Forgotten tourists earn place in the sun
IT was good to give the guys who had not played on tour a ''run out'' in the match against Bangladesh .
I know how difficult it is to show a happy face in times of disappointment. I spent a lot of my last England tour watching and doing the 12th-man duties. I was the only member of the squad of 16 not to play a Test match. It's impossible for every player to have opportunities and some are bound to have poor tours.
Everyone has given up valuable time to come to Kenya and with a semi-final berth impossible, it's nice to give others a chance.
Ray Brewster has been an excellent tourist - he has kept smiling and been positive for three weeks on the bench. He is known as the ''ice man'', not because he always keeps his cool, but for his job of keeping the water cold for the boys.
Ravi Sujanani has been itching to play. His fielding has improved noticeably and he has done a good job during his brief appearances when Riaz has needed an oxygen break. He played in place of Leigh Beaman who returned to Hong Kong early.
Bharat Gohel would have played instead of Yarman Vachha, the latter offering to stand down in a noble gesture. However, Bharat has a bad back and declared himself unfit.
Justin Strachan is still unfit. He worked harder than anyone before the tour and unluckily picked up a bad injury at the worst time. He is talented and highly competitive and has a first-class attitude. I'm sure he will bounce back next season and play avital role for Hong Kong in the future.
Poor Atko has a chipped finger and with constant knee pain, pulled out of the last clash.
It would be great to finish the tour on a high note by beating the number two seeds.
