Kenya's lightning batters strike twice

In his final match report from the Tri-Series in Nairobi, Mike Stanger wonders what can be done to stop the awesome Kenyan T20 batting juggernaut... but, after a second helping of the Obuya-Tikolo show, who knows what other batting they have in reserve?

Scotland captain Gavin Hamilton and coach Pete Steindl must be wondering what on earth they can do to find out what Kenya's batting line-up below Nos 1 and 2 is like. After the second successive drubbing in Nairobi, there is just one more 'warm-up' opportunity to try something different before the competitive action starts in the World Twenty20 Championships Qualifier in the UAE next week.

Once again, Kenya won the toss and stuck the Scots in. Once again, Scotland's batting proved fragile, and a worrying characteristic was the tendency to lose wickets in pairs.

Kyle Coetzer and Ryan Watson set off brightly, as usual. But, with the score on 23 after two overs of confident action, both surrendered their wickets. Coetzer pulled into mid-wicket's hands and, the very next ball Watson, defending, missed a straight ball.

Fraser Watts, the previous day's top-scorer, soon followed, trying inadvisedly and failing to turn a yorker to leg.

The next pair of Scottish batters to go in quick succession were Neil McCallum, going for a third, and Richie Berrington, trying too early to cut a ball that wasn't wide enough for the shot.

So now the Scots were 38-5, after just six overs.

Hamilton and Jan Stander first steadied the ship and then began promisingly to open out, the latter clearing the rope three times. Their partnership of 65 took the score to 103 by the 15th over. Then two more wickets fell in consecutive balls. Stander missed a full toss from Nehemiah Odhiambo, and Gordon Drummond was yorked first ball.

Hamilton followed soon after, Odhiambo taking his fifth wicket with yet another full toss, this time patted to shortish extra-cover. The score now, in the 17th over, 109-8.

We could be forgiven for wondering whether 109 was Scotland's standard scratch score, having posted such a total in two of the previous three matches. But Majid Haq paired himself with Hamilton by getting run out two runs and four balls later, Simon Smith refusing a second run.

Smith compounded this folly in the final over, after Dewald Nel had defiantly struck a six, by again refusing to run when Nel turned for a second. So, all out 123, with few expectations that this would be enough.

Obuya and Tikolo resumed where they had left off three days earlier, and the Kenyan innings ran its predictable course. Hamilton tried five seamers, as well as Haq and Watson's off-breaks, to no effect. Nel and Berrington were the most economical, but none troubled the batsmen, and rarely was there a seamer at one end and a spinner at the other.

So, next stop Abu Dhabi on Sunday February 7, where these two teams resume their extended warm-up meetings. It would be nice to close that chapter with a win, to go into the competitive matches with renewed confidence!

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