© Reuters At the beginning of the 2003 World Cup, few would have thoughtthat Kenya was going to be the pride of African cricket in thetournament

Erapalli Prasanna13-Mar-2003
© ReutersAt the beginning of the 2003 World Cup, few would have thoughtthat Kenya was going to be the pride of African cricket in thetournament. More congratulations, then, to the Kenyans forbecoming the first non-Test-playing nation to make it to thesemi-finals of a cricket World Cup. They have certainly achieveda feat that none of the other “minnows” could even have dreamedof, and the success of the Kenyan national team is going to be amajor boost for the game in that country.As things stand now, Kenya may very well get steamrolled by themighty Australians in the very next game, but they have stillshown an exemplary quality to learn quickly and well. Unlikeother detractors, I do not wish to take anything away from thisKenyan team and their coach Sandeep Patil, for the discipline andenthusiasm they have shown is quite remarkable. With the rightkind of leadership and assistance from the ICC, I am sure Kenyahas the potential to be a major force in world cricket in a fewyears. Watch out especially for Collins Obuya, for the young legspinner is improving with every game.The prize-money in itself could help Kenya to invest greatly atthe grassroots level. The board, I hope, will be able to somehowcobble together a first-class league, giving their players moreexposure in the longer version of the game, before they eventhink of applying for Test status.
© ReutersSimply put, it is amazing that a team that struggled to find 30quality players to make the preliminary World Cup squad findsitself in the World Cup semi-finals, and their success in thiscompetition is akin to Cameroon’s dream run in the 1990 soccerWorld Cup. As a country, Kenya now has more sportsmen tocelebrate than their world-champion long-distance runners. Thegame of cricket is alive and kicking in Africa; let the SouthAfricans choke and the clueless Zimbabweans break apart, forKenya has saved the face of the continent.Among the other teams, the Australians may look unstoppable atthis moment, but Shane Bond showed it that their batsmen cancrumble against incisive fast bowling. But the one team thatshould count itself to be very much in the running to win the Cupis India. The Indian team has not looked so good in recent times,and with Sachin Tendulkar batting in a manner only he can, andthe other batsmen also turning in crucial performances, India’schances look very bright. Hats off too to the Indian seambowlers; their performance in this World Cup has been a realrevelation.With three of the semi-final positions taken, I would plump forNew Zealand to take the fourth position. I am a big fan ofStephen Fleming’s captaincy, although some of his tactics may bebeyond my comprehension. New Zealand really did look like theteam to beat Australia, after the wonderful burst of fast bowlingby Bond. But however the planning is, a good skipper is at hisbest when he leads from the front in the field. Fleming shouldhave been ruthless and should not have let the opportunity tofinish off the Australians slip past.
© ReutersNew Zealand’s team selection is also, in my opinion, a bit awry.In their opening game against Sri Lanka, poor Daryl Tuffey shouldhave got Sanath Jayasuriya’s wicket in his fourth over, butumpire Neil Mallender denied him a clear caught-behind wicket.Tuffey subsequently conceded 16 runs in his fifth over, and itwas to be his last in this World Cup till date. It may be acompletely different issue that Jayasuriya hit a match-winninghundred on that day, but especially with Chris Cairns not bowlingin the game against Australia, Fleming should have played Tuffey.But all said and done, even without Shane Warne, Allan Donald,Jonty Rhodes, Wasm Akram and Brian Lara, we have seen somestunning cricket in the Super Six stage. Instead of ShoaibAkthar, it was Shane Bond who stepped up to compete with BrettLee. I still reckon that Cairns must now wake up and realise thathe is one all-rounder who could still make a lot of difference inthis World Cup – before it is all too late. In that light, then,the India-New Zealand encounter promises to be a real thriller.