What happened to Kenya Cricket? – Once a Semi World Cup Finalist

Who will forget the Kenyan cricket team’s dream run in 2003 world cup? Came as underdogs and stunned the world by magnificent bowling and fielding performances combining with classical batting.

Their best performance till date came in that series as they made into semi-final by defeating Zimbabwe and Srilanka. Kenyan cricket team has a rich history under their belt. Cricket Kenya is the governing body of the sport in Kenya. Kenya officially becomes an associate member in 1981 which allowed them to take in international one-day competitions. Kenya also made their entry into world cup in 1996, after that they have qualified for the entire world cup between 1996 and 2011. During that time they have also qualified for 2007 T20 world cup.

Kenya’s dream run in 2003 World Cup

2003 world cup has been marked as one of the finest moments for Kenyan cricket. They have advanced to semifinals by defeating Sri Lanka and Zimbabwe. They are the only associates to do so in the history of the world cup. Being a co-host it brought lot cheers and cherishing moments for the Kenyan cricket fans. The players have become superstars overnight.

Kenya begins their campaign by got defeated by another co-host, South Africa. Kenyan team bounced back strongly and defeated Canada by four wickets. This gave them hope and an ample amount of confidence to proceed further. Due to security concerns new Zealand refused to play in Kenya and this gave Kenya full victory points.

Srilanka made a courageous visit to Kenya but suffered a heartbreaking defeat against the hosting nation. Kenya shocked the cricketing fraternity by defeating the visitors by 54 runs. The win against Srilanka virtually ensured the super six spot for Kenya and Kenya’s dream run continued with another win against fellow minnows Bangladesh.

But they did get defeat against West Indies but that didn’t stop them entering into super six round. This has ensured their name in record books by becoming first non-playing test nation to progress beyond the first round of the world cup. They suffered the heavy defeats against India and Australia but hey managed to pull off the victory against another co-host Zimbabwe in super six stages.

The victory against Zimbabwe also ensured their place in the semi-final against India where they suffered yet another to tournament finalist by 91 runs. After their successful world cup campaign, Kenya was invited to participate in the quadrangular tournament in UAE including Zimbabwe, Pakistan, and Sri Lanka. They lost all the four matches and returned the home empty-handed. Kenyan team could not able to capitalize their Olympic success.

The downfall of Kenya Cricket

The political and economic issues prevailing in the country lead to their slip in the international arena. The heartbreak came in 2014 after finishing last in super six rounds off ICC world cup qualifier and this eventually led to losing their international ODI status.

To add wounds to the injury they again lost their spot in ICC world league division two due to their mediocre performance in the tournament by finishing fifth. This virtually removed them out of the international scene. But they continued to play in ICC world league division three but again they faced severe losses against all teams and finished lost in the tournament.

Since then they are nowhere in the international scene and fans lost their interest in watching them play. Cricket Kenya the governing body also faced lots of criticism for their mediocre showing. Things became worse as cricket Kenya’s debt has increased rapidly and its final burden also not allowing them to invest in domestic events and put a proper structure in place.

After their disappointing showing in world cricket, their captain Rakep Patel has resigned from the post so like their head coach and their board president. The new captain Ngoche has been appointed and the team is faring well under him. Their next commitment is ICC world league division three tournaments which are set to commence from November 2. Cricket fraternity around the world is expecting their comeback in international cricket.

How can Kenya bounce back to regain their lost status

Every team has faced ups and downs in the past but never like Kenya. Kenyan cricket team and cricket in Kenya needs to travel more miles to regain their lost status. Here are the few things that Kenyan team needs to do in order to regain their lost status.

Seeking help from ICC and Influential Boards

Everybody knows their financial issues. Eventually, ICC should have done more after their promising run in 2003 world cup. But they failed to do. Helping them financially will help them to clear their debts and player dues.

Cricket Kenya should ask for more money from ICC and other cricketing boards like BCCI and Cricket Australia. Before that, they need to draw a perfect plan on how they are going use that aids. It will allow the boards to help financially. The revenue can enable them to draw the proper domestic structure which they are clearly lagging.

Implementing Proper Domestic Structure

Kenya Cricket Images

You cannot find the players like Steve Tikolo’s and Akram’s caliber in streets instead you need a proper cricketing structure to identify the right talent and mold them for international standards. Implementing proper domestic structure will bring the lost cricketing culture in the country. It can also bring lost interest among the fans.

The success is all about bouncing back from the current situation and reaching new heights. Hope Kenya cricket team will repeat the same.

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