We should learn from Zim: Tikolo

lessons from Zimbabwe for his nation to reinvent itself as a team that can compete at the big stage again.
The 39-year-old middle order batsman, who captained Kenya to a semi-final place at the 2003 World Cup finals, revealed on Sunday that he would be leaving international cricket for good after the tie against Zimbabwe at Eden Gardens.
Tikolo was honoured by the Kenyans, who made him skipper for his swansong game, with regular captain Jimmy Kamande missing that game against Zimbabwe.
It wasn’t the kind of farewell that Tikolo had been hoping for after his team was bowled out for just 147, in which he scored only 10 runs, in a futile chase of Zimbabwe’s big total of 308-6.
After he had fallen to Ray Price, trapped lbw, Tikolo was given a fitting send-off by the Zimbabwean fielders who hugged him and cheered his every step as he walked away while the crowd at Eden Gardens joined in the salute in an emotional moment for Kenyan cricket.
“It was very emotional, all those gestures,” said Tikolo.
“You realise that people appreciate what you have done in your career.
“I’m 39 now and I can’t keep going on forever. I have got to move on and give the youngsters a chance. I would love to give back to Kenyan cricket, you know, cricket is a game that has been with me through and through and I would like to give back to the game.”
Tikolo plays his domestic cricket in Zimbabwe for Masvingo franchise Southern Rocks, a team that even signed Brian Lara for the last Stanbic Twenty20 series.
Kenya lost all their six World Cup matches here, a far cry from the heady days when they reached the last four of this tournament eight years ago, and Tikolo said his team needed to take some lessons from Zimbabwefor it to rediscover its soul.
After being questioned about why his team had been outplayed by the Zimbabweans, a team they usually play and in a match that experts believed would be close, Tikolo said Zimbabwe were a far better team than Kenya and the East Africans should borrow lessons about how their colleagues had found their way back into a competitive unit.
“We don’t play Zimbabwe very often. The last time we played them was in 2009 or 2010. But when you look at that, the last time we had played them was in 2006,” said Tikolo.
“Zimbabwe are a better side, they have got the facilities, they are a Test-playing country, though they are not playing Tests, they have got the right facilities, administration and finances.
“I play domestic cricket in Zimbabwe and their league structures are very good and I think it has helped their game.
“We need to revamp our local structures, the domestic league, and probably start playing three-day or four-day cricket that’s how the youngsters will learn the art of playing the game.
“It’s something that needs to be done as soon as yesterday.”
Tikolo said he was disappointed with the way his team folded against Zimbabwe, in particular, and the way they failed to compete at this World Cup. But the veteran batsman said it was not fair to expect Kenya to compete at the World Cup when they are being starved of exposure against tough sides.
“Looking at 2003 when we got to the semi-finals, the team that we had then, we had been together since 1966,” said Tikolo.
“We had played together as a team, we had gelled well as players and we had played a lot of games with good teams, Test teams, India, South Africa and Australia and, in fact, we were playing good cricket all along.
“After 2003 things changed, we no longer play the top teams. It becomes difficult when you come and try to beat them playing them once in every nine years. I will give you an example. We last played Pakistan in 2004. We last played Australia in 2003, South Africa, I think we last played them in 2008 or 2009.
“I don’t know how you can come and beat them in such big tournaments. It doesn’t do your confidence any good.
“For them I think it’s easier because they are playing each other a very long time, they know each other’s game, they know each other’s weaknesses and all that but for teams like Kenya, Canada and Scotland, we don’t play these teams every day.”
Tikolo was brutally honest about his team’s poor show against Zimbabwe.
“It’s something that we have spoken about in our team’s meetings, the need of not losing wickets in clutches,” said the Kenyan veteran.
“We have young players in our side, some of the guys were making their debut in the World Cup so, in that respect, you could understand that there was no experience in them.
“It wasn’t a very good performance, obviously. We didn’t bowl well upfront, and we gave away too many runs. We also lost wickets at regular intervals. All in all, it was a pretty disappointing performance.”
Tikolo will leave the game after a fine campaign in which he represented his country very well and, at the turn of the millennium, was clearly his nation’s premier batsman.
He scored a century against Zimbabwe in an ODI in Nairobi and has played in South Africa, for Border, England, Bangladesh and for Southern Rocks.
“There have been a few ups and downs, but I have always felt proud representing my country,” said Tikolo.
“For me it’s the end of the road. I am hoping that the younger guys who played in this tournament have learnt something. I believe we have a talented young side.”