Kenyan all-rounder Collins Obuya, who played a starring role in their dream ICC Men’s Cricket World Cup 2003 campaign, has announced his retirement from the game.
Obuya, 42, who had made his international debut back in 2001 against the West Indies, called it a day after featuring in his side’s 106-run defeat against Uganda in the third-place play-off of the African Games. A prolific performer to the last, he was Kenya’s leading run-getter in the tournament, with 184 runs from five innings.
“I have decided to retire from the game after 23 years. It’s been a big honour playing for Kenya,” Obuya stated after the game.
“I want to thank everyone, my teammates and my family who have been there for me in good times and hard times. It has been a lovely career for me, to have been able to play that long. I am very proud of my career, but it’s time to concentrate on my coaching back home and do what good I can for cricket.”
Though Obuya contributed primarily with the willow in the later stages of his career, his leg-spin was an important weapon in the arsenal of the Kenyan side in his younger days. This showed at its best in the 2003 Cricket World Cup, where his 5/24 helped the African side upend a much stronger Sri Lanka team. With wickets of Aravinda de Silva, Kumar Sangakkara, and Mahela Jayawardene in the game, he helped Kenya to a 53-run win.
Crucial points from this win helped Kenya reach the Super Six stage of the tournament, and eventually the semi-finals, becoming the only non-Test playing nation to have achieved the feat.
Obuya’s best ODI knock came against Australia in the 2011 World Cup, an unbeaten 98 that unfortunately ended up in a losing cause. Following Kenya’s dismal 2011 World Cup campaign, Obuya replaced Jimmy Kamande as their captain. He resigned two years later in 2013 after the team failed to qualify for the ICC Men’s T20 World Cup 2014.
With 2044 ODI runs, Obuya is one of the four Kenya players to have scored over 2000 runs in the format, before they were stripped of ODI status. And his 1794 T20I runs are the most by any Kenya batter. He also picked up 60 international wickets.
His brothers Kennedy Obuya and David Obuya also played at the international level for Kenya.
