Collins back from Downunder

Collins Obuya, Kenya's number one leg spinner returned last week from Australia where he has been training with spin coach Terry Jenner. Jenner is one of the people who takes much of the credit for getting Shane Warne to the position he now holds as leading Test Wicket taker. Though Collins has only been working with Jenner for a comparitively short time, he will no doubt have learned a lot, and hopefully Kenya will now also benefit from this knowlege.

Much of the work he did was to concentrate on getting back to basics - slowing the ball down and spinning it more rather than the almost medium pace he was bowling when he arrived in Australia. When Collins first arrived, Jenner christened him "Courntney" after Courtney Walsh the West Indies fast bowler "because he was all arms and legs, just like Courtney Walsh used to be, and he was also bowling at a similar pace". They also worked on cocking the wrist, ball delivery, use of the fingers for different deliveries, and the use of the left arm in controlling the delivery. While it was only a 5 week stint, this trip will no doubt have made a huge impact on the leg spinner not just in technique, but also in confidence, in itself a major weapon in the leg spinner's armoury.

Obuya's return to the domestic scene was a fairly quiet 1 for 28 in Jaffery's victory over Kongoni's in the quarter finals of the Nairobi Provincial Cricket Association's Twenty-20 Tournament. He will however have a second chance to progress in the semi finals on Sunday, and also hopefully in Bangladesh in February should the One Day series being touted actually eventuate.

Thanks for Obuya's trip should go to Richard Done, the ICC's High Performance Manager who organised the trip, and Petroleum and Industrial Services Ltd (PIS) who sponsored the trip. They are the first company to put forward any sort of sponsorship to Kenyan cricket since the new administration took over, and hopefully the success of this trip will prompt other companies to follow suit.