Harper meets his players

Kenya's new coach, Roger Harper, held a first face-to-face meeting with his players on Monday as part of a squad assessment ahead of the tour of Bangladesh in March.

Harper, who has signed a one-year contract with Kenya following the departure of Andy Moles last year, has insisted he would have to make an assessment of all the players before naming his final team to tour Bangladesh.

Kenya's selectors have named a provisional squad of 24 players to start training under the supervision of Harper, a former West Indies allrounder. Cricket Kenya's chief executive, Tom Tikolo, said the selected players include the long-serving captain Steve Tikolo, who is currently playing club cricket in Bangladesh.

Tikolo said Ravindu Shah, the resourceful opening batsman who has spent nearly two years on the sidelines with a nagging knee injury, may return to the team pending a doctor's advice on his condition.

Harper coached West Indies from 2000 through to the end of the 2003 World Cup, but it was a difficult period as the side adjusted to their diminishing status. Under his tenure they won nine and lost 19 of the 39 Tests they played.

As an offspinner, he played 25 Tests and 105 ODIs for West Indies between 1983 and 1996 and was regarded as one of the greatest fielders of his generation.