Cricket: An early declaration by Ireland, some 88 runs behind Kenya on day two of the Inter-Continental Cup final, may have been an effort to shame the Africans into setting the Irish a target in the fourth innings today. But by the way Kenya batted before the close last night, they are impervious to thrown gauntlets.
With Kenya looking for Test status from the ICC, surely once the sporting declaration was made by Trent Johnston they should have felt compelled to go all out for victory rather than bat the match out for a winning - but unsatisfying - draw. What sort of message would it send the decision-makers in the ICC if, on the one hand, the Kenyans want to be pitted against the Australians and the English in Test matches but, on the other, do not have the confidence to think they can bowl out the likes of Ireland?
Such is the flawed bonus points system in this competition, a draw will mean Kenya lift the cup unless Ireland can get them all out today with enough time to score some runs in their second innings.
As neither side has been able to take more than four wickets due to the flatness of the wicket, taking all 10 is a tall order. That said, two wickets in two balls from Andy White inside the last half hour of play meant the Irish will feel a win would not be out of the question.
But the negative way Kenya approached their second innings suggests they have no interest in beating Ireland outright so long as they can take the silverware.
The day's play ended a few overs early when the umpires offered the batsmen the light, even though no one apart from the two men in white really believed that the balmy Namibian evening could be described as any way dark. It was a peculiar decision, particularly as Ireland had two slow bowlers on at the time. By that stage, Kenya had snailed on to 104 for 3, off 40 overs.
At the start of play at 37 for 1, few would have given Ireland much of a chance of matching Kenya's first innings total of 401 for 4. And for most of the morning session Kenya's bowlers were on top. Having got off to good starts, Jeremy Bray (46) and Eoin Morgan (60) were both out to poor shots, and Ireland crawled towards the lunch break at less than three and over.
It was a disappointing end to impressive knocks from the left-handers, who had both passed 150 in the semi-final against United Arab Emirates.
After lunch, however, the momentum shifted entirely. Niall O'Brien and Andre Botha were given orders to be more positive and they took the game to Kenya. Once they had sent the ball to the boundary a few times, Kenyan heads seemed to drop.
O'Brien looked in fine form - focused, composed - but with his usual ebullience and hard running between the wickets. He passed 100 for the second time in successive matches and was left unbeaten on 106 when Ireland decided to declare early in an effort to force a result.
Play resumes this morning with Kenya 192 runs ahead and with seven wickets in hand, but with a negative attitude that means a draw is likely.
Cricket Scoreboard
Overnight: Kenya 401 for 4 dec (S Tikolo 177 no, H Modi 106) Ireland 37 for 1 (J Bray 28 no, E Morgan 0 no)
Ireland (first innings contd)
D Joyce lbw Odoyo 5
J Bray c Ouma b Onyango 46
E Morgan c Obuya b Sheikh 60
N O'Brien no 106
A Botha c and b Obuyo 78
Extras (1w, 6nb, 6lb, 5b) 18
----
Total (for 4, 78.5 overs) ... 313
Fall of wickets: 27, 82, 148, 313.
DNB: P Gillespie, A White, C Armstrong, K McCallan, A McCoubrey, T Johnston.
Bowling: M Suji 13-3-48-0, Odoyo 4.3-1-15-1, Ongondo 8-2-30-0, S Tikolo 25.3-6-93-0, L Onyango 14-3-56-1, Sheikh 7-0-35-1, Obuya 6.5-0-25-1.
Kenya (second innings)
K Obuya c O'Brien b McCoubrey 14
M Suji c O'Brien b White 52
M Ouma no 24
T Suji b White 0
S Tikolo no 6
Extras (8b) 8
----
Total (for 3, 40.1 overs) ... 104
Fall of wickets: 41, 95, 95.
Bowling: McCoubrey 8-2-22-1, Botha 7-3-22-0, Armstrong 5-2-6-0, Bray 8-4-12-0, McCallan 9-2-29-0, White 3.1-1-5-2.
Kenya lead by 192 runs
