By Bharat Sharma, IANS,
New Delhi : Kenyan captain Jimmy Kamande feels their best chance of pulling off a win in the World Cup is against Canada Monday.
The current edition could be the last World Cup outing for some associate nations as the International Cricket Council (ICC) has cut down on the number of teams from 14 to 10. Kamande said the match against another associate nation is perhaps their only opportunity to taste victory after suffering three heavy losses against New Zealand, Pakistan and Sri Lanka.
“Playing against Canada is definitely our best chance to win. But we have to perform well in all the departments,” Kamande said at a pre-match press conference here Sunday.
“It has been tough for us, honestly speaking. We have not done justice to ourselves and our abilities. Hopefully, we can put up a good show against Canada tomorrow,” the all-rounder said.
Asked about playing in his last World Cup, the 23-year-old said: “It might be our last chance to play in this tournament. As I said before, we work hard for qualifying in the World Cup and after that ICC leaves us alone for the next four years to work on our game and play amongst the associate nations. So naturally, it is going to be tough playing top teams no matter what format you are competing in.”
“If you play top teams in Twenty20, you would end up losing by 40 runs and that is a big margin. It doesn’t matter whether it is Twenty20 or a One-day match. We have to play the Test nations to improve.”
Kamande’s role as a skipper has been tested to the limit with the team searching for its maiden win. He acknowledged that the going has been tough and said the team comprising young and experienced players is capable of bouncing back.
“The captain’s job is a tough one when you are losing in every series and not just the World Cup.
“We have a lot of youngsters in the side. Most of them are not used to the pressure and a part of our job is to motivate them in tough situations.
“Having said that, we are very focussed. We are halfway through the World Cup and looking forward to the next three games,” Kamande said.
After Canada, Kenya face Australia and Zimbabwe.
The captain is also aware the fans’ expectations back home.
“We have enough fans back home. The sport is not as big as it is in India but they (fans) stick to us even if we lose. We want to win it for them and we are going to keep representing Kenya with pride,” said Kamande.