Kenya continues dream World Cup

By Tony Cozier
In Johannesburg

THEY came as 250 to one no-hopers, ranked 11th among the 14 teams.

They could find neither a sponsor nor 30 players reputable enough to place on the preliminary list required by the International Cricket Council (ICC) a month before the tournament.

But Kenya brought to the World Cup a simple, uninhibited zest, refreshing in these days of cynical commercialism, and a penchant for springing surprises. Now, while the favoured, highly paid professionals of South Africa, England, Pakistan and the West Indies have long since packed their bags and headed home to criticism and recriminations, the anonymous Kenyans find themselves as the first non-Test team - the so-called minnows - through to the semi-finals of the World Cup. They have already earned themselves US$470,000 for getting this far and the final and the US$2 million prize money is only another dream and 100 overs away.

The prospect is not so far-fetched. Their fairy tale this time had already featured the defeat of Sri Lanka, the 1996 champions, and yesterday's comprehensive victory by three wickets over Zimbabwe, another Test team, guaranteed them a semi-final against India whom they have twice beaten. The Indians will know they cannot be underestimated after they gave them a tough fight before succumbing in their Super Six match last Friday. Like Zimbabwe, Kenya came through to the last six with four unearned points forfeited by New Zealand who refused to go to Nairobi for their first round match for fears of terrorism. But they played above themselves to trounce Sri Lanka by the indisputable margin of 53 runs and comfortably took care of Bangladesh, the nation undeservedly accorded Test status two years ago on an inferior record to theirs.

Heavy first round losses to South Africa and the West Indies revealed the inconsistency of a team unaccustomed to competition at this level. But had the West Indies emulated their enthusiasm and commitment throughout they, too, would have been through to the semi-finals. Maurice Odumbe, the 33-year-old veteran who was captain when they sprung their first shock on the cricket world with their victory over the West Indies in the 1996 World Cup and whose strokeplay sped them to yesterday's triumph, roundly rejected the argument that they did not deserve their position.

"There are a lot of critics who are saying that we are not supposed to be in the Super Sixes but I'm sure we answered them today with our performance," he said. "Maybe they'll say we're not supposed to be in the finals either. We just intend to play tough and good cricket." "It's not every day we can reach the semi-final of a World Cup, especially considering the kind of teams that have dropped out already," he added. "So we're happy and I'm sure people back home are happy for us as well."

The truth is that the majority of the 28 million people back home know very little about cricket. Their international champions have been their great long distance runners. As in all of Africa, where cricket was for so long confined to the white and Asian elite, football is the team sport that traditionally holds the public's passionate attention.

In recent years. Africans have more and more comprised the Kenyan team but they have come almost exclusively by the Luos ethnic group. And divisions between the mainly Asian administration and the predominantly African team persist with players calling a strike just over a year ago. Perhaps the results here will bring the two closer together but the players base will have to be broadened to assure sustainable growth. At present. it is smaller than, say, in Toronto where thousands of new Canadians from the Commonwealth have given the game a tremendous boost.

There are three Obuya brothers in the present team. Four Odumbes and three Tikolos have played for Kenya. Maurice Odumbe says the success in South Africa has attracted wider attention for cricket than ever before.

It has been splashed across the national press and even pushed football off television sets in popular bars around Nairobi. But to generate the interest and raise standards, the International Cricket Council (ICC) needs to invest more than it has done in the game's development. The Kenyans have repeatedly, and understandably, complained that they cannot improve or attract young players without more international exposure . Granted full one-day international status five years ago, Kenya only had 54 such matches prior to this World Cup.

They have yet to play in Australia, England, New Zealand or the West Indies. The ICC speaks enthusiastically about "globalising" the game. The Kenyan cricketers have done more in the past month to help that cause than the administrators have ever done.