On 1st April the Ol Pejeta Conservancy hosted Comrie Cricket Club from Scotland for a match against a Laikipia “select eleven”. The match took place on a cricket pitch within the Conservancy, surrounded by wildlife. This included one rather intrigued black rhino who trotted past just as the match was about to start – one way to put off the opposition!!

We are pleased to report that Laikipia achieved victory, halting Comrie’s unbeaten tour of Kenya with previous victories over GilGil and a Nairobi-based side known as the “Unplayables”.

More importantly the members of Comrie Cricket Club (founded in 1908) raised USD 3,000 in support of the Ol Pejeta Community Outreach Program. The money will be used to fund various projects within the communities neighbouring the conservancy, including the completion of the Withare Dispensary. With the support of government, this dispensary will provide a rural community of nearly 3,000 people with basic medical services that were previously unavailable.

The visiting club members expressed interest in returning for the annual Ol Pejeta Conservancy hosted “Cricket in the Wild” tournament scheduled for September 2008. Club captain Charles Gibbons thanked all on Ol Pejeta for “a wonderful time, your hospitality and generosity throughout was hugely appreciated. The tented encampment where we stayed lying in the shadow of Mt Kenya was spectacular. Without doubt Ol Pejeta and the wildlife you strive so hard to nurture was the highlight of our tour and had we known what a great place it is we would have arrived earlier and stayed for longer!”

The Ol Pejeta Conservancy hosts the annual Cricket in the Wild tournament (now scheduled for September 2008) and, in return for a contribution towards its Community Outreach Program, is happy to host visiting cricket teams from around the world for one-off matches against the best Laikipia has to offer.