Maurice Odumbe interviewed about the Emerging Nations Tournament
As the Harare tournament does not feature any other ODI status countries, just how important is it to the Kenyan team
Tony Munro
27-Mar-2000
As the Harare tournament does not feature any other ODI status countries, just how important is it to the Kenyan team?
It is important to the Kenya team as we are the only team with ODI status. It is really important for us to win this tournament simply because of our vast experience and the calibre of players that we have at our disposal.
Kenya will be expected to beat the Associate countries. Is complacency a possiblity?
There will be no complacency in Harare as some of the teams have played in the World Cup before.
We are not going to take any team lightly and none of them should be under-estimated.
This is your second stint as captain. In what way are you a different captain this time?
Having gone through the ups and downs I'm mentally tougher and more experienced and the team morale is at an all-time high.
I enjoy captaincy and the responsibility it brings.
Kenya has not played a lot as a team since the World Cup. Are there any changes in its strengths and weaknesses since the Cup?
Francis Otieno and Dinyesh Shah will be making their international debuts and Brial Patel who is a left arm spinner returns to the team.
The experienced players like myself, Steve [Tikolo], Kennedy Otieno, Thomas Odoyo, Ravi Shah, Martin Suji will all be there.
Which of the younger players are you expecting big performances from?
For the younger players it will be a learning experience. We will be relying on our experienced players to carry the day.