Candidates spell out their priorities

With less than a week to go until the new elections to appoint the board of the Kenya Cricket Association, the race to replace Sharad Ghai as chairman has boiled down to a three-way battle between Tom Tikolo, Salim Dhanji and Samir Inamdar.

Dhanji, who heads the powerful Nairobi Provincial Cricket Association, and Inamdar, who runs the Coast Cricket Association, are both lawyers who have been instrumental in bringing down the Ghai regime. And both recognise that there is much work to be done to restore the fortunes of a game which has been run down through poor administration and a lack of funding.

"Whoever goes in will be inheriting a mess," Inamdar told the Nation. "He will need to overhaul the whole KCA structure and improve internal governance of the KCA. My development plan would work towards spreading the game out of Nairobi to bring out the talent that is there in the provinces."

Dhanji is equally aware that there are tough times ahead, and his immediate goal would be to restore good relations with the ICC, which has grown tired of the endless infighting, as well as establishing an effective and transparent committee structure. "These committees are the most important tools of operations and I intend to ensure they are made up of people from all the cricket provinces as a way of involving everyone in the management of the game."

Dhanji added that the country needed an effective structure of provincial leagues, and said that contact had already been made with the authorities in Zimbabwe and South Africa to discuss the possibility of Kenya participating in their leagues.

Tikolo, the third candidate, has a superb playing and coaching pedigree, but it is that very closeness to the players that could count against him. There has been unease with the way the national squad has been selected, and also the task facing the new chairman is as much about politics as it is about cricket. It might be felt that this is the time for an experienced administrator to take the helm.