Kenya's four-week tour of Sri Lanka finished how it had started at Nondescripts Cricket Club grounds on Monday: in defeat. However, despite the anti-climatic loss of their final one-day game against Sri Lanka A, the visitors leave in high spirits having won the series in notoriously difficult conditions for touring teams.
During the past week they shown that they possess a clutch of young players with natural flair for the limited overs game, who can join forces with the established core - Maurice Odumbe, Steve Tikolo, Ravindu Shah and Martin Suji - to form a competitive side in the 2003 World Cup.
"The feeling within the team has changed," revealed the Kenyan manager Harilal Shah, adding, "They're now playing like they can win a match against strong opposition.
"And we have some really exciting young players coming through like Thomas Odoyo - perhaps our best one-day player already - Collins Obuya and David Obuya."
"This experience here will give us some confidence for our match against Sri Lanka in the World Cup, where the home conditions are going to give us a chance," he warned Sanath Jayasuriya's side, who will play their fourth game of the tournament against Kenya in Nairobi.
For the time being though Kenya's lack of depth remains a problem and the absence of three key players today - Collins Obuya (dislocated finger), Ravindu Shah (dehydration) and Thomas Odoyo (hamstring) - left them with insufficient firepower.
Sri Lanka A, eager to please in front of the national selectors and coach after two poor performances, produced a professional exhibition with half centuries from Gayan Ramnakumara (55), Tillakaratne Dilshan (55) and Upul Chandana (64).
Set a stiff 261 run target, Kenya never looked in the hunt after the cheap dismissal of Steve Tikolo (0) and Maurice Odumbe (6), slipping to 59 for five in the 13th over, before eventually being bowled out for 198.
Kaushalya Weeraratne, an exciting 21-year-old all-rounder still struggling to live up the expectations that saw him play 10 ODIs before his 20th birthday, found his rhythm with the new ball taking three wickets in a slippery opening spell.
After Pulasthi Gunwaratne - also impressive - bowled Kennedy Otieno, Weeraratne had Tikolo caught behind for a duck, Odumbe clean bowled and then Hitesh Modi caught at square leg.
Otieno Suji skewered a catch to backward point off Gunaratne and a final match humiliation beckoned before innings of substance from David Obuya and Martin Suji to salvage some respectability.
Obuya, who had clobbered 43 from 14 balls on Saturday, was promoted as opener in place of Shah alongside his brother Kennedy Otieno and responded well to the challenge, scoring an attractive 62 from 82 balls.
Suji, a veteran of 40 ODIs, compiled 49 not out from 94 balls adding 56 with Obuya for the sixth wicket and 42 with the fresh-faced Joseph Angara for the ninth.
Earlier in the day, Sri Lanka A had struggled in the opening overs after winning the toss and batting first. Avishka Gunawardene prodded a catch into the slips in the fifth over before Ramnakumara and Dilshan laboured hard for their runs.
Gradually, however, the tempo was picked up until Upul Chandana launched a thundering assault in the final five overs of the innings, smashing 56 runs, including four sixes and two fours, as he raced to a half century and put the game beyond the reach of the Kenyans.
© Cricinfo
| Teams | Sri Lanka. Kenya. |
| Players/Umpires | Upul Chandana, Gayan Wijekooon, Anushka Polonowita, Tillakaratne Dilshan, Chamara Silva, Steve Tikolo, David Obuya, Maurice Odumbe, Martin Suji, Joseph Angara. |
| Tours | Kenya in Sri Lanka |
| Scorecard | 3rd One Day: Sri Lanka 'A' v Kenya, 25 Feb 2002 |
| Grounds | Nondescripts Cricket Club Ground, Colombo |
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