Kenya set to tour Zimbabwe in December

The Zimbabwe and Kenya boards are close to finalising a tour of Zimbabwe by the Kenyans which could take place before Christmas.

Both countries are keen to play more but neither is seen as an attractive opposition by most major teams. Despite this, they have not met in a bilateral series for almost three years, largely because the Zimbabwe board has shown a marked reluctance to agree to games. Critics of ZC claim that it because it fears defeat by the Kenyans would add to pressure on it.

The last time they met, in January 2006, the series, which was played in Zimbabwe, was drawn 2-2. They faced each other in Nairobi last month when Kenya won.

The Sunday News reported that three ODIs could be played in Bulawayo, which missed out on staging any of the five ODIs against Sri Lanka because of the costs involved. With no need for TV coverage of matches against Kenya, there would be fewer obstacles to hosting games there.

The one problem outside the control of either board could be the political situation inside Zimbabwe. Kenya's prime minister Raila Odinga has been a prominent critic of the Mugabe regime and the government may take a dim view of such a relatively high-profile trip at this time.