On a grey, overcast morning, Kenya won the toss and put Sri Lanka in to bat. In the context of this particular World Cup tournament, the match is meaningless since both teams are already doomed to elimination in the first round. This was a sad fate for Sri Lanka, the holders, and it remained to be seen whether they could summon the spirit to go out with a bang rather than a whimper.

Sri Lanka made a slow start, the first boundary not coming until the fifth over when Mahanama swung Suji to the fine-leg boundary. Jayasuriya got in on the act in the next over from Angara, hitting a high one over the covers for four, and two balls later repeated the stroke, only closer to the fielder this time. There was almost a run- out in the eighth over as the batsmen almost got into a muddle in mid-pitch, but Jayasuriya regained the crease at the bowler's end in time.

Jayasuriya decided to open out as Odoyo came on to bowl, pulling him for 4 and then square-cutting a six, and in his next over cutting and pulling fours. The last boundary was almost a catch, the ball bouncing awkwardly just in front of a fielder and then rebounding off his body over the boundary. Four leg-byes followed, but Karim persevered with his young pace bowler and his faith in him was vindicated. He found his accuracy in the next over, trying Jayasuriya down for three balls before having him lbw with a slower delivery. The opening pair had put on a valuable 72, and Jayasuriya 39.

Odoyo struck again in his next over, surprising Mahanama with a faster ball that nipped back and bowled him. De Silva, who has had a disastrous tournament, failed again, turning a catch to square leg - again off Odoyo.

Atapattu and Ranatunga then settled into an impressive partnership, cautiously at first but with increasing dominance. When 24, Ranatunga was given not out for an appeal for a catch at the wicket off Odumbe by umpire David Orchard, although replays seemed to indicate that the ball hit the inside edge of the bat before the pad. Ranatunga was quite happy to add injury to insult, taking two fours off the rest of the over, and soon the batsmen were scoring off virtually every ball. Then, just after reaching his 50, Ranatunga turned a ball behind square leg, set off on a run but was sent back. He was stranded several metres down the pitch when Angara scored a direct hit on the stumps, this time surprising everybody by walking without waiting for the umpire's decision. With nobody up by the stumps, had the fielder missed the batsman would have been able to get home.

Off the next delivery Chandana was caught by keeper Otieno diving to his right; Otieno took another shortly afterwards, this time down the leg side to dismiss Atapattu, and Kaluwitharana drove an easy catch into the covers. With seven down for 209, Kenya were still very much in the game.

A light drizzle was falling as Jayawardene and the left-handed Vaas set about repairing the damage. They hit well, scoring at about eight runs an over as they ran for almost everything, and Vaas pulled a fierce six almost into the press tent. They added 64 in 31 minutes before Jayawardene fell to the penultimate ball, caught on the leg boundary. After faltering, Sri Lanka seemed to have done enough to ensure that they won this match - if the weather let them.

The fine drizzle continued seemingly interminably, and however light it was the umpires were not prepared to do anything until it stopped. Finally play got under way again at 4.40 p.m., although with the heavy overcast conditions it seemed highly unlikely that the match would be finished the same day. Even if it didn't rain again, the light would deteriorate still further. By then almost half the crowd had decided not to risk exposure, but those left were quite vociferous.

Vaas struck for Sri Lanka with his second delivery, winning an lbw decision against Otieno without a run on the board. There was a feeling that the ball, although straight, might have been slightly high. After a couple of singles, Shah hit Kenya's first boundary in the third over with a well-timed square drive.

Kenya struggled for runs and soon Vaas broke through again, producing a fine ball that moved in slightly and bowled Chudasama through the gate for 3. Kenya were 10 for two, and no doubt feeling very far from home in such miserable conditions. Their tournament looked destined to end on a gloomy note, both literally and metaphorically.

They battled on until Tikolo suddenly unleashed a magnificent on- drive to the boundary off Wickramasinghe that drew applause and gasps of admiration. Otherwise, though, he was struggling to find his timing in such harsh and unfamiliar conditions. He hit three more superb boundaries, but all too soon he was gone, moving across his stumps, trying to turn Wickramasinghe to leg across the line, and was lbw. He scored 19 off 17 balls, and Kenya were 33 for three. The solitary light had gone out of a gloomy afternoon.

Rajinder, on past performances, might have added some light to the proceedings, but he struggled with his timing, and when he did lash out he was superbly caught high above his head by Muralitharan in the covers. He scored 12, and Kenya were 36 for four. Odumbe quickly showed aggressive intent, if not timing, off the mark with a forceful back-foot drive into the covers.

Occasional fine strokes punctuated Kenya's last stand of the World Cup, such as a powerful lofted on-drive for four by Odumbe off Jayawardene. A fine batsman, he had not found his form in this World Cup and was desperate to return home with at least one substantial score to his credit. Karim, on the other hand, battled for a long time before he moved across his stumps to Jayawardene, tried to hit him to leg across the line, and was declared lbw; although well forward, the ball appeared straight. Kenya were now 52 for five.

Vadher soon played a fine stroke in his own right, putting Jayawardene through the covers off the back foot with superb timing. Then Odumbe drove Muralitharan magnificently over mid- on, only centimetres short of a six, and Jayawardene wide of mid- on for another. Slowly the drizzle returned and the umpires conferred, but both teams wanted to get the match and their tour over with that evening if at all possible. The batsmen were determined to delay that moment as long as possible, though, and they settled down to a valuable partnership. At first they hit some quality boundaries and then, as Ranatunga put his field back, they concentrated on well-placed ones and twos.

Then the drizzle and the gloom intensified once more, the umpires and players conferred, and it was decided to carry on to the bitter end if humanly possible, although conditions were not only highly unfit for cricket but hardly suitable for human beings in any circumstances. The steadily diminishing crowd as well as the players would doubtless have preferred to head for the nearest fire, but pride prevented Kenya from taking the easy way out. Several hundred spectators probably felt the same way, some still shouting and dancing and interminably whistling to keep warm, the majority huddled under umbrellas and inside raincoats.

An off-driven single by Odumbe took him to his fifty, scored off 63 balls. It was a pleasure to see this fine player leave the World Cup with honour, after such a difficult tournament for both the player himself and his team. Shortly afterwards, he had a narrow escape from a possible stumping as Kaluwitharana fumbled a ball from Jayasuriya. A fine off-drive for four by Vadher brought up the century partnership, and soon afterwards he too reached a highly creditable fifty.

A four by Vadher to long leg brought up the 150 partnership; the pair had already set a new record for the sixth wicket in World Cup history, beating the 144 by Imran Khan and Shahid Mahboob of Pakistan, also against Sri Lanka, at Headingley in 1983. Soon after the all-time one-day sixth-wicket record fell, previously held by Richie Richardson and Jeff Dujon for West Indies against Pakistan in Sharjah in 1991/92.

It all came to an end after 161 runs, as Odumbe was finally bowled by Jayasuriya for a magnificent 92, bowled through the gate while attempting to drive. In a way, it was all academic, as victory had never been a reasonable expectation at any time during their stand. Nevertheless it was a fine effort made in adversity between two players from an inexperienced team against the outgoing world champions.

Odoyo was next in, and soon made his mark by flicking Vaas for a fine four, almost a six, over fine leg. At the other end, in the final over, he drove Wickramasinghe for four over mid-off. This was Kenya's last major blow of the match and of the tournament, which they left without a point, but with their honour intact and heads held high.