Junior cricketers tussle with KÓgalo for men’s team of the year awards

Team Kenya celebrate during the ICC U19 Cricket World Cup Qualifier match against Ghana at Nairobi Gymkana Grounds on Saturday, July 01, 2017. [PHOTO: JONAH ONYANGO/STANDARD]

After securing Kenya’s return to the International Cricket Council Under-19 World Cup after a 16-year absence, junior cricketers’ are now jostling for the big prize purse.  

They are front runners in the chase for the 2017 Safaricom Sports Personality of the Year Awards (SOYA).

The Under-19 team stands out among top five prospects for the prestigious award in the men’s team of the year category. They will battle it out for the award with Kenya Premier League champions Gor Mahia, KCB RFC, the Kenya Police Hockey team, and the Strathmore University handball team.

The under-19 cricketers staged a thrilling performance to beat Uganda by seven wickets within the required overs and snatched the lone ticket to New Zealand. They had also exhibited a good show with the ball bowling out Ugandans for 60 in 17.1 overs. The historic qualification put Kenya, a once cricketing powerhouse, on the world map again.

K’Ogalo, who were also victorious at the inaugural SportPesa Super Cup, where they beat bitter rivals AFC Leopards 3-0 to lift the trophy in Dar es Salaam, Tanzania, booked a date with English Premier League side Everton in an international friendly match that they lost 2-1.

KCB had a successful season after winning all the three major rugby 15s titles - Kenya Cup, regional Enterprise Cup, and Impala Floodlit. They claimed their fifth Kenya Cup victory after beating champions Kabras Sugar 36-8 in the final before claiming their sixth Enterprise Cup title when they rallied from behind 0-10 to silence Kabras Sugar 27-23.

The Kenya Police hockey team bagged continental silver after losing to Egypt’s Eastern Company in the men’s final of the Africa Cup for Club Championships while the Strathmore University handball team were crowned the Regional (EA) University Champions, lifted the national university title, won the National Super Cup, and finished first runners-up in the National League.

Kenya Lionesses headline the Women’s Team of the Year list. They will square it out with the national women’s volleyball team (Malkia strikers), the women’s cricket team, the Telkom hockey team, and the Kenya Prisons and Kenya Pipeline volleyball clubs.

The Lionesses reached the quarter-finals of the HSBC Sevens Women’s World Series Qualifiers, their best performance after lifting the bowl at last year’s qualifiers held in Ireland. The team bagged silver at the Africa Cup Sevens Championship held in Tunisia and qualified for the 2018 Commonwealth Games.

Malkia Strikers beat Egypt by straight sets to finish top in the Africa Zone Five World Championship Qualifiers to book a slot at the Africa Cup of Nations in Cameroon, where they won silver after losing to Cameroon in the final. The women’s cricket team won the regional championship title after beating Uganda and also participated in the Kwibuka Tournament, where they reclaim