Weekend cricket results could not be better for islander coaching Kenya

Monday 15 August 2022

A Jersey-based cricket coach has praised the island side's table-topping performance - but also the East African side he coaches.

Jersey won the latest ICC Cricket World Cup Challenge League B tournament on home soil, despite losing to Kenya at Grainville on Sunday.

For Tim Kearsey, this weekend’s cricket results couldn’t have gone any better.

He was rooting for Jersey – whose victory kept their dream of qualifying for the Cricket World Cup 2023 in India alive - but he was also backing Kenya, as he is the national team’s performance coach.

Kenya beat Jersey by four wickets yesterday. However, with victories over Uganda, Hong Kong, Bermuda and Italy, the hosts had done enough to top the table and progress on to the next stage of World Cup qualification. 

Mr Kearsey said: “Jersey deserves every success after going to a tough place like Kampala [in June] and winning five in five. They have the ability to represent non-ODI Nations and take some scalps in the next qualifying stage.”

Pictured: Tim Kearsey on the boundary watching the Kenyan national side he coaches. (Max Le Feuvre)

In Jersey, the hosts won four from five, tying at the top of the table with Uganda but coming out ahead thanks to a superior run rate.

Kenya finished fourth but Mr Kearsey was pleased with the team’s performance. 

“They are fighters,” he said. “We knew beating Italy and Bermuda would go a long way to securing our future; but head coach David Obuya and I found a winning formula that meant we could beat the best in World Challenge League Cricket - Jersey and Uganda included.

“The players were outstanding and showed a resilience and concentration that surpassed our expectations. 

“I will never hold back in imbedding the most powerful sports psychology I can in them as a mixture of All Blacks rugby and ‘Ubuntu’ from traditional African mindsets to create a positive, sharing and respectful team.

“Across the recent qualification tournaments, Kenya made a big statement.”

Pictured: Kenya beat Jersey by four wickets on Sunday. (Daniel Andrade)

So how did a Jersey cricketer come to join the coaching staff of the Kenyan national side?

Mr Kearsey explained: “I worked with Cricket Without Boundaries – a global organisation which spreads key messages about health and social wellbeing through the medium of cricket – and through that worked with the national team of Uganda in 2018-19.

“I then got a scholarship with the ICC Academy in Dubai, where I completed my Level Three performance coaching, and tutored for the academy for several months before lockdown.”

Moving back to Jersey, Mr Kearsey was contacted by the head of the ICC in Africa and put in touch with Mr Obuya, who asked him to be performance coach for the national side’s forthcoming tournaments.

“There is a lot of psychology in the game and my job involves mental strengthening, nutrition, strength and conditioning and strategies,” he said. “I don’t get involved in the technical skills but I will pick up on serious faults and help out the bowlers when I can.”

He added that cricket in Kenya was continuing to rebuild. The team had reached the dizzy heights of the semi-finals of the 2003 Cricket World Cup, but the sport had waned since then. However, it was now turning a corner for the better, he said.

Pictured top: Tim Kearsey and the Kenyan team. (Max Le Feuvre)