Kenya unlikely to stand up to emergent Afghanistan

• Hopeless home team faces a whipping from a country where a chance to play a sport is dear

From October 2 to October 5, Kenya will be facing Afghanistan in ICC Intercontinental Cup tournament, at the Nairobi Gymkhana, the venue of Kenya’s win against Sri Lanka in the 2003 World Cup.

Yeah. Kenya did beat Sri Lanka in 2003, just in case you had forgotten because your memory of Kenya’s wins have been whitewashed by its streak of loses in the recent past.

In 2003, Afghanistan, which will probably beat our national side in the four-day Intercontinental cup match, and the three One Day Internationals to be played on October 7, 9 and 11 had not been active in international cricket.

The game of cricket did not officially exist in Afghanistan by the time Kenya was causing the biggest upset by beating the West Indies in the 1996 Cricket World Cup, or when Kenya performed dismally in the 1999 CWC.

Anyway, as our fortunes continued to dwindle, Afghanistan’s star was rising, and in 2008, it won the Asian Twenty20 competition.

It can as well be said that that was the same year it got in to active international cricket, starting at the lowest rung by playing against teams like Japan and Vanuatu. Ever heard of cricket teams from these countries?

In April this year, Afghanistan featured in the World Twenty20 finals, and Kenya did not.

Pitted against powerhouses India and South Africa in the same group, and even though it lost both the matches (India won by seven wickets and South Africa by a marginal 59 runs) Afghanistan proved that it had arrived at the world stage – and we had left, or been forced out because we could not match up to the big boys, and even the minnows.

In the match against India at St Lucia, Afghanistan managed 115 for the loss of eight wickets, and their opponents cruised to victory with 31 balls to spare. But even then, the Indian skipper Mahendra Singh Dhoni, was magnanimous in victory and praised the minnows.

Good sign

“They batted really well after losing the first three wickets, their middle order was really good. They were not letting anything to go when they were fielding and bowling and it is really a good sign to see them play the way they did.”

Afghanistan went home with their heads held high, and continued to prove that they are no pushovers.

Last month, during the ICC World Cricket League Division One – where Kenya lost all the matches – Afghanistan beat Canada by six wickets , Kenya by one wicket and Netherlands twice, by six wickets and by five wickets.

Kenya on the other hand lost to Ireland by seven wickets, Netherlands by 117 runs (after we managed a measly 112 in 30 overs), Scotland by six runs and Canada twice, by six wickets and by three wickets.

Afghanistan has followed its performance in April with other wins, and just the other day, on August 16, it beat Scotland by nine wickets before losing in the second match by six wickets the following day.

But in the four-day Intercontinental Cup tie just before the two ODIs, the Afghanis scored 435 and 249 for 5 (declared) and thus beat Scotland, which managed 139 and 316, by 229 runs.