Absent Otieno ruled out of World Cup

Kennedy Otieno: ignored the deadline set by Kenya's selectors © ICC Enlarge

Veteran Kenyan wicketkeeper-batsman Kennedy Otieno has been left out of the squad for the forthcoming World Cricket League after failing to make himself available for the national training camp.

Cricket Kenya officials were reportedly unhappy that Otieno took up a contract in Australia without speaking to them first, and the national selectors stuck by their promise not to consider players from overseas for their squad unless they returned home before January 3. All players were advised of this deadline on December 8.

This means that Otieno, along with Hitesh Modi, who is based in the UK, are also ruled out of contention for a place in Kenya's World Cup squad unless the selectors have a change of heart.

The exclusion of Otieno means that the batsman-wicketkeeper slot is likely to be fought out between Maurice Ouma and Abeed Janmohamed. Janmohamed, who works for Cricinfo, was the one overseas player to beat the deadline. He has been back in Kenya since December 23 and has been training with the squad.

The squads for both the Mombasa tri-series and the World Cricket League are set to be announced on Thursday, and Samir Inamdar, Cricket Kenya's chairman, told Cricinfo that with each of the top two finishers in the WCL receiving US$250,000 and a guaranteed place in the Twenty20 World Cup, the event was "almost of equal importance to the World Cup as it allows us to participate in another major tournament".

The terrible weather which blighted Kenya for much of November and December has now relented and it is dry and warm in Mombasa and dry but overcast in Nairobi. &