Obuya, who led Kenya to ODI World Cup 2003 semifinal, announces retirement

Kenyan cricket allrounder and former captain Collins Obuya announced his retirement on Saturday, he notably led his country to an historic semifinal spot at the 2003 World Cup.

Obuya’s final match was a 106-run defeat to Uganda in the third-place play-off at the African Games, where the Kenyan opener was clean bowled for a duck by Cosmas Kyewuta.

“I have decided to retire from the game after 23 years. It’s been a big honour playing for Kenya,” said Obuya, 42, who scored 184 runs in the competition in Ghana.

Obuya in action during the ICC Cricket World cup match against Australia at Chinnaswamy stadium in Bengaluru..
| Photo Credit:
G. P. Sampath_Kumar /The Hindu

He is best remembered for his 13 wickets, and a career best five for 24 in a 53-run against Sri Lanka, in the 2003 World Cup where he led Kenya to the semifinals for the first time.

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His exploits led him to be signed by English county side Warwickshire on a one-year contract and become the first Kenyan international cricketer to play for a county team.

During his career, Obuya — who relinquished the Kenya captaincy in 2013 — scored 2,044 runs in 104 one-day international matches and took 35 wickets.