Kenyan cricket searches for a successor to captain Karim (4 Aug 1999)

2 August 1999

Kenyan cricket searches for a successor to captain Karim

Aasif Karim's successor as Kenya captain is expected to be named in about three weeks, Kenya Cricket Association official and selector, Mr. Robbie Armstrong said yesterday.

"One of the selectors is in England until about August 8 and no decision will be made before then," Mr. Armstrong added.

Aasif confirmed his retirement earlier this week after stating in a previous edition of Cricket Around The World that he was considering quitting due to business commitments.

Mr. Armstrong explained Sandeep Patil's return to the role of Kenya national coach and the relegation of World Cup coach, Alvin Kallicharran, to the position of coach of the 'A' and Under 19 teams this way: "We felt that we needed to split the national and A side coaching positions so one could concentrate on the development side."

Mr. Armstrong declined to outline whether the KCA viewed Patil as more suitable for the national role.

Despite Kallicharran's apparent demotion, Mr. Armstrong said the performance of the national team at the World Cup had been viewed positively.

"We were not displeased with the performance of the side - in most matches they were competitive. Most of the side had not competed in England before - in fact only four of the 15 man squad had played there previously," Mr. Armstrong explained.

"The general public here saw the team play on national television for the first time and the overall reaction has been good."

The Kenya Cricket Association's proposal for Kenya and Bangladesh to bypass the ICC Trophy and qualify automatically for the World Cup will be reviewed at the next annual meeting of the ICC next year.

"What held it back was that we proposed that the number of World Cup participants be raised to 14 so other Associate countries are not denied the chance to qualify," Mr. Armstrong said.

I have heard from other sources outside Kenya that Dr. Ali Bacher is firmly in favour of increasing the number of teams and thus the number of Associate countries competing, but a very senior ICC official is against it, fearing too many matches.

Meanwhile, the KCA is planning to host an eight nation competition next year, inviting the top Associate countries.

Bermuda, Canada, Denmark, Ireland, Netherlands, Scotland and the United States have been invited to attend. Bangladesh was to be included but has indicated a previous engagement.