Italy isn't yet a hotbed of cricketing talent, but that hasn't stopped the annual Italian Cricket Federation finals taking place, as reported by the ECC:

Pianoro CC set the stage for the annual Italian Cricket Federation (FCrI) age group finals over the weekend of the 7th and 8th October 2006. Five 8-a-side teams from the U13 age group, together with numerous FCrI club officials gathered at the cricket club, situated just outside of Bologna.

The U13 competition was won by Bologna CC who, having established a core of talent from the local Bangladesh community, were the strongest team on show, forcing Capannelle CC into second place on this occasion. The tournament was held in tandem with an FCrI teachers and club players introductory course.

Less than a week before the national team depart for their tour of Africa, the Bermuda Cricket Board is still refusing to comment on the ongoing contractual wrangling which has cast a large shadow over the team’s preparations.

It is also still not clear if the BCB’s investigation into “discrepancies” in the salary compensation claim made by allrounder Lionel Cann is likely to reach a conclusion before the squad fly to Kenya next Tuesday. Cann, still recovering from surgery, wasn’t expected to make the trip to Kenya but had been pencilled into join the squad for later matches in South Africa.

Click here to read more in the Royal Gazette

Former Bermuda captain Charlie Marshall wants to be reinstated to the national cricket programme and is willing to settle his differences with Bermuda Cricket Board.

Marshall, who topped the Premier Division in run scoring last season, met with national cricket coach Gus Logie and informed the former West Indies vice-captain of his willingness to rejoin the national programme.

Click here for more from the Rayal Gazette

Thomas Odoyo, Kenya’s vice-captain, told the Nation newspaper that the recent three-day team-building exercise at the Malewa River Lodge earlier in the month was most worthwhile.

"I learnt that people can always push themselves a little bit more. That extra bit was nice and very helpful. One gets to know the strengths and weaknesses of team-mates."

He admitted it was tough. "One could easily have walked away. I never knew there was anything like this in the country".

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The first floodlit game of cricket in Kenya took place at Mombasa’s Jaffery Sports Club on October 7 where the club has installed new floodlights.

"The club can now be the first at the coast to offer such unique facilities of night cricket and football in addition to the floodlight tennis and volleyball courts,” said a spokesman.

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Bermuda is on stand-by as a possible World Cup host nation if any one of the seven venues which have been allocated matches fail to sign onto the Sunset Legislation by November 1.

Chris Dehring, chief executive officer and managing director of the tournament, said countries that failed to approve the legislation - which also covers the sale and distribution of tickets and the broadcast of tournament play - would risk losing their matches to stand-by islands such as Bermuda.

Once again, the Nation’s Chris Tsuma has used his newspaper to continue his vendetta against the board of Cricket Kenya. A fortnight ago we highlighted a number of instances where the paper carried slanted reports about the board, and Tsuma, whose reaction to cricticism is well documented, is back.

On Monday, he quoted Roger Harper, Kenya’s coach, who made some fair observations of the state of the domestic game. But Tsuma, who it should be stressed has made no attempt to contact Samir Inamdar, Cricket Kenya’s chairman, for his side of the story, really warmed to his task on Tuesday.

“Despite pre-election pronouncements to the contrary by the Cricket Kenya incumbents, the board has yet to do anything to improve the quality of domestic competition or start a national competition in any forms of the game,” Tsuma wrote.

For the umpteenth time – and it really happens too often for it to be an oversight – Tsuma chooses to ignore the fact that the Kenyan Cricket Association, the predecessors of the current board, left a legacy of debts totaling $500,000, no sponsors, and a sport so sullied that no commercial entities would touch it. Against this backdrop, it is trying to rebuild while existing on an annual grant of $70,000 from the ICC.

Tsuma quotes a Nairobi Provincial Cricket Association official as saying that “clubs are struggling to cope without any form of support from Cricket Kenya”. Given the budgetary difficulties, what is expected?

We can only repeat the question we have asked many times. Why is the Nation’s sports desk following this overtly critical agenda when it was so silent when so much was going wrong when the old KCA were in power. Why did it not rush out to speak to NPCA officials when the association was chucked out of the KCA in 2002? And we all know that Tsuma and his ilk think things are dire, but why have they not once come up with any suggestions for a way ahead? And why do they not speak to board officials? All that is asked for is balance. Don’t hold your breath.

	An MCC cricketer watches the one-day match against Shanghai Cricket Club ... was this the kind of deeply subversive image the Chinese wanted to prevent? © Getty Images

Less than a month after the ICC chief executive Malcolm Speed described China as the sport's biggest growth market, the cricket photographer Graham Morris was refused a visa to enter the country.

Morris was asked to travel with MCC to record their first tour of China at the end of September. He was planning to work on the first leg only, to Beijing, host city for the 2008 Olympics. MCC applied for the visa on Morris's behalf nine days before the tour party left, sending his application with those for the rest of the members of the tour party - players, umpires and management. The Chinese government told MCC that, because of his role as a photographer, they would have to refer his application to administration in Beijing, which would take more than nine days. All other applications were successful.

"I have absolutely no idea why they wouldn't let me into the country," says Morris. "The most controversial photo I would have taken would have been the MCC team sitting on the Great Wall of China."

Following the initial refusal Morris wrote to the Chinese government assuring them he would seek written permission from them if he wished to sell any images to publications. They still refused.

"If the ICC is so keen for China to play cricket, then it should go out of its way to make sure these things don't happen," says Morris. "The success and joy of cricket isn't just about playing; it's about reporting it too. It's integral.

"You'd like to think the ICC would get involved. If it had been a Sky TV reporter and camera crew that had their visa application denied, then I'm sure they would have got involved. It's what the ICC is there for."

"MCC is very disappointed that Graham wasn't allowed a visa," says Iain Wilton, MCC's head of communication. "The tour was supposed to be good for MCC, good for cricket in general and good for the growth and promotion of the game in China."

When The Wisden Cricketer contacted the ICC, it admitted it was the first it had heard of the incident. The ICC approached the Chinese Cricket Association, who offered no official comment but did say that the vetting of media personnel is more diligent than that of tourists and can take up to two months. It assured the ICC that "Graham Morris wasn't singled out." The CCA also said that visa applications for the media will be relaxed in time for the Olympics.

Speed and the former Pakistan Cricket Board chairman Shaharyar Khan - appointed by the Asian Cricket Council to chair a 'Committee to Evaluate China' - visited Beijing in mid-September. There they announced that the ICC and ACC had granted the CCA £200,000.

Syed Ahraful Huq, chief executive of the ACC, said during Speed's visit: "The potential benefits and commercial revenues from (China's) presence in the cricket world are enormous. As soon as China breaks through, I foresee the total global revenues for cricket increasing by 30 or 40%."

Hasan Durham’s World Cup dream is still alive after it was revealed that in-depth tests of his bowling action passed his action as being within the ICC regulations.

Durham, a veteran left arm spinner who is seen as a key element in Bermuda’s spin attack along with Dwayne Leverock and Delyone Borden, was reported to the ICC in August after Bermuda’s opening Americas Championship game against Canada in Toronto, when umpires Ian Gould from England and Bermuda’s Roger Dill had suspicions that all was not right.

As a result, Durham flew to fly to the UK last month, where ICC-sanctioned bio-mechanics experts filmed his action from a variety of angles to determine whether he straightened his arm beyond the 15 degrees of flex allowed under the law.

A statement released by the BCB said the testing had shown Durham’s action to be “within the ICC level of tolerance”, allowing him to “resume bowling in international cricket immediately”.

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Bermuda’s government could be forced to intervene to help resolve the nearly month-long contract dispute involving Bermuda Cricket Board and national team cricketers, according to The Royal Gazette.

Hours after the players rejected the Board's latest contract proposal, Sports Minister Dale Butler said his ministry was now prepared to put its foot down and resolve the ongoing dispute which threatens to put a damper on the Island's 2007 World Cup plans.

"I am extremely disappointed to learn about this impasse and our ministry stands ready to resolve the issue. There is a great deal at stake and we want our players to do well," Butler said.

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Controversial pace bowler George O'Brien has been axed from Bermuda's cricket squad because of "poor effort". Although O'Brien is one of the most naturally gifted bowlers on the island, he was given the chop by the BCB because of concerns about his attitude and commitment.

National coach Gus Logie described the situation as 'unfortunate' but he said there was only so much leeway that could be given to any player - regardless of talent.

Click here for more from the Bermuda Sun.

The Uganda national cricket team’s latest performance will go down in folklore as the worst display ever. The game plan against Kenya was pretty straightforward; go out onto the oval, restrict the Kenyans to a chasable score, then come on chase and pile up the runs. But just like the angel of death who plucks out the heart of our loved ones, Kenya under the stewardship of Steve Tikolo tore Uganda’s script to shreds, and maybe the morale of the few fans who endured six, no five and half agonizing days in Lugogo.

Series Whitewash!

First was the three-day whitewash, where Uganda failed to even score half of Kenya’s total runs on any given day. The ODIs were misery the three-day was beyond misery. Many a fan walked away in disgust. Uganda’s batting problems stand out like spilled gravy on a white sheet, but there are far more underlying problems beyond that oval boundary.
Uganda’s cricket has been a success in many aspects, especially the Schools Development Programme (SDP), but in life, there is such a thing as moving on.
UCA needs to wake up and smell the coffee. Inside that metallic container, their excuse for an office, a lot of mismanagement is going on, and this has trickled down to the oval.

UCA squabbles

Forget the media hullabaloo that cricket is the best run organisation with flawless accountability and reasonable allocation of funds.
UCA officials openly mismanage funds; fight for trips, neglect work, and so on. Those problems have to be tackled head on. Ironically, inside that container is a poster of Sachin Tendulkar hitting corruption for six. The words, “lets hit corruption out of cricket.” One can only wonder how much UCA has walked the talk.

ICC grant!

Certainly the funds UCA receives are not enough, its officials will argue, but if that little were put to its proper use, the results would be as evident as Uganda’s attempt at chasing 200 runs. The national team’s progress on the international circuit is the only way UCA will be able to get more money in their confers in terms of grants and loans.

This year, Uganda received an extra $31,000 from World cricket bodies for the 2006/07 season. UCA that was initially getting $54,000 from the International Cricket Council got $61,800 as an administration grant. The UK-London based Melbourne Cricket Club (MCC) chipped in with US $14,200 and the Africa Regional Development Office (ARDO) headed by Hoosain Ayoub added US $9,000 or Shs16.2million.

In total UCA received US $85,000 (Shs153m) One should also note that MTN and Stanbic Bank facilitate the Mini Cricket Development Programme, KKL (Kampala Kids League) organises another Stanbic sponsored mini-league, Coca Cola finances the Schools Cricket Week, WHO - World Health Organisation and British Council boost the annual Girls Cricket Tournament, Nile Breweries through their Castle Lager brand ungrudgingly sponsor the national league and more often Shell, MTN, Petroleum Industrial Services, Ruparelia Group of Companies, Asiatic, Rwenzori Water and Castle Lager have come to the rescue of several national teams.
So can somebody in UCA show us where the grant money goes? Certainly not to players’ allowances, because of Shs3000 per training day and Shs8000 per match day is way below the radar. Players’ remuneration is another trouble spot, but it’s a topic of its own.

Selection troubles

This is one trouble spot that requires revamping. Robert Kisubi, helped by Aloysius Nainhabo, Sam Walusimbi, Henry Okecho, Justine Ligyalingi and Richard Mwami, chairs the panel. Some of the guys on this committee should be in the stands with many of us. Unless they change or are shown the exit door, their larger than life egos will continue being a liability to the national team’s progress.

That they let their selections be biased by their club loyalties is well engraved in the epitaph. They have problems with certain players, and for as long as these officials are on the panel, some of these players, probably the best crop around will never wear the whites of the national team.

So the earlier we saw their backs, the better. Could that explain the inclusion of six debutants, to face the vastly experienced Kenyans? Tikolo rightly observed this misdemeanour. Not even the cricket Czars of this world can afford such an overhaul; the biggest number of debutants is always two.

For heavens’ sake, what was Keith Legesi doing on that team? Yes, he does keep the wickets, but that’s just about it. We need runs. Why not let Lawrence Ssematimba, proven over the years keep the sticks. The shorter-than average player is double-edged; he can chip in with the runs as well, which cannot be said of Legesi.

Richard Okia was left out on grounds that could hardly satisfy even the least knowledgeable of the game considering his past exploits and coverage he commands from the media. Although he was just recovering from a shoulder injury his usefulness with the bat would have come in handy since batting has remained a mystery to Ugandan cricketers on international duty.
We need leaders on that pitch, but by the look of things, it’s a pipe dream. The jury is still out on skipper Joel Olweny. Actually, it’s painful to write his name in the same sentence as that coveted role but because of the selectors, we are left with no choice. The forthcoming Triangular in Nairobi should be his ultimate litmus test.

Is it not baffling that the national skipper actually doesn’t sit on the selection panel? Yet he is supposed to lead the team out of the dressing-room? Actually what the selectors do is to keep everyone in suspense until a day or two to the tour. During coach Tom Tikolo’s reign, the skipper, by then Junior Kwebiiha, arguably the best skipper since John Lubia, was integral. But that facet didn’t go down well with some selectors, and once Tikolo was done away with, so was the skipper’s role. But there is one for the team manager, who is supposed to be a business mind, not technical. Cry the beloved country.

Players, style up too!

Not that the players are blameless. They need to play their part on the oval. We cannot continue relying on one batsman to come up with the runs. Every cricketer’s first role is to make the scoreboard tick, not in favour of the opponents though. If a player is not up to the task, the whip must be cracked, simple. Otherwise we may resort to other activities, like pulling our lungs out through the mouth than watch the national team in action.
What we want is the whole team performing collectively and consistently. We are not going to beat Kenya more so any opposition with just one player performing well. In our last major triumph overseas over Namibia in 2004, Uganda reigned by 5 wickets simply because the whole team chipped in with handy contributions.
One wonders why the batsmen never follow their coach’s instructions.

Way forward!

And what is the way forward in all this? Professionalism from the boardroom to the locker-room. Its evident the happenings at the top are responsible for what transpires down.
Cricket has lived on the basis of individual voluntarism for so long but chairman Ivan Kyayonka and his vice Chris Azuba must wake up to the reality that the game can no longer thrive on the good will of people. Professionalism is needed.
• The stake holders meeting, John Nagenda - the presidential advisor on media and also a former captain observed in his New Vision column that it should be held sooner to curb the downward trend cricket has taken since the thumping the team endured in the 2005 ICC Trophy in Ireland.
• Favouritism and personal/club sentiments must not be allowed to overshadow the growth rate of the game. Otherwise even the little interested parties on board could decide to back off.
• UCA’s respect for the media is meager. The association should borrow a leaf from football by building a stronger partnership with the journalists, hold regular press conferences to inform the fraternity on the latest developments so as to avoid wrong publicity.
• Rugby has grown in leaps and bounds because the Uganda Rugby Union (URU) has tried to market the game. The game was in oblivion 5 years ago, but it has since surpassed it by a country mile. UCA must learn that they have to invest into the sport if they are to gain from it. In rugby the big league matches and international events are advertised all over the press, teams have sought corporate sponsorship which is no mean feat, players on national duty are paid for their services and the association has helped several players get employment.
• Is it not time we tried out a highly qualified continental coach? Someone the lads will look up to and not ask such questions like “show me any international wicket under your belt”? Because of club politics, we lost out on the amiable Tikolo.
• UCA should devise means of keeping the players into the game. Again motivation could do the trick. We don’t want to see players like Hamza Saleh, Davis Arinaitwe and Jimmy Okello forego the game in quest for better pastures, something that has claimed many and of recent likely to end Kwebiiha’s exciting career.
• And finally we need more grass wickets in Uganda. International cricket is no longer played on astro-turf pitches. Our batsmen are terrific on the artificial surfaces yet when they play on grass at Lugogo, even the lousiest of bowlers enjoys a field day.

Series Positives!

But it was not all gloom in Lugogo as a couple of youngsters gave us a glimpse of what to expect. Step forward Hamza Saleh who had the best Uganda batting average. It was he continued from where he left off in Ireland, with his bat helping us gnaw away at Kenya’s lead. Davis Arinaitwe showed glimpses of a potential allrounder, debutant Mark “Makhaya Ntini”Taremwa was also brilliant with the leather ball, giving Kennedy Obuya, Tikolo and Morris Ouma a few issues to think about. Old horse Benjamin Musoke finally came good, with 68 to silence many of his critics. He rescued Uganda from 27 for 4 in the first inning with a 102 runs partnership with Akbar Baig (30) to 124 for 5, although we were soon all out for 156. Hopefully it wasn’t a flash in the pan. This is the time for UCA to turn cricket around, otherwise those stands will continue emptying.

Innocent Ndawula and Hussein Bogere are journalists with the Daily Monitor Newspaper in Kampala, Uganda.

The Canadian Cricket Association national selectors have named their 30-man winter training squad. This pool will be used to select the playing squads for the tours to South Africa, later this year, and Kenya, early next year. These tours set the stage for next year’s Cricket World Cup in the West Indies. Accordingly, the tours focus on One-Day International matches.

The players will undergo fitness and training programs that have been prepared by National Coach Andy Pick. The nucleus of the squad is from Ontario but includes players from British Columbia, Quebec and Alberta. There is a base of veteran players and others who made their mark with the national team this summer. Six others come into the squad.

The veteran base includes players such as John Davison, Ian Billcliff and George Codrington. It also has the opening bowling pairing of Henry Osinde and Umar Bhatti, commonly regarded as the best opening bowing pair within the ICC Associates. Geoff Barnett, Abdool Samad and Jyoti.

The highlight of the Kenyan trip is the inaugural ICC World Cricket League Division 1. The participants are Kenya, Ireland, Scotland, Canada, Bermuda and The Netherlands.
The South African trip includes the 4-day ICC Intercontinental Cup match with the Netherlands. Canada has an excellent chance of winning their group, which would see the team reach the final.

This announcement of the winter training squad came on Canadian Thanksgiving weekend. Those in the Canadian Cricket community can give thanks for Canada’s long cricketing history, but, more importantly, let’s look forward in the hope the game can realize it’s potential in this country.

Scratching the surface of the 30 man squad reveals heritage relationships with Australia, Barbados, India, Grenada, Guyana, Jamaica, New Zealand, Pakistan, St. Kitts, Sri Lanka and Uganda.

There is the need to ensure the rich global and sporting heritages of cricket are engendered into our youth. They, hopefully, will flower and in turn pass the candle to future generations.

Further potential exists to broaden the cultural base of Canadian cricket with initiatives to attract. During a cricket promotional event at Downsview Park on Canada Day people of many backgrounds tried out the sport. Some had English and French heritage with current sporting interests in hockey, baseball, American and Canadian Football and hockey. Bring them back to the fold!

It was easy to attract the interest of those with West Indian and Indian subcontinent heritage to join in. Possibly the highlight of the day was a lady from Bangladesh bowling to a female Korean teenager. Other participants included people of Chinese, Russian and Austrian blood. A couple from Japan, now working in Toronto, went to the Kenya Intercontinental Cup match at King City.

Young and old, men and women. Cricket – Canadian cricket - can attract them all….but it must have the will and make the effort. It needs visibility and transparency. Not just on the playing fields, but ‘Beyond the Boundary’. There’s a lot of interest and potential goodwill out there for cricket.

The future of Canadian cricket depends on the blending of well thought out, and approved, strategies and plans together with the resources to implement, or exceed, those plans. Hopes must be blended with realism.

The infrastructure of the game needs to develop. This is turn is dependent upon resources and commitment. Resource needs include both human capital and obtaining the necessary financing and sponsorships to achieve and sustain development.

Can Canadian cricket pull together and capitalize on the goodwill? I know I am not alone in hoping it can. Hope springs eternal. Realism? Time will tell.

Eddie Norfolk

Squad Desmond Chumney, Sandeep Jyoti, Pubudu Dassanayake, George Codrington , Sunil Dhaniram, Abdool Samad, Trevin Bastiampillai, Surendra Seeraj, Durand Soraine , Brian Rajadurai, Asif Mulla, Ashish Bagai, Don Maxwell, Austin Codrington, Umar Bhatti, Henry Osinde, Sanjay Thuraisingham, Anderson Cummins, Geoff Barnett, Ian Bilcliff , Haninder Dhillon, John Davison, Kevin Sandher, Steve Welsh, Qaiser Ali, Khrunalbai Patel, Naresh Patel, Abdul Jabbar Chaudrey, Orson Greaves.

The USA Cricket Association executive meeting in Florida on Saturday (October 7) is set to unveil an ambitious new partnership with an international sports marketing company.

The USACA is likely to enter into a joint venture with the company, and this body will be responsible for a number of aspects of cricket in the USA.

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	Steve Tikolo leads Kenya on a lap of honour following the 2003 World Cup semi-final. But were preparations beforehand so much better than this time? © Getty Images

The incessant sniping at the Cricket Kenya board continues in The Nation, Kenya's leading newspaper. For reasons that remain unclear, some of the paper's sports reporters seem to be of the view that the old Kenyan Cricket Association could do little wrong while the new board has taken the game to new lows.

On September 21, Richard Mwangi wrote on the eve of the county's tour of Uganda: "The Kenyans must register impressive wins if they wish to maintain their position as one of the top associate members of ICC ... Uganda has a development programme which has seen the game spread all over the country unlike Kenya where the game only exists in private clubs. This tour is a litmus test for Kenya 's cricket and the future of the game in the country could be determined by it."

Kenya duly won all three ODIs against Uganda by impressive margins, and one would have expected that met the standards set by the paper. Instead, in his article on September 29, Mwangi poured cold water on the clean sweep by saying that the Ugandans failed to offer the expected competition and turned his attack on the board's poor preparations for the World Cup by claiming the "current local league is not helping matters as the standards are at their lowest ebb". The comprehensive victory in the three-day match which followed later in the week was not even mentioned.

A few facts. Under the old KCA, in the 12 months leading up to the 2003 World Cup, Kenya played nine ODIs (they lost every one). In the two years after the 2003 World Cup they played five, and two of those were in the Champions Trophy in 2004 where they had to be invited (they lost them all). The reasons for Kenya 's international isolation are well documented, as are the player strikes, the withdrawal of sponsors etc. There is really no need here to rehearse these all over again.

In the 12 months ahead of the 2007 World Cup, Kenya will have played at least 25 ODIs - these include ODIs in a tri-series against Scotland and Canada in Mombasa in early January 2007 and the World Cricket League Division 1 in late January/early February 2007 when Kenya play host to the other five Associate qualifiers for the World Cup in an intensive 16-match tournament in Nairobi.

In the last seven months alone Kenya has played 13 ODIs winning 4 of them. Eleven of these ODIs have been against Full Member sides. It has also faced a strong Australian Academy side (comprising six players named as part of the 30-strong Australian World Cup Squad) which, after comprehensively beating the Kenyans 3-0 earlier in September, went on to register an even more emphatic 3 - 0 victory against a strong Zimbabwe side. This kind of exposure can only be good for a Kenyan team trying to find its way back to top-flight cricket after having effectively been shunned by the world's cricketing fraternity.

Critics will be quick to point out that back in the good old days the opposition were Australia, West Indies, Pakistan etc and now it is Zimbabwe , Bangladesh and Bermuda. That's true. But, in 2000 (for the Champions Trophy) and in 2002-03 (for the World Cup) Kenya was able to co-host a global event with the ICC's backing and there was a willingness by major countries to help. The current CK board inherited no goodwill, and when even Zimbabwe and Bangladesh struggle to get the big boys to play them, what hope does Kenya have until it rebuilds its reputation?

And when one actually looks at the preparations and the programme, contrary to what Mwangi says, the truth is that never has the Kenyan national cricket team seen such an active build-up before any World Cup that it has participated in. Apart from the matches themselves, and despite the meagre resources available to the new CK board, four Kenyan youngsters who are certainties for their World Cup side, are soon off to the High Performance Centre in Pretoria for a six-week training camp organised by the ICC. They return in time to rejoin their team to take on Bermuda in an Intercontinental Cup tie and the three ODIs which follow.

As for the argument about the local leagues ... well, critics might forget that the Nairobi Provincial Cricket Association and Coast Cricket Association operated largely in spite of the KCA and not because of it. The CCA, for example, received almost no central funding, and the KCA even went as far as kicking out the NPCA and refusing to acknowledge it and risibly attempting to establish its own rival set-up. The standards might not be as high as are wanted and there is a lot of catching up to do. Again, it will take time and hard work.

No-one is saying the Nation's journalists should slavishly praise the activities of the board. It is their duty as employees of Kenya 's leading - and most respected - newspaper to be critical and to scrutinise where necessary. But articles which are often negative - and base that negativity on dubious comparisons with the alleged achievements of the old KCA - seem to be based on a predetermined agenda. More to the point, where was that scrutiny a few years ago?

And, perhaps tellingly, enquiries to the board reveal that little attempt has been made to speak to it about the situation or to directly put the journalists' criticism to any of the officials.

A few weeks ago one of the journalists from the paper concerned sent an official complaint to Cricinfo that our articles relating to Kenyan cricket were damaging the company's reputation. A detailed response was given, asking for clarification and justification of that journalist's position. His brief reply was as follows: "I have no time for holier-than-thou Brits like you who imagine you have all the solutions to our problems when you are manifestly very ignorant about the problems facing Kenyan cricket. So just go **** yourself inside out."

It does make you wonder just what solutions he and his like have to offer.

Young Malton 255 (48.5 overs; Enos McDonald 90, Balaji Rao 44; Akbar Hussain 4-48) beat Canterbury 120 (33.4 overs; Tauseef Shamid 30; Puvendran Ravishankar 4-25) by 135 runs

Young Malton (Etobicoke & District League champions) beat Canterbury CC (Ottawa Valley champions) by 135 runs on Sunday October 1 in the final of the OCA Championship. The match was played at Maple Leaf CC, King City.

The Young Malton side got off to a flying start, making 97 before losing their first wicket. Enos McDonald was top scorer with 90 (6x6; 8x4) and his opening partner, Belaji Rao made 44 (3x6, 3x4). Canterbury missed several catches and probably paid dearly as the opening barrage may have ended before the score reached 30.

Azeemul Haniff (32) and Nadim Khan (33) helped keep the innings flowing. Akber Hussain took the last four Young Malton wickets; the innings ending on 255 all out in the 49th over of a possible 50.

Young Malton bowled tidily and took two early wickets but no one really dominated for Canterbury. There was a promising stand of 49 runs for their fifth wicket but the innings quickly folded after Akber Hussain was out for 25 with the score on 112.

Six runs later they lost Tauseef Shamid for 30 and the innings crumbled to 120 all out. Puvendran Ravishankar was brought on to bowl the 34th over and closed the proceedings with a hat-trick. He had Khurshad leg-before, then a brilliant left-handed catch and a stumping from wicketkeeper Pubbudu Dassanayake completed the 1-2-3.

Play-offs before the final

The championship involved the winning teams from each of the five cricket associations affiliated to the OCA taking place in a series of play-off matches.. To reach the final, Young Malton beat Yorkshire CC (Toronto & District Champions) by five wickets at Centennial Park, Etobicoke on Saturday (Sept 30). Yorkshire batted first and were all out for 163, Asif Mulla top scoring with 55. Young Malton scored 164 for 5, with Idris Gangatt making 43.

Canterbury CC beat Crescent CC (Hamilton & District Champions) and Sunrise Browne CC (Southern Ontario Champions) to reach the final in matches played in the Kitchener-Waterloo area on the previous weekend.

After the series whitewash against Kenya, the Uganda Cricket Association (UCA) has apologised to all stakeholders. During the farewell dinner to reward the top performers and see off the Kenyan team, the UCA apologised for the woeful show the team put up. "It was an awakening for us because we were comprehensively beaten. We must admit that we are not yet there because our game was way below par but we will fight on," said UCA Chairman Ivan Kyayonka.

The Guest of Honour John Nagenda - a former national captain and presidential advisor on media -also apologised for the dismal performance, thanked the Kenyans for showing glimpses of fantastic cricket and promised them a better show in the next series. "I have talked to the top men in UCA and we are going to organize a big stakeholders meeting to find a way forward because it is not a pleasant scene to see the game regress. All the players will also be asked what the problem is," added Nagenda.

Kenya's West Indian coach Roger Harper was however full of praises for UCA for accommodating them and giving his team so valuable match practice ahead of the Intercontinental Cup match against Bermuda and the World Cup.

Uganda's next series will be a tri-series starting on November 9 against Bermuda and hosts Kenya in Nairobi.

Innocent Ndawula

The writer is a journalist with Daily Monitor Newspaper in Kampala, Uganda and seasoned cricketer with Africa Cricket Club in Uganda.

After more than a year of reports of more concrete links between the USA and the Caribbean being established, the city of Lauderhill in Florida has announced a deal with Falmouth in Jamaica to use the newly-constructed stadium in Trelawny to promote cricket in Jamaica and the USA.

The partnership was launched with a match between a USA Invitational XI and the Jamaican national team on September 30, which the Jamaica side won by 36 runs.

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Kenya ended their short tour of Uganda with a resounding win over their hosts in the three-day match at Kampala. Earlier in the week, Kenya had completed an easy 3-0 whitewash in the one-day series.

Kenya made 316 for 9 on the opening day, with Steve Tikolo, Morris Ouma, Tanmay Mishra and Thomas Odoyo all making fifties, and reduced Uganda to 19 for 2 at the close. The home side were bowled out for 156, and Kenya again batted with ease, reaching 186 for 6 by the time they declared shortly before the close, setting the Ugandans a target of 347. They showed little appetite for the fight and were bowled out shortly after lunch of the final day for 95, giving Kenya a thumping 251-run victory. Peter Ongondo (4 for 42) and Thomas Odoyo (3 for 21) were the stars of a last day which lasted less than two hours.