KENYA’S fairytale run in the 2003 World Cup may, or may not, come to an end in their semi-final against India at Kingsmead in Durban tonight but their unexpected success has stimulated enormous enthusiasm in other African countries where cricket has been struggling for survival.
And Ayub Hossein, the South African who is the International Cricket Coun-cil’s development officer for the continent, identifies Uganda as the next African country to surprise the world.
“It’s been absolutely amazing the effect Kenya’s run has had,” Ayub told me yesterday. “I’ve been getting calls from all over Africa, from Morocco, from Egypt, from Senegal, from Ethopia, from the Cape Verde Islands, you name it, requesting assistance.”
He explained that Supersport, the South African satellite television sports channel, is beamed throughout Africa so that budding cricketers could watch the World Cup either in their homes or, for the majority not affluent enough to afford cable coverage, in their clubs.
“The interest is growing all the time and this (Kenya’s performance) is a great boost,” he said.
Ayub, 61, an outstanding fast bowler in the non-white leagues during the apartheid years of racial separation, was first appointed to cover Africa by the United Cricket Board of South Africa (UCBSA) along with the late West Indies opening batsman Sir Conrad Hunte in 1992.
The ICC took over the programme two years ago.
Ayub is especially excited about Uganda’s progress. He pointed out that they finished tenth after starting with a rating of 23 out of the 24 affiliate teams in the ICC Trophy in Toronto two years ago from which Holland, Namibia and Canada qualified for the World Cup. They won all five of their first round matches before losing in the playoff for a spot in the Super League to the United Arab Emirates, a 1996 World Cup participant,
“Myself and Conrad started a grassroots development programme there in 1992 and spent more and more time there,” Ayub said. “The people there love the game and they were hungry to play.”
“What is important is that their administration is very strong and they have a lot of sponsorship coming their way,” he added.
And, he noted, there has been political and social stability under president Yoweri Museveni’s government, a welcome attribute in a region where several countries are beset by internal conflicts.
He said cricket was now established in schools in the capital, Kampala, and the second city, Entebbe, and feed a two-divisional competition of about 20.
“I expect Uganda to be the next non-Test African nation to make its mark on the international stage,” he predicted.
The legacy of colonialism that effectively restricted cricket to whites and Asians, to the exclusion of indigenous Africans, left it with no firm foundation once the British Empire collapsed.
A measure of the advance is evident in the contrast in the compositions of the East Africa team (Kenya, Tanzani and Unganda) to the inaugural World Cup in England in 1975 and Kenya’s here.
The former included nine Asians, two Europeans and two Africans. The latter has eleven Africans and four Asians.
In other countries, Ayub explained, he and his associates had to “start at the bottom”.
“We’ve targeted the youngsters to try to get them interested in playing the game,” Ayub said. “The UCBSA, mainly through (former Test captain) Alvin Kallicharran adapted the West Indies method of soft ball cricket and that has been very successful.”
Ayub’s programme is funded by the ICC but, as always, could do with more. Trained coaches, mainly from South Africa, help drive it but, as always, there could be more.
“What Kenya needs now is more exposure to international cricket, to be included on a regular basis for tournaments in places like the West Indies, Australia and England,” Ayub said, noting that they had played only 60 one-day internationals since gaining the status three years ago.
“It’s what Uganda and others also need at a lower level,” he added.
An African Cup tournament is now staged every two years, Kenya winning the first two, a South African ‘development’ team the third. A regional under-19 competition is planned for Malawi next month.
Kenya has well organised under-15, under-17 and under-19 national teams and participated in the Youth World Cup in New Zealand just over a year ago.
According to Ayub, Nigeria is the strongest team in west Africa where cricket had almost drifted into extinction after decades of neglect. But much more is needed to bring the game there to Kenya’s standard.
Tom Tikolo, brother of their current captain Steve and himself a former Kenya player who is in charge of the development programme there, wrote Ayub praising for his work in boosting the game.
Ayub’s next letter of commendation could well come from Uganda.