Strike opens wounds inside Kenyan cricket

Kenya's selectors have named an inexperienced 15-man squad for Friday's Intercontinental Cup tie against Namibia at the Aga Khan club. Nine of the players have no international experience.

The selectors' hands were forced after eight leading players withdrew as a result of the continuing dispute with the board over contracts.

The eight, led by their former captain Steve Tikolo, refused to attend training and so were considered unavailable for selection. They are unhappy that they have not been offered new contracts by the board, which in turn claims it has no money to pay them. Some players also claim that they have yet to receive money owed to them from previous tournaments.

The rebels held a press conference in Nairobi in which they said they had no confidence in the KCA management or the technical capability of Andy Moles, Kenya's coach, to handle the team.

Tikolo told reporters that the game in Kenya would continue to deteriorate unless the current KCA management was changed. "It's an open secret that potential sponsors are not ready to invest in the game with the current officials still at the helm," he said. There was also a stinging attack on Moles, who was partially blamed for the poor showing in the Champions Trophy. "It points to the calibre of coaching," he explained. "Personally, I think its not up standard, I'm sorry to say."

Hitesh Modi, one of the five of the Champions Trophy squad remaining, was named as the new captain.

The team of 12 will be selected after Thursday's final practice session.

The other players supporting Tikolo are Martin Suji, Thomas Odoyo, Kennedy Obuya, Tony Suji, Maurice Ouma, Peter Ongondo and Josephat Ababu.