It was a case of roaming in the gloaming as England cantered to victory over Kenya on a wet overcast day in Canterbury. The two points would've brightened England's day, as would the excellent form of Nasser Hussain in the opening position and at the moment everything is going to plan for Alec Stewart.Not so for Kenya who threatened an upset early, but fell away badly when England applied the pressure.Most international teams would be happy to have the services of Steve Tikolo as a top order batsman. He played a lazy shot early on in his innings and having survived that lapse he proceeded to play beautifully, displaying a wide range of shots. The elegant right-hander is a good timer of the ball and he adds to that attribute with excellent use of the wrists. There was one lovely exchange in the Kenyan innings when Darren Gough, in the middle of a magnificent three over spell in which he took two wickets, was lofted to the mid-off boundary effortlessly by Tikolo. Unfortunately, it was the last ball ofGough's spell as it would've been interesting to see his response to such disdainful treatment.However, Gough had already done some heavy damage. The partnership between Tikolo and Ravindu Shah had reached one hundred when Gough returned and broke the liaison. Then when Maurice Odumbe became a little cocky and played two reverse sweeps off Robert Croft, Gough delivered two searing short-pitched deliveries, one of which scored a direct hit on the wrist bone and that quickly changed the footwork of the confident right-hander. Gough followed the short-pitched deliveries with a fast off-cutter, which Odumbe didn't cover and the double breakthrough brought an abrupt end to Kenya's hopes of a big total.Nevertheless, the fact that these two reasonably inexperienced players had controlled the innings with very few blemishes, suggests that teams with a number of top-class batsmen might post a big total against the hosts. Certainly when Gough and Alan Mullally are out of the attack it lacks genuine penetrationand I'm not sure how long they can persist with Ian Austin as a new ball bowler, especially if the weather brightens and the wickets flatten out.The timing of Kenya's full-time entry into international cricket is just right - they have a number of good batsmen reaching maturity and regular exposure to top-class bowling will improve their play. The same can't be said for their bowling, which lacks a spearhead of real pace or a spinner of guile and flight. Hussain was the main beneficiary of the wayward bowling, playing steadily and cementing the opening position he'd gained through Nick Knight's loss of form. After an early struggle, Hussain blossomed, specialising in square drives through the off-side field and one huge pull shot which cleared the boundary rope easily and scattered the hardy crowd who'd remained to brave the cold. At the other end Graham Hick played much as he'd done in the game at Lord's - well within himself, but still producing glimpses of his extreme power and exquisite timing.Thiswas the perfect attack for Hick, who was once nicknamed a `flat track bully' by New Zealand's John Bracewell, but he's certainly done a lot in recent times to shed that image. He'll have a perfect opportunity to do more in that regard in the next match when he meets the fiery pacemen from South Africa. That contest will be a far cry from caressing cover drives from the energetic medium pace of the promising Thomas Odoyo and a wayward Martin Suji, but at least Hick will go into the match in peak form.I witnessed England start the Carlton United series in Australia in the same convincing form and Hick was the backbone of the batting on that occasion. They then faded as Hick's form tapered in Australia and I still feel they need him playing at his peak to be contenders rather than pretenders.
