Kenya looking to gain experience
The perfectionists that they are, South Africa are in no mood to take minnows Kenya
lightly even though not much is at stake in the second one-day international in the triseries between the two
contrasting sides at Willowmoore Park, Benoni, on Sunday.
The match could be predictably one-sided as one team is next only to world-beaters Australia, while the other is still struggling to find its feet in international cricket, having won just seven of the 37 ODIs it has played so far.
Kenya have no preposterous designs and would be looking
for no more than some experience against their mighty rivals,
who defeated a spirited India by six wickets in the opening
triseries encounter on Friday.
Having set their sights for some practice before the World Cup in 2003, Kenya are looking to identify players who would
give ample support to the long-serving likes of Maurice Odumbe, Kennedy Otieno and Steve Tikolo.
They haven't had much chance to do so lately as the only
matches they have played this year include three one-dayers
against the West Indies in July. Their previous game was a full
nine months before in the ICC knock-out mini World Cup, when
they lost to India at home.
Kenya's only feather in the cap is the sensational
victory against the West Indies at Pune in the 1996 World Cup.
Otherwise they do not have any records to boast of - only
four Kenyan cricketers have managed hundreds in international
games. Also, only former captain Asif Karim has managed a
five-wicket haul in one-day interntionals.
But South Africa still are in no mood to lower the guard
and take Kenya lightly.
There were speculations that since the lower half of the
batting order has had no practice in Zimbabwe and little from
the day-night game against India, Shaun Pollock would be inclined
to give a his lower order some sort of decent practice in view
of the matches ahead.
But Pollock discounted too many experiments. "We might
push a lad or two up the order but we are not in too much of
mind to meddle with the batting order," said Pollock.
South Africa, as they proved in their victory against
India, are a ruthless bunch of cricketers and they are
unlikely to be stretched by the Kenyans.
Gary Kirsten and Herschelle Gibbs at the top of the order,
and Jacques Kallis at number three, have proved difficult to
get past by in recent times and it is unlikely they would be
against a lowly-placed side like Kenya.
Teams (from):
Kenya: Maurice Odumbe (capt), Steve Tikolo (vice-capt),
Martin Suji, Kennedy Otieno, Hitesh Modi, Ravindu Shah, Thomas
Odoyo, Tony Suji, Lameck Onyango, Mohammed Sheikh, Jimmy
Kamande, Peter Ocheing, Josephat Ababu, Colliens Otieno.
South Africa: Gary Kirsten, Herschelle Gibbs, Neil
McKenzie, Jonty Rhodes, Jacques Kallis, Shaun Pollock (capt),
Lance Klusener, Justin Kemp, Claude Henderson, Makhya Ntini,
Mark Boucher and Andre Nel.
Complete coverage
Mail Cricket Editor
