KENYA CRICKET

Disastrous WCL campaign prompts resignations at Cricket Kenya

by Bertus de Jong • Last updated on

Kenya went winless in the WCL Division Two. © ICC

Kenya's dismal performance at World Cricket League Division 2 last week has prompted a flurry of resignations at Cricket Kenya, the country's beleaguered governing body, and in the national team.

Cricket Kenya Chair Jackie Janmohammed tendered her resignation on Saturday (February 17), followed by Director of Development Abhijeet Sarkar and Nairobi Provincial Cricket Association chair (and former Cricket Kenya CEO) Tom Tikolo according to reports in the Daily Nation. National team captain Rakep Patel stepped down upon the team's return from Namibia, and interim national coach Thomas Odoyo has also thrown in the towel.

Kenya's winless run in Windhoek saw them not only fail to claim a spot at the World Cup Qualifier next month in Zimbabwe, but finish with the wooden spoon and facing yet another relegation - a historic low for a country once seen as a prospective Test Nation.

Outgoing captain Rakep Patel has served as captain since 2013, and has seen his side slide from the top flight of Associates cricket to the third tier, facing the very real prospect of slipping still further should they do as poorly at WCL Division 3.

Former Chair Janmohammed became the first woman to head a national cricket board when she took over in the wake of Kenya's disappointing 2011 World Cup campaign. Kenya's fortunes have improved little in the interim, failing to qualify for the 2015 World Cup and losing the ODI status they had enjoyed since 1997 at the last Qualifier in New Zealand.

Janmohammed also oversaw the demise of the short-lived East Africa Premier League. Intended as an elite competition that sparked a turnaround in Kenya's fortunes, the league ran for only three seasons before proving financially unsustainable. Janmohammed has reportedly had to be persuaded to stay on by her fellow board members in the past, but it seems this time that much of the board may follow her out of the door. Indeed with no official statement from Cricket Kenya, it is currently unclear whether anyone in Nairobi is still in their job.

© Cricbuzz

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