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The Kenyan cricket team is the national cricket team of Kenya. The team are considered as the number one non-Test cricketing nation. They proved their skills by surprisingly proceeding up to the semi-final in the 2003 Cricket World Cup, which led for calls to grant Kenya Test status. The team has been boosted over recent years with the batting of Steve Tikolo and Maurice Odumbe with the backup of other batsmen and bowlers, including spin bowler Aasif Karim, who holds the distinction of having captained his country both in international cricket and Davis Cup tennis. Their other famous upset was against West Indies during the 1996 Cricket World Cup.
HistoryKenya's entry into international cricket came as part of the East African cricket team, a combined team representing Kenya in addition to Uganda and Tanzania. That team gained associate membership of the ICC in 1966. [1]. The Kenyan team did play the occasional game outside of that combination, including a drawn game against India in 1967. [2] East Africa competed in the first World Cup, with little success.
Kenya played their first first-class game in 1986, losing against Pakistan B. Their second first class game would be twelve years away, but in the interim, their cricket came on in leaps and bounds. They finished runners up in the 1994 ICC Trophy, which qualified them to play in the 1996 World Cup. They didn't progress past the first round, but they pulled off a major upset, beating the West Indies by 73 runs. [4] The ICC granted Kenya ODI status soon after that World Cup, and they hosted a ODI tournament in September of that year. In May 1998, they pulled off another upset win, defeating India by 69 runs. [5]
At the 2003 World Cup, Kenya shocked the cricketing world by defeating three Test-playing nations on their way to the semi-finals of the tournament (Sri Lanka, Bangladesh, Zimbabwe plus New Zealand by walk over). It was looking like Kenya would become the eleventh Test playing nation in due course. However, a series of setbacks was to occur which would prevent them from reaching their goal. Following the 2003 semi-final, Kenyan cricket was rocked by match-fixing allegations, which eventually resulted in a ban for former captain Maurice Odumbe. Tikolo and many other senior players also went on strike over contract payments, as the players had apparently not been paid performance bonuses for their feats in the World Cup, with the expected negative effects on team performance. The Kenyan Cricket Association was dissolved by the government in January 2005, with Cricket Kenya being formed to replace it in February. In June 2005, Kenya was stripped of its ODI status and returned to Associate Member status of the ICC. This will come into effect at the 2009 ICC Trophy, at which Kenya will have to play and finish in the top six to regain its status. In the period between 2005 and 2009, Kenya will keep its ODI status (qualifying automatically for the 2007 World Cup), but will be able to play ODIs regularly against the five qualifiers from the 2005 ICC Trophy, as well as the opportunity to play against the ten Full Members of the ICC. Tournament HistoryWorld Cup
ICC Champions TrophyICC Knockout
Commonwealth Games
Intercontinental Cup
ICC 6 Nations Challenge
ICC Trophy
World Cricket League
Recent ActivitySince the 2003 World Cup, Kenya's progress towards eventual test status has been hampered by, among other factors, a lack of fixtures against the more established teams. Kenya went for a span of almost 18 months without playing an ODI after September 2004. However, with a new administration, Cricket Kenya, at the helm Kenya were back playing International cricket again in February/March 2006. The Kenyans showed promise by drawing an away ODI series Zimbabwe 2-2. Only a washout of the final match prevented the team from a chance to claim their first ever ODI series victory. Nonetheless, it was considered impressive for Kenya to have competed effectively with the far better-funded Zimbabwean side and illustrated the team's future potential. They then had the opportunity to visit Bangladesh for a 4 match ODI series in late March 2006. However, the team lost all four matches. On their return from Bangladesh, they took on Holland in the first of their Intercontinental Cup matches. Holland won the toss, and at the end of the second day of four, it looked like Kenya were heading for certain defeat. A superb unbeaten double century by Captain Steve Tikolo not only avoided the follow on, but effectively saved the match. In July 2006 Kenya convincingly beat Canada in both ODI matches in Canada, but the following month lost 3-0 at home to Bangladesh. Kenya's next international engagement was a home series against Bermuda in November where Kenya won all 3 ODI matches and drew their Intercontinental Cup match. Cricket in 2007In early 2007, Kenya hosted and won the Division One of the ICC World Cricket League where they took on Bermuda, Canada, Ireland, The Netherlands and Scotland. This was be preceded by an ODI tri-series against Canada and Scotland. They were drawn in the same group as Canada, England and New Zealand in the 2007 World Cup, where they finished third and failed to qualify for the next round. [7] RecordsOne-day internationals
ICC Trophy
See also
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