Kenya’s entry into the semis of the World Cup is one of the lovely stories in the game. Derided by many, including their Test-playing neighbors as not being good enough to play at this level, it must make these countries look down in embarrassment to see that it is little Kenya in the World Cup semifinals rather than they, the Test-playing nations of Africa. In spite of being neighbors, Kenya have had little help from these Test countries in arranging regular fixtures that would have helped them to develop their cricket.
Agreed, there’s little domestic first-class cricket in Zimbabwe, but surely South Africa which call itself the leader in all aspects of the African continent could have done more like inviting Kenya to play regularly in their domestic competitions. That didn’t happen and Kenya had to play with other associate countries and so were hardly able to get good competition to try and get better. Not that the other Test countries have been more helpful, but one would have thought that at least the African neighbors would help each other out. It is the same with Bangladesh with its Test-playing neighbors who have hardly helped develop the game there.
Out of all the countries that one has visited over the years, the most talent appears to be in Kenya. Though they don’t have a first-class structure for the game there, one has to only look at the way the youngsters play to see that there is plenty of potential there. This is most clearly seen in the intervals between innings when kids come onto the ground to play. In no other country including the world champs Australia do the kids play with a straight bat and pure cricketing strokes than in Kenya.
In fact, everywhere else the kids between 8 to 14 play baseball shots which are basically cross-batted shots and everything is a hoist to the leg-side. Not so in Kenya, where they play the drive and the shots to the off-side with a flourish that comes naturally to the Africans.
A couple of years back when there was a big event there, not only was this aspect noticeable, but also the way in which the bowlers came in with a smooth run-up and bowled rather than throw or lob the ball as kids that age are wont to do. It is this that needs to be encouraged so that Kenya can develop and be a strong cricketing nation. Cricket is not the No. 1 sport there, soccer is. Kenya is also known for its Olympic gold medalists in long distance running, so fitness and stamina is never a problem. What the kids there need to know is that they can make a career out of playing the game and that can only happen when the players there are paid enough so that the youngsters can see that cricket is a career option.
Administrators all over the world are loath to pay the players a fair wage. It’s almost as if the money is their own and not the board’s or the association’s and so they tend to hang on to it. If only the administrators were able to see the benefits of paying the players a good fee, the game would develop faster everywhere, and especially in the non-Test-playing countries.
There were reports during the current World Cup of players from teams like Canada and Holland traveling at their own expense to this event. Perhaps what was meant was that they had other jobs and so were taking leave without pay, for the tickets to come to South Africa would have been given by ICC. There is also a good participation fee to all the teams, though of course the Test-playing nations get more than the associates do, but still that’s good enough to ensure that the players of these associate teams don’t go out of pocket.
The problem is that the administrators won’t release that, or if they do, will release only a fraction while putting the rest in the bank, where all it does is earn a paltry interest and if only it was passed on to the players, not only would they then be able to devote more time to hone their talents, but also spread the word that a career can be made out of the game. This business of saying that the money needs to be put into creating and developing the infrastructure for the game just stays that, a good well-meaning intention but seldom progressed.
If only the administrators can cut down on their travel and meetings expenses, there will be more available to put in the game, but that is a perk no administrator in any sport is willing to forego. More is the pity and thus more the dissatisfaction in the playing community. Why do so many parents want their kids to grow up and be a Tendulkar? Not just because he is such a fabulous player, but because of the money he makes from the game. They would even settle for their kid becoming not a Tendulkar, but just another player so long as they know that it will get him the moolah to make more than a decent living.
So Steve Tikolo’s call for the administrators in Kenya to do something is not so much for his own benefit as he has only a few years left, but to try and make them understand that the one sure way to get the game to grow and be popular is to make the parents and their kids feel that it is not a waste of time and that it can be a profitable and enjoyable job to pursue. It’s not even clear if the players who have made their progress in the semis can keep the prize money, or whether it is to be shared with the board. Tikolo may not be heard yet, but if Kenya do the unthinkable and get to the finals, not only Kenyans but the world will sit up and take notice.
Arab News Sports 21 March 2003
