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The gap between the Test playing nations and the Associates was on stark naked display in game 2 of the ICC Cricket World Cup as New Zealand routed Kenya by 10 wickets in an encounter that did not even last the half-way stage of the time allotted.

The Associate countries have expressed their displeasure earlier this week at the ICC's decision to limit the next edition of the World Cup to just 10 teams, and Kenya gave the ICC plenty of fuel to support their decision by getting knocked over for their lowest ever score in their tournament opener against New Zealand.

New Zealand left out their lead seamer Kyle Mills from the side for this match, but that made little difference to their challenge as Hashim Bennett filled into Mills' boots perfectly, picking up 4 wickets for 16 runs to help rout Kenya for just 69 runs in 23.5 overs. Bennett's opening bowling partner Tim Southee picked up 3-13, while big Jacob Oram took 3 wickets for 2 runs at the end of the innings to clean up the lower order.

Skipper Jimmy Kamande was left to regret his decision to bat first as only three Kenyan batsmen reached double figures, with Seren Waters (16) and Colin Obuya (14) sharing in a 26 run stand for the second wicket. Rakep Patel also scored 16 and remained unbeaten at the end.

The in-form Martin Guptill and Brendon McCullum came out and knocked off the runs required in just 8 overs to complete a comprehensive win. Guptill top scored with 39 from just 32 balls, while Brendon McCullum who reverse swept the last two balls of the match for consecutive boundaries chipped in with a handy 26 from 17 deliveries.

Bennett predictably walked away with the man of the match award, whether that is enough, however, to keep him in the side for New Zealand's next game against Australia remains to be seen. The Trans-Tasman rivalry will take center stage on Saturday the 26th of February.

Sadly for Kenya, things are likely to get a lot worse before they get any better as the luck of the draw sees them come up against Pakistan and Sri Lanka in their next couple of games, and some more maulings could well be on the cards. Their game against Pakistan is this coming Wednesday, and Jimmy Kamande's boys will be looking to be a lot more competitive after their dismal performance with the bat today.

Teams:

Kenya: Obanda, Waters, Obuya, Tikolo, Ouma, Patel, Kamande, Odoyo, Odhiambo, Ngoche, Otieno.

New Zealand: Guptill, B McCullum, Ryder, Taylor, Franklin, Styris, Vettori, N McCullum, Oram, Southee, Bennett.

Mini Scorecard:

Kenya 69 all out (23.5 overs, 2.9rpo)
Patel 16* (23) Bennett 4-16
Waters 16 (42) Oram 3-2

New Zealand 72/0 (8 overs, 9rpo)
Guptill 39* (32)
B McCullum 26* (17)

File Photograph Copyright: ICC World T20