With just over a month to go before the top six associate nations converge on Nairobi for the WCL, the ICC have officially confirmed that Ruaraka Sports Ground has been granted ODI status. This means that two out of the three grounds due to be used for the event are now officially accredited, with only Nairobi Jaffery awaiting an inspection to determine its fate. Nairobi Gymkhana has always been well maintained and as a result has been the venue of choice when visiting teams play Kenya at home. It is also a favourite ground for many of Kenya’s players for the same reason. In the past, Ruaraka, Aga Khan, Nairobi Club and Nairobi Jaffery have all held ODI status, but had it revoked due to them either failing to meet the required width (in the case of Aga Khan), or falling into too poor a state.

When Kenya was chosen to host the WCL, it was decided that the two grounds most likely to be brought back to ODI condition in the required time were Ruaraka and Nairobi Jaffery. During Kenya’s Intercontinental Cup match against Bermuda, Chris Broad, the match referee, inspected both grounds to determine their suitability after some work had been done. Ruaraka was mostly given the green light, with one or two minor changes needed, while Jaffery was castigated for their seeming lack of effort and given a deadline of November 30th to complete sanding of the outfield.

Since then, Ruaraka have completed the minor changes with the result that the ICC’s Cricket Operations Manager, Clive Hitchcock, confirmed in a letter to Cricket Kenya on December 10th that the ground is once again an accredited ODI venue. This leaves Nairobi Jaffery, who have an inspection due on January 7th, to get themselves in order. Samir Inamdar, Chairman of Cricket Kenya, believes they will have things ready in time:

 “A lot of work has gone into preparing this venue and over 250 tonnes of sand have been used to level it. Much of the outfield has been replanted in an effort to ensure an even growth of grass and I am pretty confident it will be approved.”

 If not, there is always the option of using Mombasa Sports Club as the third venue for the WCL, though this will be a last resort due to the logistics involved in flying teams between the two cities.

From a longer term viewpoint, these upgrades have been a much needed boost for Kenyan cricket. Once completed, they will give Kenya 4 venues in which to stage future ODIs as well as providing Nairobi’s players with 3 top quality pitches to play on rather than just one. It will also put pressure on the remaining clubs to get their grounds back into the state required to generate quality players and host important matches.

Once the WCL is over, Cricket Kenya need to look at bringing one of the grounds upcountry up to the same standard to give players from outside Nairobi the same opportunity. Nakuru Sports Club is the prime candidate for this as it already hosts most of the cricket played under the auspices of the Rift Valley Cricket Association. Kisumu would be the other city to consider, though I do not know how much active cricket is played there at the moment. This step would also aid in the introduction of an inter-provincial tournament, something that must happen if Kenyan cricket is going to continue to hold its place at the top of the Associate ladder.

In the meantime, this is a very satisfying result for Cricket Kenya and the ground staff at Ruaraka. They must now work hard to ensure that the ground is maintained at the required level and that the hosting of the WCL goes off without a hitch. Progress is understandably slow, but ever so surely the ship that is Kenyan cricket is being righted.