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| February 26, 2003 | Wednesday | Zul Hijjah 24, 1423 |
‘If Bangladesh can play Tests, so can Kenya’
JOHANNESBURG, Feb 25: Kenya’s coach Sandeep Patil on Tuesday insisted his team was ready to step into the Test arena after producing their second giant-killing feat in the World Cup.
Kenya, who upset the West Indies in the 1996 edition of cricket’s showpiece, stunned
Sri Lanka by 53 runs at home in Nairobi on Monday to throw open the race for the Super Six.
Patil, a former Indian Test batsman who has coached Kenya for the last five years, said the victory indicated his team was maturing to join the big league as the 11th Test-playing nation.
“I think we are getting there,” Patil said ahead of Saturday’s game against Bangladesh at the Wanderers here.
“To tell you the truth, if Bangladesh can play Test cricket, there is no reason why we can’t.
“I think we are as good as them, if not better. Our time will come.”
Bangladesh, who were granted Test status in 2000, have been clearly out of their depth in the big league and many critics have questioned their elevation.
The tiny South Asian nation has lost 16 of the 17 Tests it has played, 11 of them by an innings. The only escape was at home when rain denied Zimbabwe certain victory.
Bangladesh have also lost 27 of their last 29 One-day Internationals, bad weather again preventing a clean sweep.
The International Cricket Council (ICC), which is considering Kenya’s application for Test status, does not want them to go Bangladesh’s way.
“The experience of Bangladesh has shown that we need to be very careful before admitting teams to Test status because it is totally different game,” ICC’s development manager Andrew Eade told BBC Online.
“When Bangladesh were admitted, all the indicators were there that they would quickly come up to speed.
“But we threw them in there a little bit early and it showed there is a big difference between Test and one-day cricket.”
Eade said it could take Kenya up to three years to gain Test status, and Patil was willing to wait patiently.
“Let them take time, we’ll use it to sharpen our game,” Patil said.
“We certainly do not want to have a start like Bangladesh. When we get there, we should be able to compete well.”
Patil, who starred in India’s World Cup triumph in 1983, took a swipe at England and Australia for not doing enough to help Kenya’s cause.
“We will improve only if we get a chance to play on different wickets in unfamilier conditions,” he said.
“I am not saying England and Australia should invite us to play their best team, but we could go there and play the second string sides.
“We make regular tours of India, but the boys need to get a feel of conditions in Australia and England.”
Patil, whose contract with Kenya will be reviewed after the World Cup, believed the country had the talent to go far in cricket.
“There is natural talent in Kenya. They are born athletes and strong physically,” he said.
“We have improved a lot over the years. Maybe we are not in a position to beat teams like Australia consistently, but which team does that these days.
“The important thing is to hold your own against the big guns. I think we are capable of that.”
The South African media, meanwhile, heralded Kenya’s upset of Sri Lanka as a victory for Africa.
“You simply had to be proud to be African on Monday,” said the Business Day under the headline ‘Kenya prove Africa is not for sissies’.
‘Kenyans now have six appeal,’ screamed the Johannesburg Star on its main sports page to follow the front-page banner headline ‘Kenya Believe It!’—AFP
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