ICC Intercontinental Cup and Shield

Considering that in 1997, Kenya were awarded international one-day status and rated alongside Bangladesh as a potential candidate for full membership, their performance in the Intercontinental Cup has been well below expectations. In 2004 a dispute between the leading players and the Kenyan Cricket Association forced them to field weakened sides for two matches and, although they reached the semi-final by winning the Africa Group, they were easily beaten by Scotland on the first innings and were fortunate to draw the match. Despite the loss of Ravindu Shah, through injury, and Maurice Odumbe, suspended by the ICC for irregular dealings with Indian bookmakers, Kenya reached the final the following year, only to be heavily defeated by Ireland. Kenya’s problem was that the team that was built up in the late 1990s and did so well in the 2003 World Cup, reaching the semi-final, was getting older. Players like Hitesh Modi, Kennedy Otieno, Martin Suji and Tony Suji either chose to retire or were no longer regularly chosen by the selectors and their replacements were simply not good enough on a consistent basis. The team came to relie more and more heavily on Steve Tikolo, who continued to make high scores, and Thomas Odoyo, who bowled well when fit but all too often could be used only in a limited number of short spells. Tikolo is the only Kenyan to have played in ten or more matches and average over fifty with the bat in the competition, a situation which will have to be rectified if the country is to remain in the top six Associate/Affiliate countries over the next few years. Too many of the younger players seem unable to turn fifties into centuries on a consistent basis. The bowling resources are better. Odoyo (pace) and Hiren Varaiya (spin) are the leading wicket-takers for Kenya (48 and 51 respectively) and both have strike rates under 45. For several years, the only bowler providing consistent support was Peter Ongondo, Odoyo’s new-ball partner, the third bowler to take forty or more wickets. The last year has seen the emergence of Nehemiah Odhiambo (pace) and Elijah Otieno (spin) to provide some hope for the future. Perhaps a strong all-round bowling attack can go some way to offsetting the weakness in batting. MALAYSIA Played Won Drawn Lost Won on first inns Lost on first inns 2 0 0 0 2 Highest team total 173 v United Arab Emirates Kuala Lumpur 2004 Lowest team total 99 v Nepal Kirtipur 2004 Highest individual total 60 R.Madhavan v United Arab Emirates Kuala Lumpur 2004 Best bowling analysis 5-61 S.Navaratnam v Nepal Kirtipur 2004 Best wicketkeeping 2 c S.Retinam v United Arab Emirates Kuala Lumpur 2004 2 c S.Retinam v United Arab Emirates Kuala Lumpur 2004 S.Retinam’s performances were in two separate innings. Malaysia only participated in the first year of the competition, for which the ICC rated them as the third best team in Asia. Before the second competition, the Asian Cricket Council had organised their, short-lived, three-day Fast Track Country Tournament (later to become the Asian Premier League) as a qualifying tournament for the ICC Intercontinental Cup, and Malaysia was displaced by Hong Kong as Asia’s third country. Despite selecting an experienced side and also having played three-day international cricket since 1990 in the annual competition with Singapore for the Saudara Cup, Malaysia disappointed. Basically, too few of their players were really of first-class standard and whilst they held their own for the first day and a half against both Nepal and the United Arab Emirates, they capitulated too easily on the last day in both matches. Once Rakesh Madhavan and Rohan Selvaratnam had been dismissed, their batting was all too fragile and never made enough runs to give their bowlers totals which they could defend. In contrast, the bowling attack comprised four players with strike rates in the 30s and two with 274 Countries