The Hindu : Kenya will be praying for a miracle

Online edition of India's National Newspaper
Wednesday, Feb 12, 2003

Sport

Sport - World Cup

Kenya will be praying for a miracle

By G. Viswanath

Potchefstroom Feb. 11. Kenya's captain Steve Tikolo will take the field at the North West Stadium on Wednesday aware that his team will have to perform a miracle to alter the 0-7 head-to-head record against South Africa.

The two teams met recently in the ICC Champions Trophy in Colombo and South Africa notched up its seventh win with ease.

For years Kenya has relied heavily on the impressive Tikolo and Maurice Odumbe to produce the runs.

These two will be expected to lead by example in Kenya's first World Cup match against South Africa, which lost the opener against the West Indies by three runs and will be in no mood to relax as it expects to score its first four points.

Kenya hosted a tri-series in August 2002 inviting two strong teams — Australia and Pakistan.

Tikolo's team was drubbed in all the matches, but there were some individual performances which Tikolo would like to be seen repeated on Wednesday, so as to make the Group B match a keen contest.

Kenya would hope that some of the players who showed form in the warm-up match against Eastern Province would strike again.

It beat Eastern Province by four wickets with Tikolo scoring a useful 35 following his half century against Border in another warm-up game.

Thomas Miagi (formerly Odoyo) is another excellent allrounder Tikolo has in the squad, apart from the experienced Alpesh Vadher and Aasif Karim, both of whom have come out of retirement for the World Cup.

Kenya has played 52 one-day Internationals and lost 42, but it will always try to draw inspiration from its notable wins against India (at Gwalior and Port Elizabeth) and West Indies (Pune).

The teams (from):

South Africa:

Shaun Pollock (Capt.), Herschelle Gibbs, Gary Kirsten, Boeta Dippenaar, Jacques Kallis, Mark Boucher, Jonty Rhodes, Lance Klusener, Nicky Boje, Makhaya Ntini, Allan Donald, Andrew Hall, Robin Peterson, Charl Langeveldt and Monde Zondeki.

Kenya:

Steve Tikolo (Capt.), Kennedy Obuya, Ravindu Shah, Maurice Odumbe, Thomas Miagi, Martin Suji, Hitesh Modi, Tony Suji, Peter Ongondo, Collins Obuya, David Obuya, Joseph Angara, Brijal Patel, Aasif Karim and Alpesh Vadher.

Umpires: Messrs. T. Wijewardene (Sri Lanka) & K. Barbour (Zimbabwe); TV Umpire: Neil Mallender; Fourth: M. Henry; Match Referee: Ranjan Madugalle.

Hours of play (IST): 1-30 p.m. to 5 p.m. and 5-45 onwards.

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