Kenya Under-19 men’s cricket team head coach Josphat Irungu wants the team to address their batting woes if they are to do well in World Cup Qualifiers (Division One) in June next year.
During their recent outing in Nigeria for World Cup Qualifiers (Division Two), the Kenyan team emerged winners after edging out Nigeria by 11 runs in the final.
Nigeria and Sierra Leone are the other two countries that have advanced and will meet Tanzania, Uganda and Namibia in Division One.
“The boys played well and emerged overall winners. We need to go back to the drawing board and check our batting. I also want to add two extra batsmen to the team. We need to get into serious preparations because very strong teams await us in Division One,” he said.
Irungu added that the team will rest a bit before resuming serious training. He said they are hoping to train abroad once the budgets are approved.
“I am confident we’ll be fit and ready come next year. We intend to play a few matches two weeks before the competition," he said.
Irungu noted that he is impressed with how things are going on and so far, they have no challenges. However, he lamented that the sport is not marketed well enough and most people have no idea of what is happening in the scene.
Irungu said his main goal is to see the junior players transition to the senior ranks.
“The boys look promising and are currently in good shape. In the near future, I want to make sure they join the senior national team to ensure continuity,” he concluded.
