Tom Sears quit Cricket Kenya for Irish Rugby club

The situation of the Kenyan cricket game is such that its former CEO would quit in a hurry and opt for a less glamorous appointment as rugby club CEO. Tom Sears who has been at helm at Cricket Kenya for only two years must have known something that we didn't.

Cricket Kenya logo - www.cricket-kenya.com

Its without a doubt that the last 5 years or so, the Kenyan cricket scene has not had much to write home about. The only success if it were was the launch of 2  'franchise-like' cricket action pitting regional teams in Kenya, Uganda and Tanzania to a lesser extent. These were the East Africa Premier League and the East African Cup.
These two tournaments have seen better development of our neighbours' games but nothing much to the Kenyan teams.
Back to CK's former CEO, the nonchalant habits of the Board and also lack of enough support from ICC which funds the international game would be some of the reasons Mr. Sears decided to head north. It will be a tough call for the incoming CEO to add flavour to the Kenyan cricket game.
Of utmost importance is;

• getting the oomph back into club and national teams which seem to be rudderless and without inspiration to perform optimally. From remuneration to sponsors, these are but some of the issues that the new CEO should address;
• two, there are international games that would be of great testing to the Kenyan game including clubs from Test playing nations or their 'A' and 'B' sides as it were. That exposure would be beneficial to the young men;
• third, the current office has antagonised many former players who would serve the clubs and national team in consulting and coaching capacities. Engage them widely, they know what it takes to play in high stakes games;
• fourth, as an Associate nation, its time we regained our status among the top Associate teams. This will need more than sheer determination and will but also enormous resources which a good CEO can and should surmount;
• fifth, Test playing nations have been making a push for cricket to land back to the major sporting events like the Commonwealth Games and Olympic Games. The success of Associate nations such as Kenya which has a rich Commonwealth & Olympic heritage would support such bids. Remember what Kenyan Rugby 7s proponents did for the 7s game inclusion in the 2016 Olympic Games?
• sixth , there is the World Cup qualifiers and Twenty 20 tournaments coming up in the next 2 years. Kenya HAS to be in those two events by whatever means. That's a favourable yardstick for any Cricket Kenya CEO worth his (or her...) salt. 
• finally, its about time too that the game got onto the screens of the local enthusiasts. Local and pay TV channels are always looking for local content. Yours is a veritable choice which is waiting to happen. 

 Mr. Tom Sears, we wish you well as you enjoy Irish beer. Put in a few good words for the Kenyan cricket game and maybe you can send in a few recommendations for people to consider as new CEO. It will a Herculean task indeed!

Kenyan Cricket - Enter the Maasai Warrior !

The dismal performance of the Kenyan national cricket team during the ICC World Cup Twenty20 was witness to the low levels the game has deteriorated in the country. It's been a slow and gradual process where Cricket officials seem to have no clue of what ails the sport and how they can salvage the game. The technical team has also not seen any much positive change since the current coach New Zealander - Mike Hesson took over, replacing West Indies-origin, Eldine Baptiste.

This is tragic considering that the country has some truly talented cricketers both current and retired. A few weeks ago, Maurice Odumbe was in some talk-show and though most would not want to agree with everything he says, the one thing we'd recommend is use of these retired hands to inspire the current breed of players.
Just like what happens in other sports, the experienced players will always have a skill or two to impart and also lead the team from the front when it counts. Cricket Kenya officials have not been very enthusiast engaging older players in developing the local teams and having them as part of the advisory for the national team.

Maasai Cricket Warriors - www.loadpictures.net

Now with the sport slowly taking a back seat as we approach the end of the One-Day International (ODI) status in 2013, the country will stand to lose the much-needed exposure of international games. Without this, it will be a hard call qualifying for the next World Cup scheduled for 2015 even though signs have been ominous that Test-playing nations will not entertain lesser minions in future World Cups.


Maybe it's about time we called in the cricket-playing Maasais onto the national team... They might inject the much-needed vigour and stamina to take back Kenya's place among respected non-Test playing countries....

{ The Maasai Cricket Warriors are currently in South Africa taking part in the Last Man Stands - World Championships in  South Africa in the Happy Hitters category. You can check their link here and also follow the Last Man Stands tournament live tweets on @LMSWorldChamps }