•In their debut, Kenya went on to produce one of the greatest upsets in world cricket as they beat West Indies by 73 runs in Pune.
•If Kenya had proper structures for its players by having either Kenya ‘A’ or Elite Squad, then the list of ‘who is who’ in ‘Asiji’s School of Cricket’ would be longer.
Image: ERICK BARASA
Unbeknownst to many, a number of Kenya players who wowed the world in their maiden appearance at a cricket World Cup in India in 1996, took up the game by chance compared to their opponents and the other teams in the bonanza.
In their debut, Kenya went on to produce one of the greatest upsets in world cricket as they beat West Indies by 73 runs in Pune.
Kenya’s joy knew no bounds when the final wicket was claimed to confirm a victory of giant-killing proportions.The crowd at Pune appeared to be equally ecstatic for they knew they’d witnessed a historic game.
Although there were parties long into the night at the hot-beds of the game, the clubs in Nairobi and Mombasa, the momentous victory went largely unappreciated.
Unlike many of their opponents at the World Cup, the Kenyans took an assortment of paths to reach the pinnacle of cricket. There were those who began the game either by being members of the few cricket clubs in the country or after being lured to the sport by friends or family members.
Then there are those that held the cricket bat for the first time as some of the benefits of living next to a cricket ground. To them, the allure of sumptuous food prepared for wedding guests at the venue is what got them closer to the game.
As they waited for the guests to finish their meal so that they can have a share and take some at home, they were forced to try out the game that they saw being played.
This kind of lifestyle is how Sir Ali Muslim and the adjacent clubs brought up the Tikolos, Sujis and Odumbes into Kenyan cricket before they went on to orchestrate West Indies fall.
With the qualification, the then Nairobi Provincial Cricket Association (NPCA) authorities took that as an opportunity to spread the game in the city; away from the member clubs and neighbouring estates.
And with no trained coaches, NPCA turned to young budding players from some of the clubs to jump-start the program. David ‘Alolo’ Asiji was among the players who were picked to get cricket development ball rolling.
For 25-year-old ‘Alolo’, as he is fondly known in cricket circles, has been the face of cricket development in the country. Asiji has been the heart and soul of schools and clubs development programs that have produced gems for Kenyan cricket. From clubs to all the nationals’ teams, Asiji has had a hand in nurturing players.
Among the players that have risen under Asiji’s tutelage all the way to the international scene include former national team captains Irfan Karim, Maurice Ouma, Rakep Patel, Shem Obado and Jimmy Kamande.
Others who donned the national team colours courtesy of Asiji include the Ngoche brothers, James and Nehemiah, Alex Obanda, Rajesh Bhudia, Nelson ‘Mandela’ Odhiambo, Lucas Oluoch, Jadavji ‘Malindi’ Bhimji and Elijah Otieno.
If Kenya had proper structures for its players by having either Kenya ‘A’ or Elite Squad, then the list of ‘who is who’ in ‘Asiji’s School of Cricket’ would be longer.
“All these players and many more, have all passed in my hands either at school, club or at the national teams’ level,” says Asiji, who began coaching while still a student at Eastleigh High School in 1995.
“Before joining Eastleigh High School, I was playing cricket and so when I joined secondary school, I wanted to ensure that they take up cricket. This forced me to assemble some school-mates to get into the game and from there, I got into the rhythm of coaching to date.”
When NPCA started the program, Asiji was assigned Peter Kibukosya, Kifaru and Tumaini Primary Schools in Umoja Estate.
“I had just completed my secondary school education and here I was being asked to start coaching. It was a big challenge because I had not worked with young kids before. Getting to coach a big number of pupils with no cricketing background and then expected to show results were not going to be an easy task,” he recounts.
After two years, he was given another task of introducing the sport in secondary schools. Here the father of two girls faced more challenges that made him prefer working with the primary school pupils.
“It was difficult to sell the game to the students because we were competing with established sports like football, basketball, rugby, hockey, volleyball and handball. Nobody wanted to try out something new and so it was very difficult to get a smooth sailing in the secondary school,” he said.
For the primary school pupils, Asiji only needed two wooden or plastic bats and a softball to start a coaching session while for the secondary school lads, Asiji, who was born and raised at Kenya Institute Career Development (KICD) headquarters in Ngara, would need proper bats, hardball, helmet, thigh pads and an abdominal guard on top of a proper cricket surface to kick start a session.
With little or no provision of the equipment because of high costs, Asiji’s work became more difficult, which is why he settled on working with primary schools.
“I quickly decided to stick with primary schools pupils after seeing the challenges in secondary schools. In the primary, you just needed pupils to get on the pitch, get a ball, bats and tell them what to do and off you go. But in secondary schools, the surfaces itself would make it difficult to jumpstart your session. Apart from that, one would need an expensive kit to get going and don’t forget there were other games being played too,” Asiji recalls.
Apart from conducting coaching in schools, Asiji was also tasked with running coaching courses for teachers and setting up inter-schools competitions.
“These competitions were aimed at giving the pupils a chance to expose themselves to the game in a competitive environment and at the same time enabled us to identify talented players,” he said.
It’s through this kind of competitions, popularly known as mini cricket, that the likes of Obanda, Mandela, Rakep, Bhudia, Jadavji ‘Malindi Bhimji and many others were identified.
“Within a short time, we were able to see these competitions producing talent. They made us realise we were on the right track as far as our plans for honing new talent were concerned. We were encouraged that we can actually get more players into the game and with that more schools were identified and with this, more coaches were introduced,” Asiji recalls.
After the success of mini cricket, where kids played with a softball, those that had been identified to as talented were introduced to hardball cricket. A coaching program at Nairobi Gymkhana that was working with young kids quickly took them up and as fate would have it, Asiji was drafted as one of the coaches to nurture players.
He said: “The program turned out to be a good initiative for them and for our cricket in general. They got some intensive coaching in all the aspects of the game and within a short time, we were able to identify some future players.”
In 2000, a number of players from the hardball introduction training won selection for the inaugural national junior teams that took part in the international junior championships with Asiji being selected among the coaches.
While coaching, Asiji was still actively playing cricket and when he moved to Aga Khan from Gymkhana as a wicketkeeper, he set up an academy at the club where he worked with children of both members and non-members.
His work with young players continued to earn him more opportunities both at the club and national level and by 2008, he had coached almost all the junior teams in the country.
In 2009, Asiji coaching career took a different turn when he was posted to Nakuru to oversee Cricket Kenya development program.
Due to his experience, it didn’t take him long to settle down and make a mark in the county that had little knowledge of the ‘gentleman’s game and in less than two years, Nakuru had produced players into the national team.
“It wasn’t a surprise when three players made it into the women’s national team to the 2010 Africa Junior Girls Championships in Tanzania. Their selection only made me realise that the county had just as much talent as Nairobi. It also motivated a number of kids to venture into the sport and even work harder.”
By 2013, girls from Nakuru made up half of the junior and senior women’s teams. Ruth Ambiyo was the first girl from Nakuru to don the national team colours and this influenced cricket in the county and the country at large.
“Alolo has done a lot for this country as far as the development of the game is concerned. How he connects with everyone from teachers, parents, kids and everyone that he comes across is what we have never understood. And I feel this is what makes him successful in his work,” Ambiyo said.
Tom Tikolo who posted Asiji to Nakuru, says his ability to work with youngsters of varying background is what has made him successful.
“He is a reliable and most effective coach we’ve had in junior cricket coaching. Those that have worked under him will agree that he has shown tremendous ability in working with youngsters well. Most of the players have a lot of respect for him and his knowledge of the game is excellent,” Tikolo said.
Apart from coaching the junior sides, where he has earned the name ‘Coach Mnoma’ (wonderful/good coach), the ardent Liverpool FC fan has also had a stint with the national team’s coaching staff on a number of occasions where he has reconnected with his past students.
More than 25 years after venturing into the development of cricket, Asiji continues to nurture and churn out a good number of the country’s most talented cricketers.
“I’m proud and honoured to be working with cricket development. I love working with the age group, developing players in the long-term development model,” he proudly says. He has been around for so long and knows Kenyan cricket inside out, according to his close friend Kamande.
“When the country talks about success and development of cricket, those who know its history will think of Asiji. Whatever he has done to this sport cannot be matched. He is our walking cricket academy,” Kamande said.
Asiji is not yet thinking about his retirement but says if he finally hangs his coaching bat, he would have left the sport in good hands now that a number of his ‘students’ have taken up coaching.
“At the beginning, I just wanted to see them playing the game. But with time, they have risen to don the national team colours all the way to being captains. Some have retired and are now coaching and I am hoping they will keep the fire burning and get us more players,” he said.