Don't make us pay tax: Tikolo's plea to the Kenyan authorities

Steve Tikolo, the Kenya captain, has pleaded with the Kenyan government to exempt his players from paying tax on their prize money for reaching the World Cup semi-finals.

Tikolo said the team were perturbed at how slowly the Kenya Cricket Association (KCA) were pursuing the matter, with the Kenya shilling continuing to gain against the US dollar: "We are not at war with the KCA, but this delay is a matter of concern to us after such a sterling performance. We are worried because we have not been getting any information from the KCA regarding our money."

Kenya upset the odds by beating three Test teams - Sri Lanka, Zimbabwe and Bangladesh - on their way to becoming the first non-Test nation to reach the World Cup semi-finals, a performance that earned them US$530,000 in prize money.

When the World Cup ended in South Africa seven weeks ago, that amount was the equivalent to 40.6 million Kenyan shillings. But with the gains the shilling is making against the US dollar, that figure has now dropped to 35.9 million.

Tikolo also pointed out that the players already pay taxes on their earnings from the KCA, so "the government should appreciate that and give us a tax waiver."