Collins Obuya


Collins Omondi Obuya is a Kenyan cricketer and a former ODI captain. He is a right-handed batsman and leg spin bowler. He came to prominence in the 2003 Cricket World Cup where he was one of Kenya's major performers as they reached the semi-finals. Obuya has a highest first class score of 103.

Domestic career

His success in the competition persuaded Warwickshire to offer him a one-year contract to play county cricket in England in the 2003 season. The stint was in all unsuccessful although he scored a 50 on his Championship debut and participated in half a dozen Twenty20 cricket games.
His season with Warwickshire preceded a downhill drop in Obuya's career. He suffered from appendicitis and thus missed the 2004 ICC Champions Trophy. Soon after, he joined a players' strike and left England to go to South Africa. Due mainly to lack of match practice, Obuya began to struggle with his bowling, and in November 2005, he travelled to Australia to train with spin-bowling coach Terry Jenner. The five-week trip was not successful, and as a result, Obuya decided to develop his batting so that he could play as a specialist batsman instead.

International career

Obuya picked up 13 wickets at 28.76 in the 2003 World Cup and took a career best 5 for 24 in Kenya's win over Sri Lanka at Nairobi, their first victory over Sri Lanka in ODIs. His 5/24 remains the best bowling performance for Kenya in World Cups. He was awarded the man of the match.
His finest ODI innings to date has been an unbeaten 98 against Australia at the 2011 ICC World Cup. The innings cited as one of the best ODI innings by a Kenyan against a leading cricketing nation.
In January 2018, he was named in Kenya's squad for the 2018 ICC World Cricket League Division Two tournament. In September 2018, he was named in Kenya's squad for the 2018 Africa T20 Cup.
In October 2018, he was named as the captain of Kenya's squad for the 2018 ICC World Cricket League Division Three tournament in Oman. Ahead of the tournament, Obuya was ruled out of Kenya's squad due to personal commitments. He was replaced by Narendra Kalyan, with Shem Ngoche was named captain of the team.
In May 2019, he was named in Kenya's squad for the Regional Finals of the 2018–19 ICC T20 World Cup Africa Qualifier tournament in Uganda. In September 2019, he was named in Kenya's squad for the 2019 ICC T20 World Cup Qualifier tournament in the United Arab Emirates. Ahead of the tournament, the International Cricket Council named him as the key player in Kenya's squad. He was the leading wicket-taker for Kenya in the tournament, with eleven dismissals in six matches. In November 2019, he was named in Kenya's squad for the Cricket World Cup Challenge League B tournament in Oman.