Roger Harper confirmed as Kenya coach
Former West Indies all-rounder Roger Harper has been confirmed as Kenya's new coach
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"We had a very impressive list of more than 30 applications and it took a long time to whittle it down," said Kenya Cricket Association (KCA) Chairman Samir Inamdar of a process that began in September 2005.
"It was very difficult to make the final choice but we offered the job to Roger in late December and we are delighted he has accepted it."
Inamdar said Harper, who has previously coached the West Indies, would bring a host of qualities to the role.
"Roger's coaching credentials are extremely impressive, not just in terms of working with players but also on the technology side of the game," he said.
"Also, his attributes as a splendid player in all disciplines - batting, bowling and fielding - mean he has hands-on experience to help coach those aspects of the game.
"And the fact he has vast experience of the West Indies through his playing and coaching roles is a massive advantage to us given that is where the World Cup is taking place in 2007," added Inamdar.
Harper, who played 25 Tests and 105 ODIs between 1983 and 1996, will take up the role later this month with his contract running until the end of June 2007.
He takes over a position originally vacated by Andy Moles in February 2005, although former Pakistan all-rounder Mudassar Nazar subsequently coached the squad while a successor was sought.
Commenting on his appointment Harper said: "I'm delighted and very excited at the opportunity to work with a Kenya side that has a fair amount of talent.
"My objectives now are to get the best out of individual players and the team as a whole and to move Kenyan cricket forward."
In order to take up the position Harper has had to vacate the role of team manager of the West Indies squad for the ICC U/19 Cricket World Cup, due to take place in Sri Lanka in February.
"That was a difficult decision but in that role I was manager and not coach," he said.
"Now I have the opportunity to not only coach players once again but also to do so at a relatively high level. It is great to be back on that circuit," added Harper.
The 42 year-old was chosen by a five-man committee made up of Inamdar, KCA Chief Executive Officer Tom Tikolo, Nasser Verjee (KCA Treasurer), Chairman of Selectors David Waters, and Sukhbans Singh from the cricket operations department.
ICC High Performance Manager Richard Done sat on the committee in an advisory capacity.
Harper joins Kenya at an exciting time in the country's cricket development. From the start of this month all Kenya's one-day matches against not only ICC Full Members but also against the other top six Associate sides - Bermuda, Canada, Ireland, the Netherlands and Scotland - have official ODI status.
ODI fixtures for Kenya and the other Associates are yet to be confirmed as is the program for this year's ICC Intercontinental Cup, the first-class tournament for non-Test playing countries.
Kenya were runners-up in the 2005 ICC Intercontinental Cup, losing to Ireland in the final in Namibia
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