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Who misses the Kenyan cricket team?

sweep_shot

sweep_shot

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Growing up in the 90's, I had a soft spot for Kenyan cricket. Kenya went to 2003 WC semi-final; only associate nation in cricket's history to do so. After that, they simply faded away. Corruption and mismanagement killed off Kenyan cricket.

As a cricket lover, I would love to see Kenya being a strong associate again.

My fondest memory of Kenya was their famous win against India in a tri-series (hosted in South Africa). Even Tendulkar struggled against them in that game. Here it is:

 
Some diversity in cricket was good. I remember Steve Tikolo and Collins Obuya as their main players but don't think they had many others. For a while they punched above their weight but when these players lost form then the whole team just faded away. Back then without T20 cricket it was difficult for minnows to become consistent. T20 has opened a pathway for smaller teams now.
 
Kenya was one of my favorite teams after India and SA.
It’s unfortunate how cricket was killed in African countries.
 
DeadlyVenom said:
Some diversity in cricket was good. I remember Steve Tikolo and Collins Obuya as their main players but don't think they had many others. For a while they punched above their weight but when these players lost form then the whole team just faded away. Back then without T20 cricket it was difficult for minnows to become consistent. T20 has opened a pathway for smaller teams now.
Click to expand...

They had some good players --> Steve Tikolo, Collins Obuya, Thomas Odoyo, Maurice Odumbe, Kennedy Otieno, Ravindu Shah, Deepak Chudasama, Hitesh Modi etc.

As a unit, they were good and caused quite a few upsets (defeated Sri Lanka once, India twice, and West Indies once).
 
DeadlyVenom said:
Some diversity in cricket was good. I remember Steve Tikolo and Collins Obuya as their main players but don't think they had many others. For a while they punched above their weight but when these players lost form then the whole team just faded away. Back then without T20 cricket it was difficult for minnows to become consistent. T20 has opened a pathway for smaller teams now.
Click to expand...

Maurice Odumbe was their main batsmen I think, he was my favorite player.

Tikolo went on to become their best player ever.

There was one bowler as well Suji, he was semi decent.

All the surnames started with O, there was another guy otieno or something.

Good team. Cricket needed such teams Unfortunately it’s a boring **** show now.
 
sweep_shot said:
They had some good players --> Steve Tikolo, Collins Obuya, Thomas Odoyo, Maurice Odumbe, Kennedy Otieno, Ravindu Shah, Deepak Chudasama, Hitesh Modi etc.

As a unit, they were good and caused quite a few upsets (defeated Sri Lanka once, India twice, and West Indies once).
Click to expand...
I forgot these players. You are right they had more than the two I mentioned.
 
DeadlyVenom said:
I forgot these players. You are right they had more than the two I mentioned.
Click to expand...

sweep_shot said:
They had some good players --> Steve Tikolo, Collins Obuya, Thomas Odoyo, Maurice Odumbe, Kennedy Otieno, Ravindu Shah, Deepak Chudasama, Hitesh Modi etc.

As a unit, they were good and caused quite a few upsets (defeated Sri Lanka once, India twice, and West Indies once).
Click to expand...

Another name I forgot to mention was Aasif Karim. He was a great spinner.

Aasif Karim was the Man of the Match against Australia in 2003 WC. Aussies had to work hard against Kenya in that game.

 
big_gamer007 said:
Maurice Odumbe was their main batsmen I think, he was my favorite player.

Tikolo went on to become their best player ever.

There was one bowler as well Suji, he was semi decent.

All the surnames started with O, there was another guy otieno or something.

Good team. Cricket needed such teams Unfortunately it’s a boring **** show now.
Click to expand...
Back then I think to become a top team you had to have the aim of playing test cricket and it was impossible for a minnow to develop a solid structure. Especially an African minnow because any money for investment got ate up by corruption and beauracracy and the ICC itself was incompetent at growing the game.
 
Kenya upsetting Sri Lanka in 2003 WC:


=====================

Kenya upsetting West Indies in 1996 WC:

 
Kenya and Pak - 1 ODI WC semi this century. Both were defeated by India in the semi.
 
saimayubera said:
Kenya and Pak - 1 ODI WC semi this century. Both were defeated by India in the semi.
Click to expand...

Why are you bringing up Pakistan? This thread is about Kenya only.

For Kenya to reach semi was a big deal because they were never a full member. They were (and still are) an associate.
 
Amazing how OP misses Kenya but doesn't point out the biggest upset they caused was the '96 WC win against West Indies or their WC win against SL which helped them qualify for the Super sixes and then semis. But would point out random bilateral wins over India .
 
big_gamer007 said:
Maurice Odumbe was their main batsmen I think, he was my favorite player.

Tikolo went on to become their best player ever.

There was one bowler as well Suji, he was semi decent.

All the surnames started with O, there was another guy otieno or something.

Good team. Cricket needed such teams Unfortunately it’s a boring **** show now.
Click to expand...
Yeah. Odoyo and Obuya also. :inti
 
In 2003 World Cup they had played some excellent cricket.

Is Kenya co- host for The 2027 World cup or not ? namibia is co host but not sure about Kenya.

:kp
 
hoshiarpurexpress said:
We should kick Bangladesh out and revive cricket in Kenya..give them some funds. Bangladesh have nothing to show.
Click to expand...


This.. Yes sweep_shot bro, I miss the Kenyan team.

Would be good to try them out over the kitty cats who have done a big whopping almost nothing since they got their test status thanks to Jag Dalmiya and BCCI
 
hoshiarpurexpress said:
We should kick Bangladesh out and revive cricket in Kenya..give them some funds. Bangladesh have nothing to show.
Click to expand...



Kenya at that time definitely deserved Test status over Bangladesh. No doubt.

Anyway, Kenya are now out of top 20. They have quite a catching up to do if they want to return to their glory days.
 
This thread is supposed to be about nostalgia and history of Kenyan cricket.

Out of respect for Kenyan cricket, I am stopping responses to all petty posts. It feels like I am dealing with a call center scammer.

:inti
 
sweep_shot said:
It is a shame Indian posters are derailing this thread with their third class insults. This thread is supposed to be about nostalgia and history of Kenyan cricket.

Out of respect for Kenyan cricket, I am stopping responses to all petty posts. It feels like I am dealing with a call center scammer.

:inti
Click to expand...
All I said was Kenyan players are much better in cricket if given good support as compared to Bangladesh.
 
RidiculousMan said:
@TheRock @sweep_shot ICC does now pay an amount to smaller and associate nations (should be more). But I'm guessing they didn't paid back then or it wasn't enough for Kenya after corruption?
Click to expand...

Check these articles. Pretty detailed:

cricspy.com

The Rise and Fall of the Kenya Cricket Team: What Went Wrong? An In-Depth Analysis - CricSpy

Discover the journey of the Kenya Cricket Team. Learn about their rise, key achievements, factors behind their decline, and steps for a potential resurgence in international cricket.
cricspy.com cricspy.com

sportstar.thehindu.com

Aasif Karim reflects on the lost glory of cricket in Kenya

Karim, who played 34 ODIs, was part of the Kenyan team at three ICC World Cups in 1996, 1999 and 2003. He led the team in 1999.
sportstar.thehindu.com sportstar.thehindu.com
 
sweep_shot said:
Why are you bringing up Pakistan? This thread is about Kenya only.

…
Click to expand...

Great thread.

I loved the Kenyan team too.

However, you bought up India first, in fact in two separate posts.

Giving attention to India in what is a Kenya thread (as you yourself stated) will result in especial attention to Bangladesh and Pakistan.

Qed.
 
I am in Kenya right now. No one knows about cricket (except Kenyan-Indians) here. Even the older generation don't remember anything about those famous Kenyan wins.
 
sweep_shot said:
This thread is supposed to be about nostalgia and history of Kenyan cricket.

Out of respect for Kenyan cricket, I am stopping responses to all petty posts. It feels like I am dealing with a call center scammer.

:inti
Click to expand...

You say you want to talk about Kenya then opening two posts are about how Kenya defeated India and how India with Sachin lost to Kenya.

I mean, at least try to pretend to keep it neutral bro.
 
Kenya's upset win over WI was a big shock at the time. The mighty Windies were humbled by a minnow at the biggest stage.
 
Dr_Bassim said:
You say you want to talk about Kenya then opening two posts are about how Kenya defeated India and how India with Sachin lost to Kenya.

I mean, at least try to pretend to keep it neutral bro.
Click to expand...

Those were famous Kenyan victories. Beating India twice. Tendulkar had no answer to Kenya on that day.

I also posted about Kenya's wins over Sri Lanka and West Indies. So, I was quite neutral.

:inti
 
Last edited by a moderator:
Yes really miss them.

After the 2003 world cup , ICC should have recognised their potential and given them a permanent status or atleast some of the perks the useless Bangladesh team got during that time. Would have been a much better investment than the one put on the talent less , weak and meek BD cricket.
 
speed_thrills said:
I am in Kenya right now. No one knows about cricket (except Kenyan-Indians) here. Even the older generation don't remember anything about those famous Kenyan wins.
Click to expand...

That's sad to know. I hope cricket will be revived there.

Golden generation of Kenya had both black players and Indian-origin players.
 
sweep_shot said:
Those were famous Kenyan victories. Beating India twice. Tendu Pendu had no answer to Kenya on that day.

I also posted about Kenya's wins over Sri Lanka and West Indies. So, I was quite neutral.

:inti
Click to expand...
Kenya's biggest victory was beating West Indies in 1996 WC.

What is Tendu Pendu? Your country produce a batsman half of his calibre. So some respect pls.
 
sweep_shot said:
Those were famous Kenyan victories. Beating India twice. Tendu Pendu had no answer to Kenya on that day.

I also posted about Kenya's wins over Sri Lanka and West Indies. So, I was quite neutral.

:inti
Click to expand...
Your country will not produce a batter of Sachin's class in a million years. Put some respect in front of his name.
lol.. Your agenda is pretty clear. Denigrate non muslim Indian players all the time and then try to act so called neutral.
 
hoshiarpurexpress said:
Your country will not produce a batter of Sachin's class in a million years. Put some respect in front of his name.
lol.. Your agenda is pretty clear. Denigrate non muslim Indian players all the time and then try to act so called neutral.
Click to expand...

What you on about ?

Bangladesh won't even create a bat handle that had the quality of SRT's.

SRT alone is worth more than the whole country of Bangladesh and yes that is a major insult to SRT to have such a comparison 😅

But will always support our Hindu Brother from Bangladesh Das.... Mashallah what a find for Bangladesh....
 
Their kit color was very good. Some twins also there , Toni Suji & Martin Suji then the trio Kennnedy Obuya the opener, David Obuya Wk, Collins Obuya the off spinner.

Then the legends Thomas Odoyo who was definitely better than Faheem Ashraf and skipper Steve Tikolo who was definitely better than Shadab Khan
 
sweep_shot said:
They had some good players --> Steve Tikolo, Collins Obuya, Thomas Odoyo, Maurice Odumbe, Kennedy Otieno, Ravindu Shah, Deepak Chudasama, Hitesh Modi etc.

As a unit, they were good and caused quite a few upsets (defeated Sri Lanka once, India twice, and West Indies once).
Click to expand...
Given the same resources and facilities, Kenya would have been much better established than Bangladesh by now.
 
Cover Drive Six said:
Given the same resources and facilities, Kenya would have been much better established than Bangladesh by now.
Click to expand...

Why are you telling me this? Do you think this post is supposed to offend me? LOL.

I don't jump around like a lunatic (like some people from a specific country do) when you criticize my country. :inti

I agree with your post, BTW.
 
RizwanT20Champ said:
Very classy to take cheap shots at guys who in their pomp took out likes of Bhumrah and Starc. Easy to kick someone when they are down.
Click to expand...

You make it sound like Zimbabar and Zimzwan have been dominating Bumrah and Starc for years.

Babar Azam has faced Bumrah 8 times, scored 53 runs in total.

Rizwan had faced Bumrah 3 times, scoring 14 runs.
 
Peak Kenya was the Afghanistan of the 1990s-2003. The real 100% African cricket nation. Played with so much passion. When we were an ordinary team in the 1990s, they gave us a lot of trouble on a consistent basis lol.
 
if Kenyan cricket had got the same money, support and exposure as the mediocre BD team, we would have seen an exciting team emerge and make cricket more competitive. I do miss them for that
 
YousafTheBeast said:
You make it sound like Zimbabar and Zimzwan have been dominating Bumrah and Starc for years.

Babar Azam has faced Bumrah 8 times, scored 53 runs in total.

Rizwan had faced Bumrah 3 times, scoring 14 runs.
Click to expand...
Meaningless stat without wickets/balls faced info if that is even correct.
 
Nowadays, Pakistan is giving the vibes of Kenya.. Who would want to remember Kenya when we have Pakistan playing like an absolute minnow.
 
BouncerGuy said:
Nowadays, Pakistan is giving the vibes of Kenya.. Who would want to remember Kenya when we have Pakistan playing like an absolute minnow.
Click to expand...
Come on bro, we are still a top team who can beat anyone on our day. We are just lacking a little impetus.
 
RizwanT20Champ said:
Meaningless stat without wickets/balls faced info if that is even correct.
Click to expand...

53 runs in 8 games vs Bumrah, the wickets, balls etc aren’t going to make it any better.

You said Babar and Rizwan took out Bumrah. Show me where? Where’s your stats to back it up?
 
RexRex said:
Kenya's upset win over WI was a big shock at the time. The mighty Windies were humbled by a minnow at the biggest stage.
Click to expand...
Pak was humbled by Ban a new team in 1999 and they also lost to Ire in 2007.Ban defeated strong SA team in the same year.WI during that time was weaker than 90s version which was weaker than their golden age so they losing to Ken isn't biggest upset in the history
 
Kenyan cricket is almost dead. Collins Obuya who was one of their stars in 2003 WC, recently retired last year at age of 43 and given lack of replacements, it won't be surprising if he makes a comeback. They can try to get back Tanmay Mishra whose career in Indian domestics is over now but even he is 38 now

What Kenya needs to revive is good youngsters. Also they are athletic people and they should look to find some good pacers first and look at Indian origin Kenyan born people to get some good homegrown players, especially batsmen and spinners. ICC should help in reviving Kenya and maybe Kenyan board can look to start a T20 league as well

Also more than Kenya, ICC should help Scotland, Netherlands, Nepal, USA, Namibia, etc as they are the ones who have shown encouraging results in recent years and need the step up so that they can be among big teams too like Sri Lanka became and now Afghanistan are becoming
 
sweep_shot said:
Why are you telling me this? Do you think this post is supposed to offend me? LOL.

I don't jump around like a lunatic (like some people from a specific country do) when you criticize my country. :inti

I agree with your post, BTW.
Click to expand...
I was talking about the players you mentioned, considering the resources and facilities they have been given. It seems like you are triggered.lol
 
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