Kenya leave for India for a two-week practice tour
Kenya cricket team left for Bangalore on Wednesday for a two-week practice tour of India to adapt the sub continent conditions ahead of next month’s ICC World Cup. The team will play five friendly one-day matches against Indian teams as
a part of its 2011 World Cup preparations.
During the 14-day tour, the head coach of Kenya, Eldine Baptiste, will be keen to see how his inexperienced performs in the Indian conditions. The http://www.senore.com/Cricket/Kenya-c752 cricket team, which is being led by Captain Jimmy Kamande, will play five friendly
matches against http://www.senore.com/Cricket/Baroda-c769 and Gujarat. The tour gets underway on Thursday.
The twenty-man squad selected by Baptiste for the practice tour also includes and uncapped batsman and three young bowlers. Baptiste, a former West Indies pace bowler, said that the tour will help the selectors in picking up the final 15
for the World Cup which kick-starts in subcontinent on 19 February 2011.
"The tour is an opportunity for us to look at the players before naming the final squad for the World Cup," Baptiste said. "The matches should provide for the players some valuable practice on the conditions before the World Cup, which
is important for us," the Kenya coach added further.
Kenya has not played any Test playing nation in the run-up to the World Cup. The few competitive one-dayers it has played in a bid for World Cup preparation were against http://www.senore.com/Cricket/Uganda-c3031 late last year.
The visiting side, however, includes two all-rounders who have a past experience of playing a World Cup in the subcontinent. The names include Thomas Odoyo and Steve Tikolo, who represented Kenya in the 1996 World Cup which was jointly
hosted by India, Pakistan and Sri Lanka. Both http://www.senore.com/Cricket/Bangladesh-c747 depending upon the devastating law and order situation in Pakistan.
Kenya, after completing its two-week tour of India, will head to UAE to participate in a training camp organized by the International Cricket council for the associate teams which will take part in next month’s World Cup.
Kenya has been placed in Group A for the World Cup which also includes the defending champions http://www.senore.com/Cricket/Canada-c748. Kenya is scheduled to play two warm up matches against
http://www.senore.com/Cricket/Netherlands-c753 before it starts its World Cup campaign against New Zealand on 20 February 2011.
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