fwullah
January 15, 2003, 08:02 AM
These are not my words. Read the first few paragraphs regarding Bangladesh.
Efforts to Steal Showcase Unfair
The Nation (Nairobi)
OPINION
January 15, 2003
Posted to the web January 14, 2003
Elias Makori
Nairobi
Just over five years ago, the International Cricket Council elevated Kenya to the One Day International Status which is a hair's breadth away from the sport's most coveted Test Status. The idea, coming shortly before minnows Bangladesh were awarded the full Test status, was meant to gradually expose Kenyan cricketers with a view to eventually moulding the country's game, Test status aforethought.
But since then, One Day Internationals between Kenya and the big fish have been few and far between.
The International Cricket Council, and indeed some of the Test playing nations, have done little to give Kenya the exposure needed to hand our players the much needed experience that would make them compete on an equal footing with the 11 Test-playing nations.
In the last six years, Kenya has played only 14 official One Day Internationals, including five in the 1999 World Cup, with Bangladesh having played 15 and with many more awaiting the Asians on the calendar. Other than hosting the PSO Triangular by default - on behalf of Pakistan - and proceeding on a makeshift tour of Zimbabwe last year, Kenya's cricket team has nothing much to account for 2002.
But despite this imbalance, Kenya is still ranked higher than Bangladesh on the one-day table, with 286 points compared to Bangladesh's 146.
The fact that Kenya has more talented players than Bangladesh is an open secret and the reason that the Asian nation joined the Test ranks appears to be purely political rather than meritorious.
It is sad to see players like Steve Tikolo and Maurice Odumbe - no doubt the best batsmen outside the Test arena, quickly getting past their prime but denied the chance of playing top flight cricket on a regular basis.
It can be argued that the Bangladesh grassroot support for the game and player base is bigger than Kenya's on one hand, but on the other, it can also be reasoned out that the automatic financial support from the ICC's headquarters at Lord's and the commercial revenue resulting from Kenya's Test Status can do wonders in developing the game here.
That Kenya was given the chance of hosting two matches of the upcoming World Cup was a most welcome gesture from the tournament's principal hosts, South Africa who are hosting 46 games with a further six in Zimbabwe.
It will go a long way in increasing the profile of the game, exposing our players and marketing Kenya to the expected worldwide television audience of 1.25 billion people.
However, there appear to have been high-level, behind-the-scenes political games being played ahead of the World Cup that are threatening to deny Kenya and Zimbabwe the chance of hosting the prestigious championship under the guise of insecurity and political threats.
Despite assurances by top Kenyan Government officials that all necessary precautions will be taken, the ICC team inspecting Kenya's facilities - led by Australian Campbell Jamieson - appears out of sorts over the country's preparedness to host just two fixtures of the World Cup, barely three years after having successfully hosted all Test playing nations in a memorable ICC Knockout Championship.
That Campbell tactlessly walked out on Kenya's legendary International Olympic Committee member Kipchoge Keino and journalists at the Gymkhana yesterday, declining to give the country a clean bill of health was rather worrying, especially after the Sri Lanka Cricket Board a fortnight ago issued a statement saying they are satisfied with Kenya as a venue for their February 24 game.
Campbell might have, understandably, been under pressure from Lord's not to speak, but he chose a most undiplomatic way round the issue.
The recent terrorist attacks at Kikambala and Mombasa are no ground for doubting Kenya's capability of hosting the games as, after all, Zimbabwe safely toured Kenya after the 1998 Nairobi bomb blasts and the 2000 ICC Knockout was also, without incident, held at the Gymkhana despite Al Qaeda cells rearing their ugly heads.
South Africa's sports minister Ngconde Balfour yesterday rightly branded the British and Australian governments as "hypocrites" for trying to deny Harare World Cup matches. In the same vein, efforts to declare Kenya unsafe to host the championship are equally hypocritical. It leaves one wondering whether the ICC is indeed eager to spread the field or is merely out to make commercial mileage. Give us the World Cup.
Source:
http://allafrica.com/stories/200301140580.html
Efforts to Steal Showcase Unfair
The Nation (Nairobi)
OPINION
January 15, 2003
Posted to the web January 14, 2003
Elias Makori
Nairobi
Just over five years ago, the International Cricket Council elevated Kenya to the One Day International Status which is a hair's breadth away from the sport's most coveted Test Status. The idea, coming shortly before minnows Bangladesh were awarded the full Test status, was meant to gradually expose Kenyan cricketers with a view to eventually moulding the country's game, Test status aforethought.
But since then, One Day Internationals between Kenya and the big fish have been few and far between.
The International Cricket Council, and indeed some of the Test playing nations, have done little to give Kenya the exposure needed to hand our players the much needed experience that would make them compete on an equal footing with the 11 Test-playing nations.
In the last six years, Kenya has played only 14 official One Day Internationals, including five in the 1999 World Cup, with Bangladesh having played 15 and with many more awaiting the Asians on the calendar. Other than hosting the PSO Triangular by default - on behalf of Pakistan - and proceeding on a makeshift tour of Zimbabwe last year, Kenya's cricket team has nothing much to account for 2002.
But despite this imbalance, Kenya is still ranked higher than Bangladesh on the one-day table, with 286 points compared to Bangladesh's 146.
The fact that Kenya has more talented players than Bangladesh is an open secret and the reason that the Asian nation joined the Test ranks appears to be purely political rather than meritorious.
It is sad to see players like Steve Tikolo and Maurice Odumbe - no doubt the best batsmen outside the Test arena, quickly getting past their prime but denied the chance of playing top flight cricket on a regular basis.
It can be argued that the Bangladesh grassroot support for the game and player base is bigger than Kenya's on one hand, but on the other, it can also be reasoned out that the automatic financial support from the ICC's headquarters at Lord's and the commercial revenue resulting from Kenya's Test Status can do wonders in developing the game here.
That Kenya was given the chance of hosting two matches of the upcoming World Cup was a most welcome gesture from the tournament's principal hosts, South Africa who are hosting 46 games with a further six in Zimbabwe.
It will go a long way in increasing the profile of the game, exposing our players and marketing Kenya to the expected worldwide television audience of 1.25 billion people.
However, there appear to have been high-level, behind-the-scenes political games being played ahead of the World Cup that are threatening to deny Kenya and Zimbabwe the chance of hosting the prestigious championship under the guise of insecurity and political threats.
Despite assurances by top Kenyan Government officials that all necessary precautions will be taken, the ICC team inspecting Kenya's facilities - led by Australian Campbell Jamieson - appears out of sorts over the country's preparedness to host just two fixtures of the World Cup, barely three years after having successfully hosted all Test playing nations in a memorable ICC Knockout Championship.
That Campbell tactlessly walked out on Kenya's legendary International Olympic Committee member Kipchoge Keino and journalists at the Gymkhana yesterday, declining to give the country a clean bill of health was rather worrying, especially after the Sri Lanka Cricket Board a fortnight ago issued a statement saying they are satisfied with Kenya as a venue for their February 24 game.
Campbell might have, understandably, been under pressure from Lord's not to speak, but he chose a most undiplomatic way round the issue.
The recent terrorist attacks at Kikambala and Mombasa are no ground for doubting Kenya's capability of hosting the games as, after all, Zimbabwe safely toured Kenya after the 1998 Nairobi bomb blasts and the 2000 ICC Knockout was also, without incident, held at the Gymkhana despite Al Qaeda cells rearing their ugly heads.
South Africa's sports minister Ngconde Balfour yesterday rightly branded the British and Australian governments as "hypocrites" for trying to deny Harare World Cup matches. In the same vein, efforts to declare Kenya unsafe to host the championship are equally hypocritical. It leaves one wondering whether the ICC is indeed eager to spread the field or is merely out to make commercial mileage. Give us the World Cup.
Source:
http://allafrica.com/stories/200301140580.html