Kenyans follow their athletes

One of the more tuneful National anthems gets a regular airing at the Olympic Games, World Athletics Championships and World Cross Country C...

One of the more tuneful National anthems gets a regular airing at the Olympic Games, World Athletics Championships and World Cross Country Championships.

Kenyans have dominated distance running since the 1988 Seoul Olympics where Paul Ereng (800), Peter Rono (1,500), John Ngugi (5,000) and Julius Kariuki (steeplechase) won gold medals. Invariably a Kenyan wins one of the annual world cross country titles.

On Thursday, the Kenyan anthem, adopted from a traditional melody in 1963 when Kenya won independence from Britain, will be played for the first time before a cricket World Cup semi-final.

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Africa’s lone remaining representatives meet India in a match to decide who will play Australia in Sunday’s final at The Wanderers in Johannesburg.

Nobody really expects the cricketers to emulate Kenya’s great track, road and cross country runners but whatever the result of Thursday’s encounter Kenya remain the true success story of the 2003 tournament.

After defeating Test nations Sri Lanka, Bangladesh and Zimbabwe, and even giving Australia a momentary fright, Kenya now intend to press for full Test status themselves.

‘‘We are asking that we be admitted to Test status from 2005,’’ said Kenyan Cricket Association secretary Sharad Ghai. ‘‘We do not want to rush and we will use the time to put together the required infrastructure.’’

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Kenya’s success is a vindication of World Cup executive director Ali Bacher’s drive to promote the game throughout the world.

‘‘It’s a great achievement not just for Kenyan cricket but for African cricket, especially when you consider that the indigenous African players make up more than three-quarters of the team,’’ he said. ‘‘It speaks a lot about Africa’s potential in cricket.

‘‘To some degree they have compensated for the disappointing early exit of South africa. What’s really important about their achievement is that indigenous Africans, given the opportunity, encouragement and infrastructural help, can compete at the highest level.’’

Inevitably, the disappointing tale of Bangladesh colours any speculation about anointing Kenya as the 11th Test nation. ‘‘Kenyan cricket does not yet have the infrastructure or the commitment to take the next step forward,’’ Bacher said. ‘‘If they go it alone they will falter. What they need is major support from the International Cricket Council in terms of money, people skills and general expertise.’’

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Bob Woolmer, who helped prepare Kenya for the tournament, has also sounded a cautious note. ‘‘There is a desperate need to create a designated practice facility for the National team,’’ he said. ‘‘This does not exist yet.’’

Kenya’s spirit is summed up by their 39-year-old left-arm spinner Asif Karim, who looked a world beater under the lights against Australia with three for seven from 8.2 overs. ‘‘Morally we won that match,’’ he said as he reflected on the performance against Australia.

‘‘I think what came out of that was that we believe in ourselves.” (Reuters)