da luck： NAIROBI – Australia this week starts the first leg of itsAfrica-Asia-Arabia cricket tour in Nairobi against the team most likelyto stand in its way when the world championship kicks off on thiscontinent in February.
Michael Donaldson27-Aug-2002NAIROBI – Australia this week starts the first leg of itsAfrica-Asia-Arabia cricket tour in Nairobi against the team most likelyto stand in its way when the world championship kicks off on thiscontinent in February.A two-month trip which takes Australia from Africa, to Sri Lanka andthen the United Arab Emirates, starts with a match on Friday againstPakistan, one-day cricket’s definition of mercurial but a team currentlyrunning hotter than any other.Since losing the final of the Natwest series against Australia at Lord’sjust over a year ago, Pakistan has won a remarkable 18 of its past 26matches – a 70 per cent winning record.The run also coincides with Pakistan being forced into exile followingthe September 11 terrorist attacks.In the past year, as most nations refuse to travel to the Islamic nationfor security reasons, Pakistan has played only three one-day matches athome, all for wins against New Zealand.The journey has taken the Pakistanis from Sharjah to Chittagong andDhaka in Bangladesh, to Melbourne, Brisbane and Tangiers. Now it isKenya for what is supposed to a home series.For Ricky Ponting’s Australians, this series is a warm-up for what couldbe a crucial match against New Zealand to open the ICC Champions Trophyin Sri Lanka next month.With Australia and New Zealand drawn in a group alongside againstBangladesh – a near certain win for both sides – their opening matchwill determine which team advances to the semi-finals.Given the Kiwis’ recent domination last summer, it’s crucial match forthe Australians. Lose it and they are effectively out of the one-dayseries and will have precious little to do for three weeks before themoveable Test series against Pakistan starts in Colombo before headingto Sharjah.Following that series, the Australians will barely have time to thinkbefore they are up against England in an Ashes series which will bejammed up against more one-dayers against England and Sri Lanka, thefinals of dovetailing into the World Cup, which will be played in SouthAfrica, with matches in Zimbabwe and Kenya.Ahead of the World Cup, this series – which starts with Pakistan againstKenya on Thursday – is vital preparation for Kenya, which will hostmatches against New Zealand and Sri Lanka during the World Cup.This will be a test of security as well as the growing popularity ofcricket here.Kenya, a winner of eight of its 43 one-day matches, has been warmingwith convicning wins against Bangladesh A.As a sideline, the fact Nairobi is at an altitude of 1820 metres, shouldprovide Brett Lee and Shoaib Ahktar with the atmospheric conditions tobowl as fast as possible in the thin air.