Namibia hurdle for Kenya in T20 series

Nairobi, April 17 (IANS) Kenya will get a chance to gauge its preparedness ahead of the ICC Intercontinental Cup tournament when it competes at the International Twenty20 Quadrangular Series in Windhoek, Namibia Saturday.

Head coach Robin Brown is not relenting on his development path as he guides the national team from United Arab Emirates with good performances against Canada in the Intercontinental Cup, reports Xinhua.

"Kenya has potential and we need to continue on our recent winning ways. Despite the absence of Duncan Allan and Irfan Karim, we expect positive results in Namibia. The team has improved over the last couple of months," Brown said here Tuesday.

Cricket Kenya has retained experienced Collins Obuya as the team captain in naming its 14-member team. The Twenty20 Quadrangular Series will be held in Windhoek April 19-25. The four teams taking part in the series are Kenya, hosts Namibia, South Africa and the Netherlands. South Africa, a giant in the sport, will send its apprentice team.

The two back-to-back Twenty20 matches against Netherlands April 19-20 will be classified as T20 Internationals since the Dutch side is a One-Day International (ODI) country. The Quadrangular Series will be competed on a round-robin format with the top two making the finals and a third place play-off between the two other sides.

"After our good show in Dubai, it looks like avenues are opening up and we are getting good matches. Our tour of Namibia has come at the right time, just a few months before we play our Intercontinental Cup matches between June and October," said the captain.

Kenya will meet Scotland in the Intercontinental Cup, an ODI tournament, in July and later take on Afghanistan in Dubai in September.

"All the Kenyan players are in good shape and ready to play to the best of their ability," said Obuya.

Kenya has been training here for the last one month and the coach is satisfied with the level of sharpness and skills displayed by the side.