Kenya's coach Roger Harper. - Photo by Adrian Frater

Nodley Wright, Freelance Writer

The gap between the eight Test playing nations and the associate countries, minnows, is like the gap between the haves and the have nots in society - they will never be able to compete equally until a conscious effort is made to level the playing field.

For a country such as Kenya, assistance from the sports governing body, the International Cricket Council (ICC) in the areas of infrastructure, finance and technical expertise will have to be multiplied. Then and only then will they be able to get on par with Test playing nations such as Bangladesh at the base and Australia at the apex.

That is the view of former West Indies allrounder and coach, Roger Harper, who is now conditioning surprise 2003 semi-finalists Kenya who are still lumped under the umbrella of cricket minnows. Harper was speaking against the background that after the success of the East African team in 2003, they are still struggling to establish the sport which lags behind football and athletics.

"The objective (of those in charge) should be to close the gap between the associate countries, and the full Test playing countries and I have thought to myself how is it going to happen if you have on one hand, full professional players training and competing everyday where all their needs are taken care of and on the other hand you have the associate countries which are operating more like amateurs, semi-professionals to an extent, struggling financially to make endsmeet, not being able to train like the professionals, not getting regular competition on a regular basis," said the former off-spinning allrounder.

Not enough assistance

Harper did acknowledge that assistance was being given to the associate countries, but it is simply not enough.

"I struggle to find a balance as to how the gap is going to be closed with those constraints. A lot has been done mind you, but a lot more has to be done," added Harper whose contract with the Kenyans runs out in June.

Harper's position was supported by captain Steve Tikolo who said he would welcome help from countries such as India, which has strong ties with the Asian community in Kenya as well as the other Test playing nations.

Despite the obvious disadvantages faced, Harper is hoping that his group of players will perform in a way that will force the world to take notice. While not blessed with the similar number of players, the passion for the game, which is close to a religion in the West Indies and moreso in India, Harper believes there is something to be proud of.

"I have seen a lot of talent in Kenya and I would hope that during the World Cup we will display that and show the world how good a team we are."