NAIROBI, May 26: A Kenyan court on Friday rejected an appeal by former Kenyan cricket captain Maurice Odumbe to lift a five-year ban slapped on him two years ago after he was implicated in a bribery scandal.

Nairobi High Court Justice Roseline Wendo ruled that Odumbe had no standing or cause to file the suit against the Kenya Cricket Association (KCA) and the International Cricket Council (ICC) which had banned him.

“KCA and ICA are private entities not subject to judicial review,” she said. “The applicant, therefore, has no cause against the defendants.”

In addition, Wendo said Odumbe had earlier submitted to the codes of conduct and rules of the two associations, which imposed the ban in 2004, he could not now claim exemption from them.

“Since the applicant has previously submitted himself to the rules governing the associations, he has no remedy in the judicial review court,” she said.

Odumbe, Kenya captain between 1996 and 2002, was banned from the game for five years in August 2004, after an ICC hearing found him guilty of “inappropriate contact” with a bookmaker and bring the game into disrepute.

One of the best all-rounders in Kenyan history, the 36-year-old Odumbe, had scored over 1,400 runs and taken 39 wickets in 61 One-day Internationals since his debut in 1990 before his banning.

He rose to fame at the 1996 World Cup when he was named man of the match in Kenya's shock win over West Indies after taking three wickets for 14.

Odumbe captained Kenya at the 1999 World Cup, played a key role in Kenya's historic run to the World Cup semifinals in 2003 in South Africa and was named Man-of-the-Match after leading Kenya to a 32-run win over Bangladesh.—AFP