Collins Omondi Obuya (born 27 July 1981) is a Kenyan cricketer and a former captain of Kenyan cricket team. 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. He has been a prominent member of Kenya cricket team with a career spanning for about two decades since making his international debut in 2001.
His brothers Kennedy Obuya and David Obuya were also professional cricketers who also went onto represent Kenya at international level. He was part of Kenya's first ever T20I team as well as Kenya's first T20 World Cup team.
Biography
He used to sell tomatoes at his mother's market for his living and he earned most of his income through it before the 2003 World Cup. He started his cricket career initially as a medium pacer but shifted to spin bowling after watching the bowling action of former veteran Pakistani spinner Mushtaq Ahmed as a kid during the 1996 Cricket World Cup. He also intended to become a doctor initially when he was quoted by the BBC Sport in 2003.
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 following his breathtaking performances at the 2003 World Cup. The stint was in all unsuccessful although he scored a 50 on his Championship debut and participated in half a dozen Twenty20 cricket games. He made his T20 debut on 13 June 2003 against Somerset.
His season with Warwickshire preceded a downhill drop in Obuya's career. His county stint had not last long after suffering a knee injury. He also 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. He joined the Weymouth club in 2005 for the Dorset Premier Division and rejoined the Weymouth club in 2007.
International career
Obuya represented Kenya at Under-19 level and played for Kenya in the 1998 Under-19 Cricket World Cup and 2000 Under-19 Cricket World Cup. He was also taught spin bowling by the then head coach of Kenya Under19 side Balwinder Sandhu during the U19 World Cup tournaments. He was later picked in the Kenyan senior squad.
He made his ODI debut on 15 August 2001 against the West Indies. He was included in the Kenyan squad for the 2003 Cricket World Cup whereas Kenya also hosted few matches during the course of the tournament. He subsequently made his debut World Cup appearance during the tournament. He picked up 13 wickets at a decent average of 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. Kenya's dramatic victory over Sri Lanka was considered as a massive upset in world cricket and Kenya subsequently reached semifinals of the tournament. His 5/24 remains the best bowling performance for Kenya in World Cups and he was awarded the man of the match for his match winning performance. During the 2003 World Cup campaign, he received advice and bowling tips from Australian leg spinner Shane Warne. However, Kenyan cricket team quickly faded away following the successful 2003 World Cup.
He was later snubbed from the team due to his inconsistent performances and toured Australia in 2005 to work on his bowling skills. He was recalled to the side in 2006 for a four match ODI series against Bangladesh in Bangladesh. He along with his brother David signed a sponsorship deal with Kenya based office equipment supplier CopyCat prior to the 2007 Cricket World Cup, at a time when the national team itself did not have an official sponsor. He made his T20I debut on 1 September 2007 against Bangladesh during the 2007 Kenya Twenty20 Quadrangular tournament. His debut came in Kenya's inaugural T20I match and also marked Bangladesh's first T20I match. He was also picked for the inaugural edition of the ICC Men's T20 World Cup in 2007 which was held in South Africa.