Tikolo to step down from captaincy

Steve Tikolo, who led Kenya in the Champions Trophy, has said that he intends to resign from the captaincy following his side's seven-wicket defeat against Pakistan at Edgbaston. Tikolo, 33, felt that it was time to move on and hand over the mantle to someone else while he remained in the team as a player.

Kenya, a semi-finalist at last year's World Cup, were bowled out for just 94 before Pakistan cruised to a seven wicket victory. The defeat meant that Kenya lost both their group matches, having succumbed by 98 runs against India last Saturday.

Up until the match against India, Kenya had not played a one-dayer for 18 months and after today's loss Tikolo said that the team was not due to play one of cricket's leading nations again until the 2006 Champions Trophy.

"I spoke to the selectors back at home and they said we'll let the case rest until I get back home. I think there are other players who are capable of stepping into the captain's shoes. I'll be around. I'm not totally retiring from cricket. I'm still around. Immediately we get back home I'll have another meeting with the selectors again."

Kenya's next match is in the Inter-Continental Cup, a four-day competition for teams outside the elite Test nations, against Namibia in October. If they win that, they would qualify for the semi-finals in Sharjah.

But a downcast Tikolo added, "With the scenario we have in Kenya, with a lack of games, we can't feel optimistic anymore."