ICC Intercontinental Cup and Shield

KENYA v CANADA Without several of their best players and with four debutants, Canada were always likely to struggle in the conditions of Nairobi, but this was by no means apparent on the first day which saw fluctuating fortunes. Despite overcast conditions following overnight rain, Canada elected to bat and the opening pair raced to 78 off 20 overs, with Kenya trying all four of their pace bowlers without success. Abdul Jabbar was particularly aggressive with a strike rate of 73.1 and unafraid to find the boundary with a range of elegant drives. More in hope than expectation, Kenya resorted to spin and the results were sensational. Jimmy Kamande immediately accounted for Abdul Jabbar, one short of his half-century, dismissed Trevin Bastiampillai first ball and then took two further wickets without conceding a run, all in his first ten balls. He then held a fine catch off the bowling of Hiren Varaiya to remove Qaiser Ali, just as he was looking dangerous, having struck three fours in eight balls, and then ran out Asif Mulla. From 78 without loss, Canada were now 121 for six, with Kamande having had a hand in all six dismissals. What was more remarkable was that he was suffering from a head injury after being attacked by carjackers on the previous evening. Canada were rescued by a seventh-wicket partnership of 99 between Sunil Dhaniram and Umar Bhatti. Dhaniram was the major contributor, his innings of 78 being made at a strike rate of 63.4 and containing 11 fours. At the other end, Umar Bhatti benefited from some luck, edging Thomas Odoyo just wide of second slip and Alfred Luseno over the wicketkeeper’s head. The return of spin slowed the run rate and led to frustration, causing Dhaniram to mis-hit Varaiya to Collins Obuya at mid on. Bhatti then took over the leading role, adding a further 40 runs with Durand Soraine, relatively slowly as the spinners conceded only eight runs in ten overs. With the score at 260, the return of the pace bowlers finished off the innings for only three more runs. With 20 minutes remaining, Umar Bhatti bowled Maurice Ouma first ball but Hiren Varaiya, the nightwatchman, survived with David Obuya to the close. Canada’s opening bowlers tried to intimidate Varaiya with short-pitched deliveries, whereas they might have been more successful bowling straight and on a good length. Varaiya departed first ball on the second day, caught at third slip, but this was not enough to ensure Canadian superiority as David Obuya and Alex Obanda took control in a third-wicket stand of 122. Obanda was particularly impressive with his cover drives which the Canadian bowlers seemed to feed; he hit 14 fours in 70 balls and his 83 came at a strike rate of 118.5. He eventually mistimed a cover hit and was caught by Kandappah. David Obuya, Steve Tikolo and Collins Obuya all batted well whilst Canada relied upon the spin attack of Dhaniram and Qaiser Ali. Thomas Odoyo and Kamande saw Kenya take the first-innings lead but when the latter was bowled by Umar Bhatti, the tail was exposed and Canada were looking to maintain a manageable deficit. They reckoned without the skill and aggression of Odoyo, who protected the lower order whilst making his maiden first-class century. The lead was extended to 130 before the innings ended only a few minutes before the close of play. Umar Bhatti took the last two wickets to bring his innings return to five and all of Kenya’s last three batsmen fell to catches to the wicketkeeper. Odoyo was left not out having scored at a rate of 63.9 and hit fourteen fours and one six. What started in the morning as a contest between two teams evenly poised, ended with Kenya in the ascendancy. On the third morning Canada lost both openers in the first over to the pace of Peter Ongondo and when Kamande removed Qaiser Ali with the score on 50, a Canadian collapse looked imminent. Bastiampillai and Arvind Kandappah, making amends for their failures in the first innings, restored Canada’s position through sensible batting, blunting the Kenyan attack which, despite its variety of pace and spin, began to look rather ordinary. The partnership took Canada back into the lead and all looked fine for setting the home side a challenging target but, having put on 113, Bastiampillai misjudged the turn of an off-break from Tikolo and was bowled. That effectively ended the Canadian resistance as wickets fell regularly. Once Kandappah mis-hit a sweep to Kamande at square leg, Tikolo and Odoyo, Kenya’s most experienced players, quickly ended the innings, with only Dhaniram making any worthwhile contribution. Nevertheless, Kenya still needed 105 to win and one or two quick wickets by Canada could have made the task difficult. Ouma and David Obuya soon dispelled any doubts, however, as they raced to 80 in 16 overs. The loss of David Obuya did nothing to the momentum and Ouma soon took Kenya to victory in grand style with a six over long on off Qaiser Ali. This was the fifth match out of eight in the 2007-08 tournament to finish within three days. 130 ICC Intercontinental Cup 2007-08