ICC Intercontinental Cup and Shield

KENYA v SCOTLAND Scotland’s captain and his advisers must have seen something in either the pitch or the atmosphere for them to choose to bowl first, but even they must have been surprised by how easily Kenya submitted on their home ground. Dewald Nel trapped Seren Waters leg-before in the third over but Maurice Ouma and Collins Obuya looked confident as they took the score to 33. Ouma then misjudged a ball from Nel and hit it into the hands of Ross Lyons. Gordon Drummond and Richie Berrington replaced the opening bowlers and Kenya’s middle order just gave in to what was some well-controlled pace bowling. With Gordon Goudie returning to demolish the tail, Kenya were all out for 91, their last seven wickets falling for 17 runs, made in 25.1 overs. Scotland then showed that conditions were not that difficult, as they reached 22 in six overs before Kyle Coetzer was bowled. Although they lost two more wickets before the close, they finished the day 30 runs ahead with Qasim Sheikh, already passed his half-century, and Richie Berrington looking set. Sheikh and Berrington batted cautiously, waiting for the bad balls to hit, but seemed untroubled in extending their partnership to 102. Shortly after reaching his hundred, however, Sheikh was given out leg-before, a ball from Steve Tikolo hitting the pads as the batsman was on the crease. His 108 runs came at a strike rate of 47.3 and included 19 fours. Scotland’s middle order proved no more resilient than Kenya’s the day before. They collapsed from 208 for three to 233 for seven against some tight bowling from Jimmy Kamande and Nehemiah Odhiambo. Ross Lyons provided the support Berrington needed, allowing the latter to reach his fifty. Together they added 58 for the eighth wicket. Berrington then steered Kamande into the hands of Nelson Odhiambo, ending an innings that had lasted 206 balls; his strike rate of 38.8 was hardly entertaining but it provided the foundation Scotland needed. Lyons was even more obdurate, his 23 runs coming at a rate of 24.7. With Scotland 215 runs ahead, Kenya needed to remove the gremlins in their batting and, somewhat surprisingly, completely changed their batting order. Rakep Patel opened with Waters who was trapped leg-before by Nel before the close. Varaiya joined Patel as the nightwatchman. Patel added only 10 runs to his score before falling victim to Nel who again bowled impressively. Obuya and Tikolo both made starts and were scoring freely before they both succumbed to the spin of Majid Haq. At 148 for four, Ouma decided that Kenya should not only make runs but also attempt to bat out the day. The nightwatchman gave excellent support as the pair engaged in a resolute partnership of 65 for the fifth wicket. Varaiya departed with the score on 213, after surviving 237 balls for a strike rate of 18.5. Kamande did even better, his 54 ball resistance producing a strike rate of 12.9. Elijah Otieno ensured that Kenya were still batting at the close and that Ouma had secured his hundred; his unbeaten 106 came off 158 balls and contained 19 fours and one six. Unfortunately dogged resistance does not always accumulate many runs. Kenya were only 73 ahead and, with only three wickets in hand, were a long way from saving the game. Ouma and Otieno survived a further 15 overs on the last morning. It was Otieno who went first, caught by the wicketkeeper off Nel after facing 72 balls, his 13 runs coming at a strike rate of 18.0. Ouma was leg-before in Nel’s next over, giving the bowler his fifth wicket of the innings and Kenya finally capitulated soon afterwards with a lead of 108. Ouma made his runs at a strike rate of 62.2, with 21 fours and one six in his innings of 130. Scotland secured victory just after lunch, losing two wickets in the process. 196 ICC Intercontinental Cup 2009-10