Email Us Forum Mail Article Print Article

Kenyans march ever onwards

Wednesday, March 12 2003

Kenya sealed their first-ever World Cup Semi-Final place with a sensational victory over Zimbabwe at Bloemfontein today, with three wickets each for Martin Suji and Collins Obuya and some explosive batting from Maurice Odumbe. The evergreen Andy Flower was the sole shining light in a dismal showing from the Zimbabweans.

Zimbabwe won the toss and elected to bat first, hoping to set a target that the less-experienced Kenyan line-up would crumble in the face of a seemingly insurmountable task. Plan A failed to last at all as long as Zimbabwe would have hoped for – fourteen balls to be exact. Craig Wishart (5) tried an aggressive drive off Martin Suji, but it only went as far as wicketkeeper Kennedy Otieno’s safe gloves. Zimbabwe legend Andy Flower was in at number three, not for the first time assigned the task of consolidating after the loss of an early wicket, with the recalled Alistair Campbell at his side. Campbell’s return to the side was swiftly shortened by one from Martin Suji that straightened and caught him on the crease for 7, leaving Aleem Dar one of the easier LBW decisions.

Grant Flower is always a crucial wicket against the Zimbabweans, and today was no exception as Martin Suji produced another cracking delivery, to which Grant (7) suffered the same fate as Wishart before him. When Tatenda Taibu (3) tried a guide to third man off young leg-spinner Collins Obuya’s fifth ball, he only managed to give Otieno another catch, Andy Flower must have started to wonder if it was going to be another one of those days. When, five and a half overs later, Dion Ebrahim (13) let his frustration at the excellent control exhibited by Collins Obuya and veteran slow left-armer Asif Karim get to him, the net result being a simple stumping for Otieno, Zimbabwe were 5/85 and feeling the heat.

New man Andy Blignaut looked to contain his usual attacking style and help Andy Flower re-build. Flower brought up his fifty with a cut past point off Collins Obuya, but Blignaut (4) showed himself to be rather poor at rotating the strike, charging down from the non-striker’s end after a push to mid wicket. Otieno contributed yet another wicket, with the easiest run-out of his life. Skipper Heath Streak (0) hoped to repeat his late heroics against New Zealand, but was the victim of a brilliant leg-break from Collins Obuya that he had to play at, and only found Ravindu Shah at slip – 7/97.

The returning Thomas Odoyo then struck to remove Andy Flower’s leg bail (albeit via Flower’s trouser pocket) for a crucial 63 after adding 17 with Doug Marillier. The spinners retuned to further stifle an already turgid batting display, and it was the skipper Steve Tikolo who struck with his second ball after some miserly overs from Karim and Collins Obuya (who finished with 3/32), when Henry Olonga (3) only found Maurice Odumbe at short mid-wicket. Keep down the runs, and the wickets will come. After that, it was only a question of when rather than if the last wicket would go, and it fell with six overs left after Marillier (21) tried a desperate smear over mid-wicket, and missed the ball by a considerable amount. Unfortunately for Zimbabwe, it didn’t miss the stumps and it was 133 all out.

Aside from Obuya and Tikolo (2/2), Martin Suji (3/19) and Karim (0/20 off 9 overs) were highly impressive with the ball, although it has to be said that if more than one Zimbabwean had applied themselves properly, things might have been a little different.

The Kenyan reply began chaotically, with Wishart at slip and Ebrahim at point dropping Ravindu Shah inside the first six overs, and the same batsman escaped after an edge to Taibu wasn’t given as out by umpire Venkat – well that’s what the Bloemfontein snickometer said, anyway. Shah (14) experienced a change of luck soon afterwards as Andy Blignaut – who had broken 150kph in the previous over – deflected a straight drive from Kennedy Otieno onto the stumps at the non-striker’s end with Shah well out of his ground. A bouncer from Blignaut in the next over accounted for Kenyan skipper Steve Tikolo (2), his attempted hook only getting as far as Heath Streak at mid-off. 2/33, and it wasn’t over yet.

Otieno (19) was removed by the tenth ball of a Henry Olonga over littered with no-balls as a full and straight one made it easy for the umpire to peg back Kenya to 3/62. New batsman Maurice Odumbe didn’t agree with the top order’s tactics of taking ones and twos and inching towards the target, and incumbent Thomas Odoyo joined the party as the two took apart the Zimbabwe change bowlers. Grant Flower’s spin failed to have the same effect as Karim and Collins Obuya created for Kenya. Odumbe sent his second ball high over mid-on for four. This signalled fireworks in the next over from Odoyo as he took consecutive fours off the last three balls of Andy Blignaut’s over. Odumbe seemed to take this as a challenge and promptly followed suit with the first three balls of Grant Flower’s next over. 3/115 and the impossible was going to happen.

Odumbe treated the introduction of Doug Marillier with similar disdain, crashing two aerial fours straight back down the ground, before another two boundaries came off Grant Flower’s third over – what was to be the last of the game – sealing victory in style with a big cover drive. Odumbe had hit 38* off just 20 balls with 8 fours, and Odoyo 43* off 60 with 9 fours, with 32 off 35 since the fall of the third wicket. Odoyo scored his 1000th ODI run in the fourth wicket wicket partnership of 73 that was recorded in just 8 overs.

It’s the first time that a non-Test nation has reached the Semi-Finals of the World Cup, and the scenes of jubilation at Bloemfontein reflected this. Heath Streak congratulated the Kenyans, saying that they were the better team, and Steve Tikolo was understandably delighted, though he’s aiming to bat better personally in the Semi-Final! Kenya play Australia in what’s effe

Posted by Neil