Tikolo calls on board to resign

The simmering row between many of Kenya's cricketers and the Kenya Cricket Association (KCA) finally came out in the open yesterday with the decision of nine players to boycott this Friday's Intercontinental Cup match against Namibia.

At a press conference in Nairobi, Steve Tikolo, who resigned as Kenya's captain last week, attacked the board for the way that it has handled contract negotiations. The KCA claims that it has no money and has offered two-month deals to some players. But Tikolo was less than impressed.

"We are now being offered two-month contracts tailor-made to cover KCA because of Intercontinental Cup matches in October and November," he fumed. "Thereafter, we are jobless. We are not sure what will happen to our livelihood."

The players also claim that they are still owed prizemoney from last year's World Cup, although an ICC spokesman confirmed that the money was paid to the board by ICC Development International Ltd shortly after the event. Tikolo said that the KCA had threatened not to hand over the money if the players did not make themselves available for the match.

Tikolo added that the KCA had cut their salaries by up to 50% for the last 15 months without any explanation. But the financial problems facing the board are well documented, and the current crisis was triggered by the ICC insisting that salaries are no longer paid from money which is intended for development.

He slammed the standards inside Kenya, demanding that the KCA address "issues like the deteriorating standards of the game and lack of sponsors," and called on Ochillo Ayacko, the sports minister, and Mwai Kibaki, the president, to intervene and save the game. "It's an open secret that potential sponsors are not ready to invest in the game with the current officials still at the helm." He also demanded the resignation of the entire KCA as well as Andy Moles, the coach. "A change is as good as a rest," he explained. "We need fresh blood in KCA and another coach is needed to take Kenya to greater heights. If Sandip Patil [Kenya's coach during the World Cup] had the same team and performed, why not Moles?"

Moles was also subjected to accusations of favouring Asian players over black ones. "He wants to deal with Asians and not us," claimed one of the players. "This is unfair and shouldn't be allowed."

Moles dismissed the suggestions. "I am only a coach," he said. "I do not care who the KCA gives me to coach. I do not care whether they are white, black or brown."

Sharad Ghai, the KCA chairman, angrily dismissed Tikolo's criticism of the board. "They did the same thing before the World Cup, before the match against Uganda, and even before the Champions Trophy," he said. "This blackmail has got to stop. By offering them a contract, however small, we have not closed the doors to negotiations. They refused to train for the three days while still under contract."