For us to win titles, replace senior team with U-19s

• At the moment, our national side has nothing to be proud of, and even if were disbanded we would not feel it

My Pakistan is in problems again, and this is a humble plea to those who have cricket at heart: Please say a prayer for Pakistan, the world’s best team – at least in my book.

While you are at it, please do not forget to also say a prayer for the world’s worst team, Kenya.

That may be harsh, but while other countries lose some – and then win some – matches, our national team loses all matches all the time everywhere, even at home, and to minnows. Just the other day we received a thorough drubbing from some little-known sides from India – at home.

At the moment, our national side has nothing to be proud of, and even if were disbanded – coach, batsmen, bowlers and all – we would not feel it.

After all, there is the Under-19 team, which caused ripples at the just-concluded ICC Africa U1-9 Cricket World Cup Qualifier Division 1 tournament in Namibia.

Some of the teams these young men beat by the time this column was being written mid last week are the kind that have been beating the seniors black and blue.

The eight-team tournament also had Uganda, Tanzania, Botswana, Zambia, Sierra Leone, division 2 qualifiers Nigeria and the hosts, and the top two advance to next year’s global qualifiers.

The seniors may argue that they have the experience to face the big boys of cricketing world, but on the crease and on the outfield experience means nothing if it does not translate into wins.

So far there is no scoring system in cricket that awards points based on the experience of the players.

We have been beaten even by Afghanistan and, come next month, we will probably lose to them at Nairobi Gymkhana, considering that they have already passed our bad record – 67 against Ireland in 2008 – of the lowest ever total in Twenty20 internationals.

As of last Thursday, the U-19 team had beaten Zambia, Sierra Leone and Tanzania. Minnows you may say, but hasn’t our national team been losing to minnows?

In their first match of the tournament, the Kenyans bowled out Zambia for 129 in 38 overs, after scoring 223 for the loss of eight wickets.

Irfan Karim, the wicketkeeper, top-scored with 106 and Raj Savala ended up with four for 37 in 10 overs. Vice-captain Raj Jayesh Sikotra took 2 for 12 and bowled three maidens in all his seven overs.

Even though he was an expensive bowler, conceding 11 runs in one over, Emmanuel Ringera claimed one scalp. With the bat, Ringera was on form with 20 in the 94-run rout of the Zambians.

Kenya then beat Sierra Leone by 20 runs and, against Tanzania, won by 100 runs after Duncan Allan’s 82 put them on the driver’s seat and Tanzania could only manage 109 in reply.

And even though they lost to Uganda, they are much better than the seniors who probably do not know how to do a victory jig because they won a match so long ago it must be in the history books.

The ICC World Cup Cricket 2011 is less than six months away and between February 20 and March 20 we will face vicious opponents: New Zealand, Pakistan, Sri Lanka, Australia, Canada and Zimbabwe.

To avoid humiliation, we should just replace the national side with the U-19.