Kenya gears up for ICC World Cricket League by winning Tri-Series title in Mombasa

Kenya geared up for the upcoming ICC World Cricket League Division 1 by winning an ODI tri-series against Canada and Scotland in Mombasa this week.

In the series played between 17 and 24 January, the home side won three of its four matches to finish comfortably ahead of runners-up Scotland, which recorded two wins and as many defeats.

Canada, hamstrung by illness within its squad which led to it forfeiting a match against Kenya, was placed third but John Davison's side did have the consolation of recording its only win of the series in the return fixture.

In the last game of the series, Canada defeated Kenya by 69 runs after bowling out the local line-up for 144 as it chased 215 for victory. By that stage, however, Steve Tikolo's team was already confirmed as the tournament winners.

Kenya started the series in emphatic fashion as it recorded a massive 190-run victory over Scotland after posting 328 for five thanks to half centuries from David and Collins Obuya, Tanmay Mishra and Ravindu Shah as well as a blazing, unbeaten 45 from only 26 balls by Thomas Odoyo.

34 year-old Shah, back in action after being sidelined for much of the previous two years with a knee injury, made a triumphant return to the ODI stage.

The tall, elegant top-order batsman finished up with the tournament's highest aggregate, totaling 215 runs including 113 against Scotland, his maiden ODI hundred.

That, however, was not the highest individual score of the tournament. That honour went to Scotland's Ryan Watson, who hammered an unbeaten 123 against Canada, to see his side to a thrilling two-wicket win with just one ball remaining as it chased down 293 to win.

That chase ensured the Scots bounced back from their opening loss and they rallied to such an extent that they would have ended up winning the tri-series if they had beaten the home side in the return fixture.

Craig Wright's side was well-placed to do just that as it pursued 260 for victory but wanting seven runs per over from the final six overs with seven wickets in hand, the middle order lost its way to the cagey off-spin of Tikolo and the result was a loss by six runs.

The failure to win more than two of its four matches meant Scotland surrendered top-spot in the Associate ODI Rankings to arch-rivals Ireland, although it is still early days in that particular table.

The listing allows the top sides below the LG ICC ODI Championship table to see how they compare to each other as well as offering a pathway to join the elite grouping.

Scotland's Watson, fit again after suffering a cheekbone fracture on the ODI tour of Bangladesh in December, was the only other player apart from Shah to reach 200 runs for the tournament. Tikolo meanwhile, for so long comfortably the best batsman in the world outside the ICC Full Members, had a quiet series with 34 runs from three innings.

Kenya finished comfortably clear of Scotland in the points table but it was assisted in its pursuit of the title by a walk-over in its second match that came about when Canada was unable to field a side. A number of its players reported ill and some were reportedly hospitalized.

It was the latest frustration for a side that has struggled to repeat its excellent first-class form in the shorter version of the game. Canada may have reached the ICC Intercontinental Cup final but consistent ODI success over the past year has proved more elusive.

Nevertheless, Canada remains a side full of real possibilities. In Davison it possesses an explosive hitter at the top of the order - in Mombasa he scored 118 runs in three innings at a strike-rate of 117 runs per hundred balls - while right-arm fast bowler Henry Osinde is one of the most effective new-ball bowlers in the Associate world.

With veteran former West Indies fast-bowling all-rounder Anderson Cummins added to the mix during this tri-series, Canada has plenty of potential and its 69-run success against the hosts in the tournament's final match showed what the side is capable of.

Three of the tournament's four top wicket-takers were spinners as the Kenya duo of Tikolo and left-armer Hiren Varaiya were joined by off-spinner Davison, all of them grabbing six wickets apiece.

The only seamer to match that haul was Scotland captain Craig Wright, while his team-mate, the former England seam-bowling all-rounder Dougie Brown, bagged five wickets.

All the participating teams have already qualified for the 2007 ICC Cricket World Cup but still there is plenty at stake in the tournament that will take place at three different venues in Nairobi.

After all, every match in the tournament will carry ODI status, just like the Mombasa tri-series, so players are competing for their places in the historical analysis of top level one-day cricket.

On top of that, each side will be aiming to use the event as the perfect launch-pad for a successful ICC CWC and the chance to enter the biggest stage of all with a trophy and bragging rights as the best current Associate ODI side, together with the confidence that success always brings, cannot be underestimated.

There is also a further incentive for the six sides to succeed in Nairobi and that is the prospect of reaching the inaugural ICC Twenty20 World Championships, scheduled for South Africa in September.

Only the top two sides will make it and for those two line-ups the achievement would mean plenty.

It offers another chance of exposure at the highest level, possible commercial spin-offs, the creation of potential role models for young players in those countries and a significant cash windfall, something never to be underestimated at Associate level.

The idea of the WCL is to give regular global one-day cricket opportunities to the top 18 non-Test countries. Apart from Division 1, the next eight best from the ICC Trophy 2005 have been allocated to Division 2 and 3 events later in 2007 along with the top teams from five regional qualifying events.

Promotion and relegation will be possible between divisions as each team seeks to move up the world cricket rankings. Events for Divisions 4 and 5 will commence in 2008 as the WCL expands.

Information on ICC Tri-Series, played in Mombasa, can be found here

Details of the ICC World Cricket League Division 1 are at: https://www.icc-cricket.com/icc/events/wcl/