Test status is not far away from us: Tikolo

After playing a sparkling innings of 93 off just 91 balls against the West Indies at the SSC Ground in Colombo, the Kenyan skipper Steve Tikolo talked to the media.

He regretted that his side couldn't pull off a win against the West Indies: "We started off well, and restricted them in the first 25 overs and then gave away easy runs. Obviously that is the area we would like to improve upon."

When asked about Kenya's claims when it came to earning a Test status, Tikolo said, "Test status is not far away from us. I know we have the players with ability to play at the highest level. It is in the ICC's hands to make the decision."

Tikolo went on to observe that even in the current situation Kenya must be given the opportunity to play a lot more games. "If we play at the highest level more often, I think our team will improve," the Kenyan skipper said.

Between now and World Cup 2003, Kenya are to play just five one-day internationals against Zimbabwe. They would also be visiting India and playing against some of the state teams before going on a tour of Namibia.

His side's poor fielding - they dropped at least five easy chances in the morning - did not go unmentioned at the press-conference. When asked about it, Tikolo gave a straight-forward reply: "Those chances at this level has to be taken. We will go back to the drawing board and work on our fielding."

Joseph Angara, the man who bowled a dream spell to Sachin Tendulkar during India's tour of South Africa, was surprisingly not pressed into service during the West Indian innings. When asked to explain why one of his side's main seamers had suffered this fate, Tikolo said that he made the decision because his spinners did a good job on the day.

The first question that Tikolo's counterpart Carl Hooper faced was about the state of Brian Lara's health. The premier West Indies batsman, who had scored a hundred in his team's innings, had to be taken to the hospital in the afternoon. "If he has been admitted, it must be serious enough," Hooper observed.

The West Indies skipper admitted that Lara was feeling a bit weak when he was in the middle. The champion left-hander, though, managed to hang around to make a match-winning 111.

"It was important for him (Lara) to try and stay there as long as he could," Hooper said, adding, "I am happy that he came through for us today."

The fact that West Indies have struggled to score runs quickly at the top of the order was not lost upon the skipper. "We missed out on opportunity in both the games where we could have been pushing the 300-run mark. It is obviously an area we are going to have a look at," he observed.

Hooper also took the opportunity to praise his opponents, saying, "It would be stupid to underestimate the Kenyan side. They are obviously getting better."

The West Indies skipper said that he was looking forward to the upcoming series' against India and Bangladesh. The West Indies have decided to stay back in Sri Lanka for a couple of weeks and prepare for these battles.

"First week will be on physical fitness and conditioning and then the second week will be on tactical stuff. We are trying to arrange for a three-day game against Sri Lanka A," he explained.