January 30, 2013 at 5:54 p.m.
Kenya has high expectations for Bermuda matches
Kenya may have reached the semi-finals of the World Cup in South Africa in 2003, but full-time contracts remain a distant dream.
The cricket board in the East African nation is reportedly strapped with a $500,000 debts and is spending the majority of its grant from the International Cricket Council on paying the salary of coach Roger Harper - a former West Indies team-mate of Bermuda's Gus Logie.
And it is still attempting to rebuild its reputation following a series of crippling financial scandals, player strikes and bad publicity, including the arrest and trial of former chairman Sharad Ghai, who was accused of stealing $3.3million from the association.
Though Ghai was subsequently acquitted, the stigma remained and the newly founded Cricket Kenya, set up to replace the tarnished regime, is suffering from the legacy of its predecessor with few corporate sponsors prepared to back the team.
The upshot is that rather than building on their success in 2003, most commentators believe that Kenyan cricket has moved backwards.
That bleak perspective is borne out, in some respects, by results on the field.
The year started well with a 2-2 series draw with Zimbabwe. But the struggling African nation remains the only first class scalp for the Kenyans since the last World Cup.
They were whitewashed 4-0 by Bangladesh, one of Bermuda's World Cup opponents, in March and then again, 3-0 by the same team, on home soil in August.
They've had more success against the Associate nations, though, and come into this series on the back of a 4-0 victory over Uganda.
Even so, the focus appears, at this stage to be on rebuilding - reforming the domestic structure and bringing through talented young players to make a more concerted bid for success at World Cup 2011.
Expectations
The Kenyans though will expect to do well against Bermuda.
They have more experience at the top level, they've beaten the likes of Sri Lanka, the West Indies and Zimbabwe in full one-day-internationals and they've been to four World Cups.
They prepared for this clash by taking a three-day team bonding trip to the African bush, where they were put through a series of grueling outdoor exercises, including rafting in the swirling waters of the Malewa River.
Since then the squad has been undergoing fitness testing with coach Roger Harper reporting a clean bill of health - aside from Tony Suji, the all-rounder who scored a century against Bermuda, the last time the sides met.
Coach
Roger Harper. The former West Indies all-rounder is a contemporary of Bermuda coach Gus Logie. They played together and were part of the same coaching programme.
Logie, in fact, succeeded Harper as the head coach of the West Indies in 2003, his last job before coming to Bermuda.
Ironically, when Logie took the Bermuda job, he succeeded Harper's brother, Mark. With that kind of background it is safe to assume that the Kenya coach knows a fair bit about Logie's training methods and will have the lowdown on the Bermuda team from his bro.
Captain
Steve Tikolo. The undisputed star of Kenyan cricket, Steve Tikolo is the captain, senior player and top batsma n. He is also widely revered as the best cricketer outside of the Test playing nations. In last year's Intercontinental Cup he scored 751 runs at an average of over 100, he has played 79 full one-day-internationalsand led Kenya to the semi-finals of the World Cup in '03.
Star Players
Thomas Odoyo: Dubbed the black Ian Botham, Odoyo has long been the lynchpin of the Kenyan bowling attack. With 81 scalps at a healthy average of just over 30, in 79 ODIs he is the only Kenyan bowler ever to pass 50 wickets at the highest level. The 28-year-old medium pacer, also a useful late order batsman, has shown he can do it against the big teams as well, memorably taking 3 for 25 against Pakistan early in his career.
Collins Obuya: The leg-spinning all-rounder was the star of the Kenyan's march to the World Cup semi-finals, taking 13 wickets as the East African nation shocked the cricketing world.
It was his astonishing five for 24 that set up the famous victory against Sri Lanka.
Players to Watch
Tanmay Mishra: The 19-year-old, who has been honing his game alongside some of the Bermuda contingent at the ICC Training Academy in Pretoria has been ear-marked as a star of the future.
The Indian born batsman has already played 13 ODIs for his country and will look to build on a promising start if he is given his chance against Bermuda.
Maurice Ouma: The 23-year-old opening batsman is another Academy graduate, who Kenya will look to. He has averaged just 13 in his 11 ODI's so far but was hyped at the academy as a 'star in the making' and has had some good scores at A-International level.
Results this year
February: Drew 2-2 in ODI series with Zimbabwe in Bulawayo
March: Lost 4-0 in ODI series with Bangladesh
April: Drew with Holland in four-day Intercontinental Cup clash
August: Lost to Canada in four-day Intercontinental Cup clash, Beat Canada 2-0 in ODI mini-series, lost 3-0 in ODI series with Bangladesh
September: Lost 3-0 in one-day series with CBCE - The Australian cricket academy, beat Uganda 4-0 in ODI series.[[In-content Ad]]
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