Adding a further international flavour to PakPassion, we present an interview with Kenya's greatest ever cricketer Steve Tikolo.
The former captain of Kenya has a first class career which has spanned from 1995 to 2011 and he has featured in some of Kenya's greatest ever achievements in international cricket.
Steve played 145 matches for Kenya and when in full flow was a great batsman to watch, as well as being a more than useful medium pacer/off spinner.
Tikolo hit 3 centuries and 26 half centuries in international cricket and will always be an inspiration to cricketers not only in Kenya but throughout Africa.
By Haroon Khan (3rd January 2011)
PakPassion.net: First of all many thanks for giving PakPassion your time. We?ll start off by a look back at your career. You were obviously part of a very successful World Cup Kenyan side in 2003. Would you like to share the thoughts and the experiences of the team for reaching such heights?
Steve Tikolo: When we went to the World Cup, we had really prepared well. We were a wildcard of a team, but the same team had been together since the 99 World Cup, so we knew each others game, we knew each our strengths as individuals. There was added advantage as well for me as a captain, as I knew how to use my team and get the best out of them. We had just played a lot of ODI games against top teams prior to the tournament in South Africa. We had played in South Africa in a series against South Africa and India. We had played in what used to be called the Champions Trophy in 2000 in Nairobi. Then we later had a four nation tournament in Nairobi. So you see we had played plenty of games coming into the World Cup against teams like India, Pakistan and Sri Lanka. So we really had had a lot of exposure in terms of games played against quality opposition.
PakPassion.net: Did you ever imagine you would get so far?
Steve Tikolo: Yeah it did exceed expectations. We always knew we were a chance to get into the second round to be honest. We thought we would do well and get to the second round. But not really getting to the semi finals.
PakPassion.net: How was the leadup to the big semi final against India. Did your team have real hopes of causing an even greater upset?
Steve Tikolo: Every game we won, we kept on believing we could go further in the tournament. Having qualified for the semi finals, we thought we were one match away from the final. We had to play India and as everybody knows India is a powerhouse and has some of the best cricketer in the game, so we knew we had to play well. We also knew that having played a lot in South Africa, and in our discussions that Durban was a place where you bat first when you win the toss. Unfortunately we lost the toss and India went into bat first.
PakPassion.net: Do you feel if the toss had fallen your way it may have been a different result.
Steve Tikolo: Yes it could have been. What happened later on in the evening, the ball moved around a lot. Not to take anything away from the Indian team, but the last time we played them they struggled against the moving ball. If we had won the toss and put up a score of around 230, you never know what may have happened.
PakPassion.net: Which has been your personal favourite innings over your career?
Steve Tikolo: Obviously the three hundreds I have scored stand out. They have been against Bangladesh, Zimbabwe and Bermuda. Obviously getting a hundred is something every player wants to do. However the innings that stands out for me is my first ODI innings in the 1996 World Cup against India. I scored 65, but I came in at a time when we had lost a couple of quick wickets. Being the first time on the international stage I was nervous, but I just told myself to calm down and forget that you are facing the likes of Srinath and Prasad for the first time. So to score then gave me a lot of satisfaction.
PakPassion.net: Who would you say were your best buddies in the Kenyans side?
Steve Tikolo: Obviously there was Martin Suji our opening bowler. We go a long way back. We were born and brought up in the same area. He was my neighbour, our houses were like 5 metres apart. Then there was Thomas Odoyo. These were my two best buddies.
PakPassion.net: Who would you say was the best bowler you faced on the international stage?
Steve Tikolo: I would say Muttiah Muralitharan. He is such a mystery and you never know what to expect next ball.
PakPassion.net: And the most talented batsmen you have seen?
Steve Tikolo: Obviously Sachin Tendulkar stands out. However my idol in terms of batting was Viv Richards. He was my cricketing hero growing up. You know when I was young we used to watch a lot of cricket, especially the West Indies who were on fire. So he has been my idol since those early years.
PakPassion.net: How about the worst and best coach you?ve ever had?
Steve Tikolo: In the recent past, we have had two coaches coaching the Kenyan team. Andy Kirsten earlier on and most recently Eldine Baptiste. I think in those two coaches we have seen Kenyan cricket drop to its lowest ever. In terms of their input, I don?t think they have served the Kenyan game. Being part of those two coaching setups, honestly speaking, they didn?t have anything to offer to Kenyan cricket.
PakPassion.net: Considering you've been to Pakistan multiple times to participate in the Double-Wicket tournament in partnership with Odoyo, how did you find Pakistan and Pakistani people in general?
Steve Tikolo: I think Pakistan is a very a fabulous place to tour in terms of playing the game. It?s a great atmosphere in the stadiums like Lahore and Karachi. Generally the people are very friendly and as soon as they know you are cricketers they go out of their way to do things for you and make you comfortable. It?s shame what happened to the Sri Lankan team, but I feel Pakistan is a nice place to play cricket.
PakPassion.net: The Kenyan players went on strike earlier this year, can you explain why that was?
Steve Tikolo: I have been involved in most of the strikes that Kenyan players have had, having been involved with the international team for 15 years. Usually I would say that the public, they don?t get the right information. They are mostly shown that the players are greedy and money-minded. Usually players strike for their rights to earn what they deserve. They pay international players peanuts, yet they expect the players to go out on the field and perform. Some of the players, they cannot make ends meet. They are paid around $200 a month and that is for an international player. So in that amount they had to feed their families. So quickly does that money go from hand to mouth. So if the players ask for a pay rise, there is nothing wrong with that. Most recently the board have begun to offer 3 month contracts to players. How can you concentrate on your game, when you don?t know if you will have a job after 3 months. How are you supposed to focus on the game, when you are thinking about what will happen 3 months later. I would rather they tell those players they are not needed for the game so they can focus elsewhere.
PakPassion.net: Are the players who play for Kenya full-time players
Steve Tikolo: Most of the players who were offered the three month contract refused and that is why many of them went on strike. I think a one-year contract is fair as everybody knows where they stand and are secure for a year.
PakPassion.net: Do some of the players do jobs outside of cricket?
Steve Tikolo: No, they are full-time cricketers who train Monday to Friday from 9am to 3.30 pm. So it?s basically like a full-time job.
PakPassion.net: There were rumours of disharmony between the players at the World Cup this year, is that true and if so, what happened?
Steve Tikolo: Yes, look what happened is that the players were not happy with the way the coach was conducting the affairs of the team. It was a case of whatever the coach says goes, there was no two ways about it. Too many players were not listening to the coach, so the players went to the board and explained the situation. The board just told them to put up with him till the end of the World Cup and then we will get rid of him then. So what that meant was that immediately after the World Cup they would pay him his dues and part ways. And then they would get a new coach. At that time I was playing elsewhere and as soon as I joined the team from the onset I knew that we were in trouble. I mentioned it to one of the officials that, look if we were to play the World Cup in this situation, the tournament for us was bound to be shambles. I was ignored as I think the officials were actually in it to make some money from the whole situation.
PakPassion.net: Do you think your career would have been different if you played under a different board?
Steve Tikolo: I believe there would have been a difference. It would have been different. The current players could sit down and discuss issues with the boards, rather than being talked down to and looked down upon. Most of the current officials think the players are people who are not aware of the game and cannot sit down and have discussions with.
PakPassion.net: A lot of the senior players have been removed from the team, is this the right way forward or are the selectors making a mistake?
Steve Tikolo: It?s a big mistake if you ask me. This thing that they are getting senior players to give place for youngsters, it is just getting rid of senior players whose standards are much better. They are doing wrong in removing experienced players. To me, the young players who are being brought in are half-baked. You know they are not ready for international cricket and we all know how tough international cricket it. You need the young players to go through the system and learn along the way with the senior players to guide them. But if you just replace the team and bring in eight youngsters, you are not going to win many games.
PakPassion.net: People have often said you are the best batsman never to play Tests. Do you have regrets that playing for Kenya ? an associate nation, you never got the opportunity to play test cricket.
Steve Tikolo: Well I?m always humble about how much I?ve achieved. Again, I was born in Kenya, so it is not my choice where I was born. Maybe I was born in another country, I could maybe have played test cricket, so that is out of my hands. There is nothing much I can do, but I would have loved to play test cricket.
PakPassion.net: Maurice Odumbe was accused of fixing, did you or any teammates ever get approached?
Steve Tikolo: No, we have never been approached. I think the issue with Maurice Odumbe was not handled in the right way. I don?t think there was concrete evidence to ban him for five years. Apparently, there were phonecalls he made to India and those phonecalls were traced to a bookie and he was banned for five years. You need concrete evidence to found a player for so many years. If they had caught him on the phone talking to this individual, then they should have brought it all out. The way Hansie was charged, that was fine, but Maurice just called a number in India and according to the investigators that belonged to a bookmaker.
PakPassion.net: Steve, you have already spoken about it briefly, but what do you attribute as the main factor behind Kenya's decline in the last few years from being World Cup semi-finalists in 2003 to the disappointing showing in the 2011 World Cup?
Steve Tikolo: I think Kenyan cricket needs to look at our top structure and development. The board that has been there took over from the Kenyan cricketer. They have not done enough in terms of development of the game. A lot of the cricketers who are coming through are half-baked and they are lowering our international standard. So the current board needs to focus and say yes they have not done enough for the development of the game in Kenya. They need to put a proper league in place, with a proper structure with U15, U17, U19 so that the game grows. You need to start having ex-cricketers sitting on the board making some of the decisions. You will find that the current board has a lot of people I would call them ?cronies.? They are friends of friends in the board. They have never played cricket and know nothing about cricket, but just because you are a businessman or a lawyer you sit on the board and make decisions. They are making all the wrong decisions cricketing wise.
PakPassion.net: Would you consider taking up a position on the board?
Steve Tikolo: Most recently I was asked to become a selector and coach of one of the clubs. But I came to realise that they just wanted to use me as a rubber stamp. They would sit me on the selection committee, but the team will be selected somewhere by top officials, and then it?s given to the press with your name on the team sheet as part of this selection committee. So I said I am not interested, I don?t want to be a selector or coach of such a team. So if I was given the right opportunity with under the right setup, then I would want to help Kenyan cricket move forward.
PakPassion.net: Do you think in the future we will see more nations from Africa amongst the top cricketing nations?
Steve Tikolo: I think the next African country would have to be Namibia and Uganda. But their level is not that good yet. I think the ICC needs to put more effort in terms of developing the game in Africa.
PakPassion.net: That leads me onto my next question, do you think the ICC are doing enough for the Associate nations? If not, then what else can the ICC do?
Steve Tikolo: In terms of Kenya, the ICC can do a lot more. Before we used to get a lot of games as I explained to you back in 2003. Games against Australia, Pakistan, India ? top teams. When you play against the top opposition is when you grow. Before the current world cup, the national team went to South Africa for a training camp for 1 month. They ended that camp playing the South Africa U17 and U19 side. This is the preparation for the World Cup. If we can?t play Australia, why not Australia A. I think the ICC needs to give countries like Kenya who are growing, and Namibia and Zimbabwe, more exposure, so that when they meet the top teams. The second thing, I believe the ICC gives grants to nations like Kenya for development of the game. I think they need to be hard on these boards and make sure the funds are used in the right way. If you look at the Kenyan scenario, some of the officials, they just want to sit on the board and probably enjoy these funds. Travel here and there and put the funds in an account somewhere and gain interest. If you give someone funds they need to be answerable to you.
PakPassion.net:What are your thoughts on the rise of Twenty20 cricket? Is it good for the game and does it suit Associate teams more than 50 overs as it gives them more of a level playing field?
Steve Tikolo: It?s a good cricket to bring the crowd and advertise the game as you see a lot of people coming in. A lot of people wanting to play the game. In T20 really your skills are not fully tested. For me, the T20 format is a marketing thing. You know recently they were talking about reducing teams from the 50 over World Cup, I think that is the wrong move. You need the teams like Kenya to grow and they don?t grow unless they play the longer version of the game like 50 over games. The level of growth playing T20 is limited.
PakPassion.net: Leading on from your previous answer, do you think it's time for a 2 division test championship with Associate nations like Kenya, Ireland, Netherlands facing the likes of Bangladesh who are obviously struggling in test cricket? Will that help the game in developing countries?
Steve Tikolo: I think that would be good for certain teams playing against teams like Ireland and Scotland. The teams that finish high on this division should really be playing the top teams. If it?s just Kenya playing Ireland and Scotland than it won?t grow and won?t help these types of teams. You look at Bangladesh and how they have stepped up to the test level. I am sure if you give them another 5-10 years, Bangladesh will become a good team.
PakPassion.net: A lot of PakPassion members are not aware of how popular cricket is in Kenya. Is it a big sport in Kenya? Do kids play cricket in school in Kenya?
Steve Tikolo: Kenyan cricket used to be played in schools. We used to have school teams, U17 and U19 teams. I remember playing a lot of U19 cricket while growing up, but since the current board took over in 2004/05, unfortunately things have died. There is no school cricket, no age-level cricket, club cricket has gone down. People are just turning up on Sundays to honour fixtures. There isn?t that fighting spirits that I want to go and win this game for my team. Nowadays players just turn up and stand around in the sun and then go home. As I said we need to get our structure back in place again.
PakPassion.net: We have heard of the two main Kenyan cricketing centres like Nairobi and Mombasa. Is cricket just mainly concentrated around these 2 cities or is it spread throughout Kenya?
Steve Tikolo: It is mainly concentrated in Nairobi and to some extent Mombasa. Nairobi is where the league is a bit competitive and most of the national team players come from Nairobi. Mombasa is mostly of villagers who just like to stand out in the sun, so it is not as competitive. Again that?s also where we are going wrong, we need to spread the game all over the country, so that when it comes to team selection whether it is U19, U15 or National team, you should get a full pool of talent to chose from.
PakPassion.net: Well thank you very much Steve for your time. It has been an absolute pleasure to speak with you.
Steve Tikolo: No worries. Thank you.
