Kennedy Otieno Obuya has stated that he will be returning to Frankstone Cricket Club in Melbourne next September. Obuya returned recently from a three-month stint with the club facilitated by Richard Done, the ICC high performance manager. Kennedy performed well with the bat hitting three fifties, and had the opportunity to work with wicket keeping guru Rod Marsh.
Impressed with the facilities, coaching, and different level of cricket, he says
"Australia has changed my game totally in all aspects."
We look forward to seeing the effects of his improved technique in Zimbabwe. Obuya is of the opinion that Kenya's young talent would benefit greatly if they were sent on similar trips for expert training. With the depth of cricket in Australia, and the facilities available to players, he has a good point. For example Frankstone, a District Club, has 6 grades in action every weekend:
" We played 100 overs matches on Saturdays, 50 overs on Sundays and Twenty-20s on Tuesdays"
Kenya has a long way to go before we see a similar amount of cricket being played in our domestic leagues, and our facilities will realistically probably never get near Australia's. Maybe Cricket Kenya should look into sponsorship deals to take the most promising players to Australia, or even England or South Africa for short stints. The experience gained from such trips would be invaluable in improving the standard of cricket in Kenya, as these players would be able to pass on what they learnt to others on their return. There are already a number of Kenyans in Australia, and plenty of companies do business in both countries, so sponsorship should not necessarily be too hard to come by.
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