ICC Intercontinental Cup and Shield

NAMIBIA v KENYA Originally scheduled as the opening match of the 2005 competition on 25-27 February, the ICC sought its postponement until the problems concerning the administration of Kenyan cricket had been resolved. Rearranging the dates for June meant that the fixture was played in the Namibian winter when temperatures during the day generally rise to only 15-20°C though the chance of rain is very low. In the event, the match coincided with an unseasonably warm spell and the mid-afternoon temperatures reached 27° C. The result was a slow pitch favouring the batsmen provided they did not become too adventurous and no assistance to the bowlers from either pitch or atmosphere. It was not surprising then that both first-innings totals were 300 or more obtained at strike rates in the high 50s to low 60s. More surprising was that no batsman scored a century. Despite their home advantage, the Namibian team faced the problem of not having played much cricket prior to the match, it being the off-season. Kenya were disadvantaged by a knee injury to Ravindu Shah, which meant he was not available for selection. With just half a point separating the two teams, the match was key to deciding the winner of the Africa Group. Namibia had a particular incentive to do well because they were scheduled to host the semi-finals and final. Lack of practice may be one reason that Deon Kotze asked Kenya to bat first, a decision which initially looked inspired as Kola Burger, in an aggressive opening spell, removed Kennedy Otieno and Jimmy Kamande, the latter positioned unusually high at number three. On the benign pitch, Maurice Ouma and Steve Tikolo soon repaired the damage with a partnership of 151 runs before Tikolo became Kola Burger’s third victim; his 86 included 18 fours and came at a strike rate of 72.8. Ouma was caught and bowled by Deon Kotze soon after but all the Kenyan middle order contributed usefully and Tikolo was able to declare after having secured maximum batting points when the score reached 300. This left one hour of play in which Namibia started strongly. Jan-Berrie Burger and Stefan Swanepoel were particularly severe on the Kenyan opening attack, striking Lameck Onyango for 15 in his first over. The partnership reached 63 before Tikolo accounted for Jan-Berrie Burger but Namibia progressed to 72 at the close without further loss. Wickets fell regularly on the second morning as Namibia’s batsmen showed their lack of match practice and at 153 for five there was a risk that the home side would have a substantial deficit on the first innings. Louis Burger and Gerrie Snyman met the challenge with a sixth-wicket partnership of 121, Snyman playing a characteristically aggressive innings with four fours and four sixes and a strike rate of 75.0. The lower order built on this foundation to take Namibia past 300, Deon Kotze choosing to declare when the lead had reached 35. Kenya’s openers put on 45 without difficulty but, after Ouma was run out, Kamande lasted only three balls and Namibia looked to have a clear advantage. Otieno and Tikolo prevented any further inroads before the end of the day, with Tikolo being especially positive; his 41, made at a strike rate of 73.2, included six fours and one six. Although Kenya lost Tikolo early on the third morning with no addition to his score, Otieno continued to his fifty and Hitesh Modi and Martin Suji both batted well. Suji held out through a lower-order collapse which reduced Kenya to 215 for eight before he and Peter Ongondo put on 62 for the ninth wicket. That Ongondo survived for 97 balls was symptomatic of the lack of life in the pitch. Scoring runs quickly was not easy, however, hence the strike rates of 37.8 for Suji and 26.8 for Ongondo. Tikolo chose to bat until there was no chance of a Namibian victory, finally declaring to set an impossible target of 248 runs. In the time available, Namibia needed to score 75 without loss to become Africa Group champions but with the first wicket going down at 20, the cause was lost. With the rest of the match now serving no purpose, Namibia’s batsmen behaved quite irresponsibly and lost four further wickets before the match was called off, allowing Kenya to obtain 2.5 bowling points for the innings. This turned out to be the final difference in overall points between the two teams in the Africa Group. Martin Suji was the Man of the Match for his all-round performance. 60 ICC Intercontinental Cup 2005