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By Oscar Pilipili
If anyone ever doubted the future of Kenyan cricket, think again.
Kenyan youngsters echoed their strong all-round performance, beating the Netherlands by six wickets in an ODI tie at Nairobi Gymkhana.
Kenya chose to field first and it was tight bowling by its bowlers that restricted the tourists to a vulnerable target of 219-9 in maximum overs 34.5 overs. The hosts cruised to an easy victory after they managed 221-4 in the bowling order of Elijah Otieno (3-39), Nehemiah Odhiambo (1-46), Hiren Varaiya (1-29) and Shem Obado (1-33) bowled tightly to contain the Netherlands.
The Dutchmen should thank centurion Ryan ten Doschate who struck a resilient 121-ball 109 runs to put his team to a meaningful position.
Bas Zuiderland (21), Eric Szwarczynski (18) and Alexei Kervezee (11) were the only other Dutchmen who managed a double figure in batting.
In an uncommon show, Kenya top batting order proved it could perform on a nice day with encouraging results, especially from Rakep Patel who bettered his ODI record from 86 to 92 runs before he was stamped by Atse Buurman. Patel’s scores included nine fours and two sixes.
half century
Alex Obanda managed an impressive a half a century of 61 runs off 54 that included brave four boundaries and three sixes before he fell to the bowling of ten Doeschate.
Opener David Obuya also had a great outing when he contributed 32 runs that included four boundaries and a six.
It was sweet victory for the Kenyans, especially after they lost by seven wickets to the Dutch in the World Cup Twenty20 tournament that ended in Abu Dhabi last week.
The teams clash in their second ODI tomorrow before facing off in the Intercontinental Cup on February 20-23.
Completed rise
Meanwhile, Shane Watson has completed his rise in importance to Australia in all three formats by being named the Allan Border Medallist for 2010.
In a year in which Watson established himself as a Test opening batsman while remaining a key top-order man in the limited-overs game, he finished with 125 votes and beat the second-placed Michael Clarke (90), while Mitchell Johnson came third with 87 votes.
Watson was also named Australia’s One-Day International Player of the Year and his five-day opening partner Simon Katich took out the Test title. The recognition of his peers, media and umpires as Australia’s best player over the past 12 months was a major landmark for Watson, who had previously battled injuries for nearly a decade and struggled to become a full-time member of Australia’s team.
A clearly emotional Watson was close to tears as he accepted a prize that seemed a world away while he was battling injuries to nearly every part of his body over the past eight years. "It’s been an awesome ride," Watson said. "It’s very overwhelming actually to have received this award."
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