All systems go for zonal league

With the announcement of captains, coaches, team names and fixtures for Kenya's newly set up Zonal Cricket league Cricket Kenya has in its short existence achieved a milestone that the old KCA for all its achievements and flaw could not achieve: setting up a truly nationwide oriented domestic competition for cricket in Kenya. Further to that if the league is able to run its full course then on Wednesday the 26th of March Kenyan cricket fans will become witnesses to one of the few successful efforts to entrench multi-day cricket in a country that has not yet attained test status. But prior to all that history making there will first be a T20 competition involving the four franchises, Namely the Northern Nomads, The Western Chiefs, the Eastern Aces, and the Southern Stars.

Matches began this weekend with the inaugural round of T20 matches (Full Fixture list here)at the Nairobi Gymkhana, with the Western chief's led by Peter Ongondo, taking on the Southern Stars led by Kennedy Obuya in the morning fixture and the Steve Tikolo led Eastern Aces facing off against the northern Nomads who were captained by Thomas Odoyo in the afternoon match. And although details have been very difficult to come by it is understood by this blogger that the Stars and the Chiefs both raced to convincing 9 wicket wins over their opponents in matches where bowling first was clearly the better option.

With both matches being unexpectedly one sided, with the Southern Stars worryingly shot out for a mere 58? all out it is hoped that the rest of the competition that they along with the othe team hat eneded up on the wrong side of a 9 wicket defeat. Early indication pointed to the usual suspects doing most of the damage with Alex Obanda claiming the tournaments first fifty as weel as some dominant batting from the evergreen Steve Tikolo and the recently capped Jagdavi Jesani. While the players who were reportd to have shone with the ball are Moses and Elijah Otieno, Tony Suji, Nelson Odhiambo and Peter Ongondo

Scorecards (Courtesy of Cricketeurope)
Eastern Aces v. Northern Nomads
Western Chiefs v. Southern Stars