Cricket: Hosts Kenya eye bright start in World Cup qualifiers
Kenya's Shem Ngoche (left) celebrates a wicket with his teammates during their Twenty20 Continent Cup match against Botswana on June 11, 2023 at Nairobi Gymkhana Ground.
What you need to know:
- Ngoche has captained Kenya on several occasions since 2018.
- “As one of the senior players in the team, I have always taken the initiative to lead the team whether I am the captain or not so for me it is nothing new,” said Ngoche on his reappointment as Kenya captain.
- He replaced Rakep Patel, who stepped down in August.
Kenya’s long journey to securing a spot in the 2027 Cricket World Cup begins Wednesday when they face Jersey in their opening match of the first round of the Cricket World Cup Challenge League “A” in Nairobi.
Denmark, Kuwait, Papua New Guinea (PNG), and Qatar are the other countries competing in the One Day International (ODI) tournament. The match between Kenya and Jersey will be held at Ruaraka Sports Club Ground from 9:30 am.
Denmark will clash with Kuwait at Nairobi Gymkhana today also. Teams will play each other once with the final matches slated for next Saturday.
The top two sides from the group at the end of three rounds – one played each year -- will secure a spot in the World Cup qualifier play-off.
The 14th edition of the ODI World Cup will be co-hosted by South Africa, Zimbabwe, and Namibia in October and November 2027.
Looking to make a return to the global championship, fallen giants Kenya will be banking on homeground advantage to make a bright start. Kenya boasts four ODI World Cup appearances -- 1996, 1999, 2003, and 2011.
Experienced all-rounder Shem Ngoche will be hoping to guide the faded Simbas to victory in the first round of the qualifiers.
Victory in the tournament will mean a memorable return for the 35-year-old right-hand batsman and left-arm spinner as the team’s captain.
Ngoche has captained Kenya on several occasions since 2018.
“As one of the senior players in the team, I have always taken the initiative to lead the team whether I am the captain or not so for me it is nothing new,” said Ngoche on his reappointment as Kenya captain. He replaced Rakep Patel, who stepped down in August.
Ngoche noted they are familiar with most of the teams competing in the tournament, having faced them before, and they will capitalise on home advantage to secure victory.
In the last three meetings between Kenya and Jersey, the East Africans have secured two victories, while the Island nation in Northwestern Europe have won once. Kenya defeated Jersey by seven wickets in a CWC Challenge League Group “B” held in Oman in December 2019.
Jersey won their next meeting in the CWC Challenge League Group “B” in Kampala in June 2022 by 96 runs.
In their most recent meeting in August 2022 in the same competition, Kenya won by four wickets.
“We have a rough idea of how our opponents play and how to tackle them. I think home advantage will play a key role for us because we know the grounds where the matches will be played. If we can have enough supporters to come and help us build the pressure on the opponent, I think we will perform well,” said the Stray Lions Cricket Club man.
Death bowling (bowling the last few overs without conceding many runs), Ngoche said, is one of the areas they spent more hours on ahead of the start of the matches. Kenya’s camp has been boosted by the return of experienced batsman Irfan Karim.
Kenya’s coach Lameck Onyango said their target is to top the first round and that they will take one game at a time.
