Autumn of the patriarch

A veteran of five World Cups,Kenyas most experienced cricketer Steve Tikolo walks into the sunset at Eden.

The moment of this run-of-the-mill clash came in the eighth over during the Kenyan innings. Steve Tikolo went back to a Raymond Price delivery that hurried on to him. He missed it and was caught plumb in front. Tikolo went for the review but maybe,deep inside,he also knew he was hoping against hope. The decision stood and the Kenyan legend started his walk back to the pavilion for the last time in international cricket with just 10 runs against his name.

All the Zimbabwe players rushed to him to shake hands. About 10,000 people,who braved the heat to turn up for this match,gave him a standing ovation. Reserve umpire Billy Doctrove walked down from his position in the lower tier of the club house to offer his congratulations. The most distinguished career in Kenyan cricket came to an end at the Eden Gardens on Sunday.

Tikolo,however,was very calm and collected. I am 39 now. Its time for the youngsters to take over. I dont think there are any emotions involved, the veteran cricketer said.

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3411 runs in 133 ODIs,including three centuries,at 29.15 is by no means extraordinary. But the figures cannot fully explain Tikolos contribution to Kenyan cricket. For the last 16 years cricket in his country revolved around him. He has seen the high reaching the World cup semi-final in 2003 and the low. Kenya are returning from this World Cup empty-handed. They have cut a sorry figure,and now that Tikolo has sauntered into his sunset,its an uphill task for his team mates to resurrect things.

I hope they learn from the mistakes and work on them, he said. We used to play against Test teams and A teams pretty regularly before 2003. After 2003,things changed. We no longer play against top teams,which doesnt do good for your confidence, he added.

Not many players get a chance to retire at the Eden Gardens. Asif Iqbal was lucky and till this day remembers the experience. It was special to play my last match at Eden Gardens. I also remember my first match here back in 1998 when we played against India in front of 80,000 spectators, Tikolo said.

One regret

Gunzee,as his team mates affectionately call him,was given the honour to lead the side in his final game. He would have loved to end with a win. But that was not to be as the batting once again crumbled. Tikolo,however,didnt complain. The only regret he has is that he never got a chance to play Test cricket.

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The ultimate in a cricketers career is to play in Tests. That was one thing I would have loved to do: to play Test cricket, said Tikolo. And he had the class to play at the highest level. But now that his career is over,he will take to coaching and will try to ensure that the future generation of Kenyan cricketers doesnt suffer his fate. I would love to go into coaching and take up any assignment in Kenya or Zimbabwe, he said.

Its not easy for a Kenyan cricketer to earn universal respect. Tikolo is going with the satisfaction that he has managed the improbable.