The election of Jackie Janmohamed as the first woman to head Cricket Kenya has made world history. None of the International Cricket Council member countries has ever elected a woman to head their country federations.

But will the problems bedevilling the sport in Kenya become history with her appointment?

A career Nairobi lawyer, she was elected unopposed to replace Samir Inamdar who has been at the helm for the past seven years. Inamdar has gained a place on the full board of the International Cricket Council. 

Over the years, Kenya’s national team has taken a beating and morale has sunk to its lowest since the team made history by becoming the first non-test playing nation to reach the World Cup semi-final in 2003.

Janmohamed needs to lay down new strategies while strengthening those that exist to bring the country back to the top level of the cricketing world.

She needs to appoint a new chief executive officer since the expiry of Tom Sears’s term last June.

Having served as a legal adviser to the now defunct Kenya Cricket Association (KCA), she could provide the freshness required to resuscitate the game.

Janmohamed was part of the management that foresaw the country’s rise at the 2003 World Cup, which was Kenya’s finest moment in international cricket.

When Inamdar took over the reins of local cricketing from Sharad Ghai in 2005, with KCA changing its identity to CK, the Kenya team had already started suffering financial problems, power struggles and frequent players’ strikes denting its chances of becoming a Test-playing nation. The national team then had its worst ever outing at the World Cup.

Perhaps Janmohamed’s first assignment will be to review the report from the 2011 World Cup where Kenya lost all six of their games to New Zealand, Pakistan, Sri Lanka, Australia, Zimbabwe and Canada.

She also has the daunting task of uniting the bickering cricket fraternity in the country. There has been little progress in cricket development is schools and the country is yet to have meaningful tours. In the past, Kenya had credible tours from Pakistan, India and Sri Lanka and has now been reduced to second rate provincial sides’ tours from India.

The Kenyan national team has been in a slump, with Uganda now seen as the best hope in East Africa, and internationally.

Coaches have come and gone — from Roger Harper and Eldine Baptiste to Michael Hesson — with players not living up to their expectations.   

“I would like to make a covenant of uniting everyone for the benefit of the sport and my only agenda will be to grow the sport and achieve measurable results,” said Janmohamed after taking over.

“I want to harmonise relationships between Nairobi and Rift Valley and Coast Provinces that are the bedrock of development in the country.”

Janmohamed’s short term plans are to ensure both the national Under-19 and the senior men’s team prepare well and qualify for the 2015 World Cup in Australia and New Zealand.

Kenya women’s senior cricketers are also preparing for the Twenty20 World Cup pre-qualifying tournament set for December16 to 20 in Dar es Salaam where they will meet Test-playing South Africa, Zimbabwe, Tanzania, Uganda and Namibia.

In men’s cricket, Kenya play Canada in the UAE in March, in a match they need to win to stay in contention for the World Cup. 

Kenya currently lie sixth in the ICC World Cricket League Championship, with the top two teams in the group automatically qualifying for the 2015 World Cup. Kenya has six points with two matches to play. Ireland top the table with 13 points, Scotland are second with 11. 

Janmohamed pledged to carry on with developmental structures that had already been put in place by the Inamdar team.

“I also promise to engage the services of other former players by creating jobs and positions wherever possible as I plan to take Kenya back to its lost glory,” she said.

“My administration will have an open door policy, and strive to bring back the Test nations that Kenya played some years ago.”

Janmohamed said she will endeavour to lure the corporate world back to cricket to help develop the structures that are in place.