Uganda give Kenya food for thought

Kenya ended a less-than-convincing year with a 2-1 series win against neighbours Uganda, but a comprehensive defeat in the dead rubber was not the ideal way to conclude 2010.

The first two matches at Mombasa Sports Club went according to script. Kenya batted first, posted a formidable total and then Uganda came up well short. In the opening game Collins Obuya (106) made more than half Kenya's 207 and then 19-year-old left-arm seamer Lucas Oluoch took 4 for 32 as Uganda limped to 123 all out.

Two days later Alex Obanda put a duck in the opening game behind him in making exactly 100, and aided by Obuya's unbeaten 71, Kenya made 304 for 4. Although Uganda's batsmen fared slightly better, their 210 was still a long way short of making a match of it.

With the series done and dusted, coach Eldine Baptiste wanted a clean sweep but instead he got a lacklustre display from his top-order batsmen. Roger Mukasa's 86 took Uganda to 223 all out, a score well within Kenya's sights, but instead they crumbled to 53 for 5 and only David Obuya's defiant 68 enabled them to keep the margin of defeat under three figures.