Kenya wrap up group Matches with win over Rwanda

Kenya wrapped up the group phase of the Kwibuka women’s T20 tournament. With a 25 runs win over Rwanda, the host of the tournament. Batting First, Kenya set a target of 129 for three wickets, on the back of twin scores 47 from their openers Queentor Abel and Veronica Abuga. Rwanda’s run chase never really gained momentum, as they closed their innings on 104 for the loss of seven wickets.

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Team Kenya pose for a group photo (Source: Rwanda Cricket Association)

Kenya won the toss and for the first time in the tournament, elected to bat first. Openers Queentor Abel and Veronica Abuga set about building a total with aplomb. Both played scintillating lofted drives into the offside, and both, a little unlucky to miss out on boundaries from time to time due to the slow outfield. The two continued at a serene pace until they completed their century partnership from 16 overs.

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Team Rwanda pose for a group photo (Source: Rwanda Cricket Association)

Veronica Abuga lost her wicket, to Henriette Ishimwe, trying to push the scoring rate, as Kenya eventually reached 129 for three, setting Rwanda 130 as their winning target. The Rwanda run chase never really got any momentum, as timely wickets for Melvin Idambo and Queentor Abel, prevented any meaningful Rwandan batting partnerships from developing

Kenya will now face Rwanda again in the 2nd semifinal of the Kwibuka tournament. The winner will play the winner of the 1st semifinal between Namibia and the winner from the ongoing match between Botswana and Nigeria.

Namibia Stop Kenya at Kwibuka Tourney

Kenya’s run of wins at the Kwibuka T20 Cricket tournament was brought to a screeching halt, following a 36 run loss against Namibia. In what was top of the table clash between two of the only unbeaten teams left in the tournament.

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Kenya and Namibia’s captains pose with an umpire at the coin toss (Source: Rwanda Cricket Association)

Having been inserted by Kenya, Namibia worked their way to 110 runs for the loss of 6 wickets, largely on the back of an opening stand of 65 by their opening batters, Adri van de Merwe and Sune Whitman. Through this opening stand, Namibia was threatening to run away with the match, but the spin bowling of Sarah Wetoto (three for 13 off her four overs) Queentor Abel (one for 23 from four overs) as well as two wickets for Esther Wachira, kept the final target somewhat reasonable.

Kenya’s run chase never really got off the ground. Though they kept the scoring rate high, a regular stream of wickets, meant that they were eventually bowled out for 74 runs off 14 overs and two deliveries. Only Queentor Abel (19 off 17 balls) Sharon Juma (12 off 11 balls), and Lavendah Idambo (15 runs off 16 deliveries) were able to score in the double figures.

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Team Kenya arrive for their top of the table clash with Namibia (Source: Rwanda Cricket Association)

With this win Namibia consolidates the place at the top of the group, with 8 points, while Kenya remains second, and may be overtaken by Rwanda, should the Rwandese team win their afternoon match by a sufficiently large margin.

Two for Two, for Kenya in Rwanda

a Women’s Cricket team made it two wins out of two in the ongoing Kwibuka T20 tournament, after dispatching Nigeria by 8 wickets today morning. A solid opening partnership, of 71 runs between Queentor Abel and Veronica Abuga was at the heart of the Kenyan run chase. Veronica was first out for a score of 33 off 36 deliveries, while Queentor was eventually dismissed for 40 off 53 balls, with the Kenya team score on 92.

Kenya and Nigeria’s captains at the coin toss (Source: Rwanda Cricket Association)

Earlier this morning, Nigeria had elected to bat first, having won the toss, and were soon in trouble, as early wickets for Margaret Ngoche, Queentor Abel and a Sarah Wetobo runout left the Nigerians three wickets down for eight runs after four overs. Blessing Etim, and Sunday Salome, then came together to put on 53 runs for the fourth wicket, before Queentor struck, to remove Blessing Etim for 34 runs. Blessing had struck four boundaries in her innings.

Nigeria eventually finished their innings on 108 for the loss of five wickets, from their allotted 20 overs, to set Kenya a Victory target of 106. The opening stand of 71 between Queentor and Veronica, largely took the sting out of the run chase, and eventually, skipper, Margaret Ngoche, and, wicketkeeper Sharon Juma, saw Kenya across the line with 11 deliveries to spare.

One Nigerian batsman comes in to replace another during their match against Kenya f the standings (Source: Rwanda Cricket Association)

Kenya off to Strong Start in Kwibuka Tourney

Sarah Wetoto’s 5 wicket haul and a blistering unbeaten 35 off 19 deliveries from Queentor Abel were sufficient to give Kenya a convincing 9 wicket win against Botswana, in their opening match of the Kwibuka T20 tournament.

Kenya won the toss, and thanks to tight bowling all around, the Batswana women’s team could only manage 68 runs for 9 wickets in their allotted 20 overs. Sarah Wetoto was the pick of the Kenya bowlers, taking the wickets of 5 of Botswana’s top 6 batsmen, for a paltry 12 runs in her 4 overs. Queentor Abel, Edith Waithaka, and Melvin Adambo were also in amongst the wickets as Kenya’s women’s team played their first competitive match in almost two years.

Kenya and Botswana’s captains at the toss (Source: Rwanda Cricket Association)

Some big hitting at the top of the innings meant Kenya’s chase of a target of 69 runs was over in quick time. Queentor Abel, hit 6 fours, and here opening partner added four more, as the Kenyans raced to 39 runs inside 5 overs at the fall of the first wicket. Captain Margaret Ngoche joined Queentor at the crease, seeing the girls to their target in 45 deliveries.

The comprehensiveness of the win puts Kenya at the top of the 5 team round-robin group, with Rwanda set to face Namibia later this afternoon. The Kenya Women’s team are set to face hosts Rwanda, Nigeria and Namibia still to come, before the semifinals and final.

Kenya to feature at Kwibuka Memorial

The 6th Edition of the Kwibuka Memorial Women’s t20 Tournament takes off this weekend in Rwanda. Kenya’s women’s team will once again be among the nations invited by the Rwandan Cricket Association to participate in the tournament, set up in part to commemorate the victims of the Rwanda genocide of 1994. the tournament resumes after, last year’s edition was cancelled due to the global covid-19 pandemic.

Kenya will be joining hosts Rwanda, Botswana, Uganda, Namibia and Nigeria, in the week long tournament, which Kenya have been the overall winners on three of the six occasions that it has taken place. This year’s tournament has been accorded full international status by the International Cricket Status, therefore the results will count to the participating nations T20 cricket World rankings, as well as the personal statistics of the players involved.

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Kenya team posing with the Kwibuka Memorial trophy, at an earlier edition of the tournament Source: Sportsadda

This is the first assignment that any of Kenya’s national cricket teams are undertaking, under the guidance of the Cricket Normalization committee convened by the Minister of Sports earlier this year.

The tournament will comprise of a group stage, where the 6 participants will be split into 2 groups of three teams. These teams will will play each other twice, befor the top two teams in each group proceed to the final, and the 2nd placed teams in eache group face off in a 3rd-4th place play-off.

Kenya have been drawn in group B alongside Namibia and Nigeria. They play Nigeria on Sunday afternoon an ten to two pm, and next Wednesday at 9:30am in the morning. They play Namibia next Tuesday afternoon at ten minutes to two pm, and the next Friday at 9:30am in the morning.

Diamond League schedule another sign of ‘return to Normalcy’

Diamond League is back

World Athletics has published a calendar for the 2021 Wanda Diamond league series of events, signalling another positive step on the path to normalcy in global athletics. With last year’s cycle curtailed by the global Covid-19 pandemic, it should be relief for track fans, and athletes all over the world, that these elite events are back on.

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The tentative diamond league schedule as per the official website (source: screenshot)

The first event will be at Gateshead, in the UK on the 23rd of May, followed rapidly by events n Doha Qatar, on the 28th of May and then Italy, on the 10th of June, either in the city of Rome or Florence. The inaugural event for the season was initially supposed to happen in Rabat, Morocco, but that host city pulled out due to Covid-19 concerns. The calendar publsihed so far has 14 scheduled Diamond League meets, scheduled to run from the end of this mobth up to 9th September in Zurich Switzerland. 8 of these meets will take place before the re-scheduled 2020 Summer Olympics in Japan, while the remaining 6 will take place in the months of August and September. This calendar was releaased with teh proviso that it could be altered depending on the global health situation.

Hellen Obiri celebrating victory at a past Monaco track meet. (Source: Standard Newspaper)

According to the official website, there are 24 athletic dicsiplines in this season’s Diamond League grand prix. Each of these disciplines will be staged 6 times across the 14 Diamond league events, before a finals where the top eight points getters (100m, 100m hurdles, 110m hurdles, 800m, most technical events) and the top 12 points getters, (1500m, long distance, high jump and pole vault) of these disciplines will contest the title of ‘Diamond League Champion. These champions will receive 50,000 USD prize money, a Diamond league trophy, and conditional wild card entries to the World Athletics Championships

According to reports in the Standard Newspaper,Kenya’s Hellen Obiri and 5000m women’s world record holder Letesembet Gidey, will be among the headliners at the 28th May meet in Doha. They will square off in the women’s 3000 metres

Are Africa’s Football Federations Weaponizing Covid-19 protocols?

Long-time fans and observers of sports on the African continent know that when you are a visiting team, from another African country, the hosts will deploy all manner of ‘extra-legal’ tactics to destabilize you and give the home team an added advantage before and during the game. In these times of the global pandemic, it seems that a new tactic has been added to these dark arts.

Last night, The last leg of the qualifiers for AfCoN 2021 (to be played in early 2022 in Cameroon, came through a conclusion in controversy. A critical, almost winner, takes all fixture between Sierra Leone and Benin had to be postponed, because of Benin’s refusal to take to the field without six of their key players whom, the Sierra Leonian Football Federation claimed had tested positive for covid-19.

Who between Sierra Leone and Benin becomes the 24th participant of AfCoN 2021 remains in the balance (Source: Twitter screenshot)

The Tournament that was, then isn’t (for now)

If ever there was a sport in Kenya, which was hut hard by the ongoing global pandemic, cricket was probably hit hard. Outside of the off pitch squabbles, the domestic game was stopped like many other sports, in it’s tracks, by the outbreak of Covid-19 that landed on Kenyan shores in March 2020. More on the wider implications later, this post is about the cricket.

The Dafabet African Premier League

Out with the Old, in with the Older

The coaching carousel, at the helm of Harambee Stars’ men’s team continues to turn. Francis Kimanzi, who has coached the Harambee Stars on several different occasions, has abruptly stepped down as head coach. His replacement, Jacob ‘Ghost’ Mulee, another man, who has himself been Harambee Stars head coach on multiple different occasions, has been announced barely 24 hours later.

At this point in time there has been no official communication from either parties about why Francis Kimanzi and his two top assistants stepped down. Mr. Kimanzi’s latest stint at the head coach position begun in the aftermath of Kenya’s recent elimination at the group stages of the 2019 Africa Cup of Nations. His last match was the recent 2-1 friendly match win against Zambia at Nyayo Stadium in Nairobi

Jacob ‘Ghost’ Mulee returns an old haunt, as Harambee Stars head coach.

Kenya are presently in the middle of the qualifying phase of the next Africa Cup of Nations, with 2 points out of a possible 6, with a home and away double header against Comoros, followed by return matches against Togo and Egypt still to be played.

The new (or returning) head coach Jacob ‘Ghost’ Mulee’s high point as national team coach, was in his maiden campaign at the helm, in which he led Kenya to their first AfCON finals appearance in 14 years (2004) and also presided over the team at those finals, in which Kenya won their first ever match at an AfCON finals, a consolation 3-0 win over Burkina Faso.

Subsequent spells in charge of the national team were much less fruitful, partially because of the backdrop of the wrangling between what was then the KFF (Kenya Football Federation) and FKL (Football Kenya Limited). ‘Ghost’ Mulee, a goalkeeper in his playing days, has also spent a considerable amount of time doing TV punditry for Kenya Premier League matches with, SuperSport, KTN News and Radio Jambo. He also had a successful stint as head coach of Tusker FC.

Betking Premier Leauge Launches partial schedule

Gor Mahia v. Tusker FC is the big game as the Betking FKF Premier League launched the first five rounds of the new season. The announcement was made through a series of posts via social media and sees nearly all teams (at the time of the publishing of this post) knowing their opponents through to the middle of December.

This is how @AFCLeopards will kick off their up #FKFPL season 2020/21 .
*Draft fixtures subject to change#BPL#FKFPL#FKFPLFIXTURES pic.twitter.com/Jl5ihWa11L

— BetKing Premier League (@FKFPLG) October 14, 2020

AFC Leopards opening 5 games (Source: BetKing Premier League Twitter account)

The first match of the season sees AFC Leopards, a long time giant of Kenyan football, facing off against regional rivals Western Stima on the 20th of November at 4:15pm. Other matches slated for the opening round of games are Kakamega Homeboyz v. Mathare United (4:15pm) and Bandari FC v. Zoo (4:00pm) on the 21st of November and Bidco United v. Posta Rangers on the 22nd of November at 3pm.

Interestingly, with their earlier scheduled promotion-relegation playoff matches postponed allowing the FKF to secure proper clearance from the government. The winner from Vihiga united and Kisumu All-stars only are (at the time of publishing this post) expected to host Kariobangi Sharks of the 29th of November, visit Nairobi City Stars on the 4th of December and AFC Leopards on the 14th of December. It has not been stated when this 2 leg playoff will eventually be played.