A new dawn for cricket

The national cricket team must use its victory at the Africa Cup in Kigali on Saturday as a springboard for renewed ambition and sustained growth.

The 39-run victory over defending champions Uganda should provide a timely boost as Kenya prepares for the resumption of the Cricket World Cup Challenge League A, where it will host five other countries in Nairobi next month.

Kenya is fifth in the six-team competition and in the relegation zone. The top two teams will qualify for the 2026 Cricket World Cup Qualifier Play-Offs, making the Nairobi leg, the final round of matches, particularly crucial. Kenya has managed only two victories in the championship, which provides a pathway to the 2027 World Cup.

We hope new coach Joseph Angara has brought a fresh approach capable of reviving a team that has struggled for consistency. The victory over Uganda is encouraging, but it must be the beginning of a sustained turnaround.

Cricket Kenya’s effort to ensure basic requirements, including players’ allowances and training facilities, were provided on time helped create conditions for success. Such professionalism must become standard practice.

It is long since Kenya featured at either the T20 World Cup or the Cricket World Cup. The country last played at the T20 World Cup in 2007 and has failed to qualify for subsequent editions. Its last 50-over World Cup appearance was in 2011.

Regaining lost ground will take time. Kenya must rebuild its status among leading Associate Members and restore its ODI status through sound administration, talent development, quality coaching and effective marketing.

Kenya lost ODI status in 2014 after an 18-year run following a poor World Cup Qualifier campaign. The decline of a team that reached the 2003 World Cup semi-finals has been painful. The Kigali victory offers a chance to begin a different chapter.

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