Steve Tikolo's side, however, who beat the 1996 world champions by 53 runs in one of the biggest upsets in the tournament's history, were heavily stocked with the tribesmen from the west.

If the Kalenjin tribe from Kenya's expansive Rift Valley Province have made distance running their preserve, it is the Luos who have dominated cricket.

While the game was initially championed by the country's Asian population, the Luos from Nyanza province and one of the biggest tribes were the first indigenous Kenyans to take to bat and ball.

The first player to break into those predominantly Asian squads was Kenneth Odhiambo, a Luo who toured England with Kenya in 1976.

Two years later, Thomas Opondo joined him on a tour of Zimbabwe. Others began to break through at club level.

Many boys with no previous knowledge of the sport started playing, often improvising with a stick and a cob of maize in the streets.

GAME WATCHING
They would perch on the fence of Nairobi's Sir Ali Muslim Club, built by Muslims within a government estate, to watch the game.

``We were playing for fun and we saw a way of touring the world, which was quite exciting,'' Odhiambo told Reuters.

``But I think what has spurred this interest is the opportunities for economic gain, which the sport has offered the local boys.''

Many were sons of poorly-paid government workers who saw cricket as an escape route from economic hardship.

Several Luos held middle-cadre government jobs in the days after Kenya's independence from Britain in 1963, when late Luo politicians Jaramogi Oginga Odinga and Tom Mboya held high office.

They predominantly occupied the so-called government quarters around Nairobi's Ngara and Parklands neighbourhood.

``It was a neighbourhood issue,'' said a leading Nairobi sports commentator. ``Around Ngara and Parklands, only cricket was played in the clubs.

QUICKLY ADAPTED
``The only recreation was cricket and the Indian community only spoke cricket. The Luo lads quickly adapted to the sport.

``In any case, the Luos and their Luhya neighbours distinguished themselves in sport. The other tribe in the area, the Kikuyu, were preoccupied with business,'' he added.

The game is something of a family business in Kenya and all of Odhiambo's family play.

The Odumbe brothers are also household cricket names, inside as well as outside Kenya.

Maurice Odumbe was captain when the east African team pulled off their other major success, beating West Indies at the 1996 World Cup. He also played on Monday. Edward Tito Odumbe was also in the team of seven years go.

At the 1990 ICC Trophy in the Netherlands, the Kenyans reached the semifinals with six Luos in their ranks, four of them Odumbe brothers - Tito, Maurice, Bernard Owinro and Martin Oriwo. The Suji brothers, Martin and MacDonald, also featured.

ELDEST BROTHER
Tom Tikolo - a Luhya and who is the eldest brother of current Kenyan captain Steve - was also in that team, with another brother, David Tikolo.

Cricket has come a long way in Kenya. Its international players are now among the country's best-paid sportsmen. The World Cup squad will each earn around 1 million shillings ($13 070).

Leg-spinner Collins Obuya, man-of-the-match on Monday with five wickets for 24, took away a 12 000-rand ($1 482) gold watch, far beyond the wildest dreams of most well-paid Kenyans.

Obuya is also a Luo. And, of course, he has two brothers in the World Cup squad, Kennedy - known by his second name of Otieno and who scored 60 against Sri Lanka - and David.

Monday team members Peter Ongondo, Thomas Odoyo, Martin and Tony Suji and Joseph Angara are fellow tribesmen.