Kenya provide reason to ICC to cut down on teams in WC

Chennai, Feb 20 (PTI) The gap between the Test playingnations and the Associate members was on stark display todayafter Kenya suffered a 10-wicket mauling at the hands of NewZealand in their World Cup opener, apparently giving ICC thejustification to have only ten teams instead of 14 from nextedition of the showpiece event.

Kenya captain Jimmy Kamande found it difficult to answerwhen asked about ICC''s move to exclude second-string nationsfrom the 2015 edition of the 50-over World Cup after theAfrican team were sent packing for their lowest World Cuptotal of 69 in just 23.5 overs before the Kiwis overhauled thepaltry target in eight overs here.

It was the fifth lowest score in the history of World Cupand the match lasted less than a third of what a full cricketone-dayer would have been.

"It''s for ICC to decide to play 10 teams or 15. Thedisappointing thing is we get to play a Test team once aroundevery two years or so. The more we play against these guys,the better you become. That''s need to be understand.

"We play another Test-playing nation Pakistan next. Iwould be happy as long as we improve each and every game,"said Kamande.

The vanquished Kenyan captain said he would not blame hisplayers for their meek surrender and hoped to deliver somegood performances as the tournament progresses.

"We didn''t express ourselves. The young boys werenervous. The two young lads who opened (Seren Waters and AlexObanda) were a bit nervous. Collins Obuya was positive and wewere gaining momentum but quick wickets in the middle set usback.

"In the next few games, we will deliver some goodperformances. The good thing is that this is done. It''s out ofthe way," he said.

Asked whether the uneven bounce was difficult to play on,Kamande said, "It was the bowling techniques of the rival newball bowlers. They managed to make the ball bounce. There weregood lengths and we missed them, mostly playing across to getout. That is the reason for our poor performance."

Kenya got off to a dismal start after electing to bat,losing five wickets inside the first 16 overs with New Zealandpaceman Hamish Bennett doing the bulk of the damage.

The semifinalists of the 2003 edition will play Pakistanin their second game in Hambantota, Sri Lanka on February 23.