Kenya coach Alfred Boi Njuguna is delighted to see his team on top of the ICC Intercontinental Cup table but said it means very little to him as the event has not even reached the halfway stage.

“Obviously we are very proud of what we have achieved so far and we can take out a lot of positives from our first two matches,” said Njuguna.

“But the target is not to perform in a few matches; it is to play good cricket consistently and be competitive irrespective of who is the opponent. Collecting maximum points from the first two matches has raised the bar of expectations and frankly speaking, now we find ourselves in a more challenging position as we will have to play just as well to retain that position,” he added.

Kenya, which beat Canada by nine wickets in its opener, defeated Bermuda by eight wickets on Sunday to move six points clear of second-placed side the Netherlands in the eight-team first-class event for the leading Associate line-ups. Kenya still has five of its matches to play in the round-robin format but finishing as one of the top two sides is essential as only those two teams will go forward to play in next year’s final.

Defending champion Ireland lies third in the ladder, five points behind the Dutch but three points ahead of Canada – which has played four matches, more than any other side so far. Scotland is level on points with Canada, Namibia is in sixth place with 20 points from a victory over the Canadians in the one match it has played so far, and the United Arab Emirates lies seventh with three points from a rain-ruined draw with the Scots.

“I think it would be premature to say at this stage that we are the favourites to qualify for the final or win the tournament because a lot of cricket has to be played. Having said that, I am delighted that we are being considered as serious title contenders but our objective is to go match-by-match and improve with every game.

“Before we play our next match (against the United Arab Emirates), we have a two-month gap and we have already set ourselves the task of improving our fielding during this period. We have set targets for ourselves and want to achieve them. I think this is the right approach to move forward,” he added.

Reflecting on his team’s performance against Bermuda, Njuguna said: “I have to congratulate each and every member of the team for their contribution because after two days of play, the only possible result appeared to be a draw as we were something like 50 runs behind with only five wickets standing on a wicket which didn’t really have any demons.

“But (on the third day) the lower middle-order not only helped us take a slender lead (of 21 runs), left-arm spinner Hiren Varaiya bowled magnificently and he was ably supported by the fielders who converted a couple of half-chances to create that window of opportunity for us from where we could win the match.”

Varaiya, who took a wicket with his first ball on his first-class debut against Canada last year, was the star performer for Kenya. The 23-year-old left-arm finger-spinner bowled with variation to record figures of 5-56 and 5-77. It was his first 10-wicket haul in 11 first-class matches.

“He is a born spinner with so much talent and promise. He varied his pace intelligently and held the odd ball back,” said Njuguna.

“I was particularly pleased with his patience which is so very important for any quality spinner. He kept bowling on the middle and off-stump and waited for the batsmen to fall into his trap or play a rash shot. I wouldn’t say he single-handedly took Kenya to victory because the batters also did a fine job and the fielders backed the bowlers. But Varaiya definitely had a lion’s share in the win.”

While Varaiya dominated the Bermuda batsmen, Kenya’s batting honours were shared by Thomas Odoya (73) and Obuya brothers, David and Collins, who each scored 53 in the first innings while openers Maurice Ouma (63) and David Obuya (70) put on 107 runs as Kenya chased 158 for victory.

For Bermuda, left-hander David Hemp stood out. Hemp, who captains county side Glamorgan in the UK, missed his 28th first-class century by three runs in the first innings in Bermuda’s 281 and then followed up with an unbeaten 68 in his team’s 178.

Kenya has no more ICC Intercontinental Cup matches in 2007 but Bermuda travels to Abu Dhabi where it takes on the United Arab Emirates (UAE) from Thursday. It will be Bermuda’s fourth game while for the UAE, it will be its third outing.