ICC U-19 World Cup campaign starts

Kenya open their Under-19 Cricket World Cup campaign against South Africa on Sunday at Lincoln Green, New Zealand.

Coach, Jimmy Kamande, speaking from Christchurch on Friday, remained confident of a good outing saying he had assessed his opponents.

“We are ready for South Africa. We have analysed their players and believe that we will give them a run for their money,” he told Nation Sport on telephone.

Kamande also said that his boys were very disappointed because their eagerly awaited warm-up match against India at the Hagley Park Old, Christchurch, was rained off on Thursday before a single ball was bowled.

He said a heavy downpour made the ground unplayable. It was the last warm-up game for Kenya. It has taken Kenya nearly 16 years to return to the international arena, having last appeared in the age-group World Cup in 2002 in Australia.

Namibia have been Kenya’s nemesis on the continent, but were not part of the teams that took part in the continental qualifier in Nairobi in July having been given automatic qualification to this year’s World Cup by virtue of being the highest-ranked associate team in the 2016 event.

Before they left for New Zealand, Kamande said his goal in the World Cup was to be the best associate side. He has instilled a lot of confidence in his charges by making each player understand his roles in the team. The boys are Kenya’s last hope of regaining lost glory as the performance of the senior team has taken a nosedive.

The seniors were demoted to the Second Division of the ICC World Cricket League and risk further demotion if they under perform next month during the Division Two tournament in Windhoek, Namibia.