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Tuesday, May 29, 2012

Cricket Kenya awards new contracts

Cricket Kenya has agreed National Squad contracts with 20 players for 2012/13.

The National Selection panel chaired by Alpesh Vadher made recommendations to the Cricket Kenya Board which were unanimously accepted and all 20 players have accepted their new agreements.

Chief Executive Tom Sears said: 'Cricket Kenya is delighted to announce that 20 players have agreed National contracts. We have great faith in the players selected, they are a young squad and will need time to reach their full potential, but they have an enormous amount of ability and given time there is no reason why this squad can't start producing the results we all hope to see.

'The process of renewing the contracts has been extremely simple this year which has been refreshing, I would commend the players for choosing to represent themselves as opposed to being influenced by third parties, and on the way they have conducted themselves throughout the process. All discussions have been very open and constructive which bodes well for the future.'

The 20 players contracted are as follows:


Ragheb Aga
Duncan Allan
James Ngoche
Shem Ngoche
Alex Obanda
Collins Obuya
Nehemiah Odhiambo
Nelson Odhiambo
Irfan Karim
Ibrahim Akello
Alfred Luseno
Peter Kituku
Dominic Wesonga
Morris Ouma
Lucas Oluoch
Elijah Otieno
Rakep Patel
Hiren Varaiya
Seren Waters
Emmanuel Bundi

Resurgent Pakistan eye Sri Lanka scalp

Pakistan are hoping to build on their impressive record over the past year when they take the field during the full tour of Sri Lanka starting later this week.

"The task here is to win, but the longer goal is to take Pakistan high up in the rankings in all three formats," Pakistan coach Dav Whatmore said at the series launch in Colombo on Monday night.

"It's a simple statement, but it requires a lot of work," he said ahead of the seven-week tour which comprises three Tests, five one-day internationals and two Twenty20 games.

The Pakistanis have come a long way since the spot-fixing scandal in England in 2010 led to unprecedented jail terms for Test captain Salman Butt and premier fast bowlers Mohammad Asif and Mohammad Aamer.

The talented but often unpredictable national team have shown consistent winning form over the last 12 months despite being unable to play at home due to security concerns since an attack on the Sri Lankan team in Lahore in 2009.

Pakistan have won seven of their last nine Test matches, including a 3-0 whitewash of top-ranked England in the United Arab Emirates earlier this year.

Their record in limited-overs cricket has been equally impressive, winning 16 of their last 22 one-day games, topped by the Asia Cup title triumph in Bangladesh in March.

The two Twenty20 games in southern Hambantota on Friday and Sunday provide both teams with a useful build-up for the World Twenty20 tournament to be held in Sri Lanka in September-October.

The Sri Lankans have had an inconsistent year in which they managed just two wins in 14 Tests with six defeats, and lost 21 of their last 35 one-day internationals.

Sri Lankan captain Mahela Jayawardene praised Pakistan's recent record and saw a good challenge ahead for his home team.

"If you take their performances in the last six months, they have performed really well in all three formats," he said. "To play them in our conditions is a good challenge."

Australian Whatmore, a former Sri Lankan coach who guided Arjuna Ranatunga's men to the World Cup title in 1996, said Pakistan were ready for what would be a tough tour on the field.

"Although Pakistan is unable to play any international matches at home due to the security concerns, they managed to practice together before coming to Sri Lanka," the coach said.

"We had a pretty decent two-week camp before we came here."

Whatmore insisted his insider's knowledge of Sri Lankan cricket would not give Pakistan any advantage.

"It was a long time ago when I finished with Sri Lanka and a lot of water has passed under the bridge," he said. "I maintain some friendships which are always good but the task here is to win."

Pakistan's new Twenty20 captain Mohammad Hafeez said victory over Sri Lanka in all three formats in the United Arab Emirates last year had boosted his team's morale.

"We all know Sri Lanka are always good on their own soil, but we have had good success against them in the UAE," said Hafeez, who will be vice-captain to Misbah-ul-Haq in the Tests and the one-dayers.

Sri Lanka's chairman of selectors, Ashantha de Mel, said his team needed to be wary of Pakistan's leading spinners Saeed Ajmal and Abdur Rehman, who will play a key role in the Test and one-day series.

"It is the Pakistani spinners we need to be careful of," he said. "Ajmal and Rehman are of a different class compared to our spinners. Only Rangana Herath comes anywhere close to them."

Tour schedule:

June 1 : First Twenty20 international, Hambantota

June 3 : Second Twenty20 international, Hambantota

June 7 : First one-dayer, Pallekele

June 9 : Second one-dayer, Pallekele

June 13: Third one-dayer, Colombo

June 16: Fourth one-dayer, Colombo

June 18: Fifth one-dayer, Colombo

June 22-26: First Test, Galle

June 30-July 4: Second Test, Colombo

July 8-12: Third Test, Pallekele

Resurgent Pakistan eye Sri Lanka scalp


COLOMBO: Pakistan are hoping to build on their impressive record over the past year when they take the field during the full tour of Sri Lanka starting later this week.
"The task here is to win, but the longer goal is to take Pakistan high up in the rankings in all three formats," Pakistan coach Dav Whatmore said at the series launch in Colombo on Monday night. "It's a simple statement, but it requires a lot of work," he said ahead of the seven-week tour which comprises three Tests, five one-day internationals and two Twenty20 games.
The talented but often unpredictable national team have shown consistent winning form over the last 12 months despite being unable to play at home due to security concerns. Pakistan have won seven of their last nine Test matches, including a 3-0 whitewash of top-ranked England in the United Arab Emirates earlier this year.
Their record in limited-overs cricket has been equally impressive, winning 16 of their last 22 one-day games, topped by the Asia Cup title triumph in Bangladesh in March. The two Twenty20 games in southern Hambantota on Friday and Sunday provide both teams with a useful build-up for the World Twenty20 tournament to be held in Sri Lanka in September-October.
The Sri Lankans have had an inconsistent year in which they managed just two wins in 14 Tests with six defeats, and lost 21 of their last 35 one-day internationals.
Sri Lankan captain Mahela Jayawardene praised Pakistan's recent record and saw a good challenge ahead for his home team. "If you take their performances in the last six months, they have performed really well in all three formats," he said. "To play them in our conditions is a good challenge."
Australian Whatmore, a former Sri Lankan coach who guided Arjuna Ranatunga's men to the World Cup title in 1996, said Pakistan were ready for what would be a tough tour on the field. "Although Pakistan is unable to play any international matches at home due to the security concerns, they managed to practice together before coming to Sri Lanka," the coach said.
"We had a pretty decent two-week camp before we came here." Whatmore insisted his insider's knowledge of Sri Lankan cricket would not give Pakistan any advantage. "It was a long time ago when I finished with Sri Lanka and a lot of water has passed under the bridge," he said. "I maintain some friendships which are always good but the task here is to win."
Pakistan's new Twenty20 captain Mohammad Hafeez said victory over Sri Lanka in all three formats in the United Arab Emirates last year had boosted his team's morale. "We all know Sri Lanka are always good on their own soil and we look forward to a very tough series," said Hafeez, who will be vice-captain to Misbah-ul-Haq in the Tests and the one-dayers.
"But we have had experience playing them in the recent past and had good success against them in the UAE."
Tour schedule: June 1 : First Twenty20 international, Hambantota June 3 : Second Twenty20 international, Hambantota June 7 : First one-dayer, Pallekele June 9 : Second one-dayer, Pallekele June 13: Third one-dayer, Colombo June 16: Fourth one-dayer, Colombo June 18: Fifth one-dayer, Colombo June 22-26: First Test, Galle June 30-July 4: Second Test, Colombo July 8-12: Third Test, Pallekele

Police lathicharge KKR fans in Kolkata

KOLKATA: Indian Premier League (IPL) champion Kolkata Knight Riders's victory celebrations at the Eden Gardens turned ugly when several fans who failed to enter the venue started shouting slogans and broke through the barricades, forcing the police to use force and lathicharge the crowd.
The fans near Gate No. 3 of Eden Gardens tried to enter the stadium to get a glimpse of the KKR players, but due to the packed venue failed to do so. Soon afterwards the fans started to turn violent and pulled down the barricades resulting in police action. But there has been no report of any person getting injured in the lathicharge.
Earlier, West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee appealed to the police to let those waiting outside to enter the Eden Gardens even though the stadium had more than 1 lakh people inside.
On Monday, Mamata had announced that she would felicitate the KKR team in Kolkata and added that the entry to the Eden Gardens for the celebrations would be free