Kenya told to 'accelerate pace of reform'

The International Cricket Council has delivered a rebuff to Kenya's hopes of receiving Test status, telling them that they "must accelerate the pace of reform within Kenyan cricket before seriously considering applying".

The announcement followed two days of meetings between the ICC and the Kenyan Cricket Association in Nairobi as part of the ICC's African leg of its visit to member countries.

Ehsan Mani, the ICC's president, explained that the jump from ODI to Test status was huge and that the KCA needs to ensure that it has solid foundations in place before seeking to make the move.

"After Kenya's strong showing in the ICC Cricket World Cup 2003, the ICC and the KCA mapped out a series of milestones that need to be passed before any consideration could be given to an application for Test status," he said. "The ICC has committed $US 1 million through to 2005 to make this happen. Over the past two days we have been able to see first hand how the KCA is progressing in achieving these objectives. While things are moving forward, the pace of progress is too slow. Some deadlines have been missed and we have underlined the need for the KCA to commit to and deliver against the agreed plan."

The KCA has many critics within the country, and has been accused of not doing enough to promote cricket in Kenya, and of allowing the board's finances to become a mess.

The KCA complained that it was not being given enough one-day cricket to help them develop, and this was acknowledged by Mani. "All ICC Full Members have previously committed to provide regular international competition for Kenya but, for whatever reason, this has not happened," he said. "The ICC and the KCA both recognise the importance of this type of competition for Kenyan cricket and we will be working together to try and put in place a more regular international calendar for the Kenyan team."