Football-mad Nigeria turning to Kenya for cricket coaching expertise

Recent appointment of Collins Obuya as the batting consultant of Nigeria’s Under-19 men’s cricket team, points to the confidence that the West African nation has in former Kenyan cricketers to turn around their fortunes in the game. 

Obuya, 42, who retired from international duty in March this year,  took up the job of training Nigeria’s junior batsmen on July 8.

He becomes the third former Kenyan international to be employed by Nigeria Cricket Federation (NCF) as the football-mad nation seeks to grow its cricket. 

The others are Steve Tikolo and Sarah Bakhita.

While Tikolo, 53, is the head coach of the Nigeria national men’s senior cricket team and high performance manager, Bakhita is the batting consultant and mentor of Nigeria’s senior women’s cricket team. She is also the head coach of the Nigeria Under-19 women’s cricket team coach.

Obuya is one of the top cricketers Kenya has ever produced, and NCF is confident that having him train the Nigeria Under-19 men’s batsmen, albeit for only three weeks, will see the side shine in the upcoming Africa Division Two qualifiers for the 2026 International Cricket Council (ICC) U19 Men’s Cricket World Cup.

The qualifiers will take place in Tanzania from July 31 to August 14.

Obuya reckons that his appointment by NCF is a major stepping stone to his dream of being a top cricket coach.

“It is a great opportunity that I do not take for granted. It is a stepping stone in my dream to be a top cricket coach,”  the all-rounder said in a phone interview with Nation Sport from Nigeria. 

“I thank the Nigeria Cricket Federation for giving me an opportunity to get involved in their cricket and get the exposure with the boys,” added the right-hand batsman and leg-spinner, who is the younger brother to former Kenya internationals Kennedy and David. 

He shot to fame at the 2003 Cricket World Cup which was co-hosted by Kenya, South Africa, and Zimbabwe.

Obuya donned the national team colours for a massive 568 matches, and even when he retired from international duty on March 23, he was still Kenya’s top batsman by a mile.

Nigeria are chasing for their maiden World Cup appearance in both junior and senior level thus the NCF’s decision to seek the services of former top Kenyan cricketers, who have since transitioned into coaching.

Obuya Cricket Academy 

Obuya said he is impressed with the rich cricket talent in Nigeria and will be excited if the West African nation seals one of the two slots in the Africa Division One qualifiers where Kenya is among the teams waiting. 

The 2026 ICC U19 World Cup (One Day International) will be co-hosted by neighbours Zimbabwe and Namibia.

“The team’s management and players have been very supportive to me. My only wish is to see the team progress to the next round of the qualifiers,” he said.

The all-rounder is not new to the task since he has been coaching budding cricketers at the Obuya Cricket Academy in Nairobi, which he co-owns with Kennedy and David. The Nigeria U-19 men’s cricket team comprises 20 players, with the former Kenya international also taking them through bowling. 

Obuya trains the team six times a week.

After calling time on his international cricket career, Obuya said he was turning his attention to becoming a top cricket coach. He holds both Level I and II of the ICC Coaching Certificates.

The decision by NCF to engage Tikolo and Bakhita is already paying off since the two teams have shown tremendous signs of improvement.

Tikolo was named the head coach of the Nigeria national men’s senior cricket team and high-performance manager in October 2022, while Bakhita was appointed the batting consultant and mentor of the Nigeria national senior women’s cricket team in June last year.

She penned a two-year contract in January, with coaching the Nigeria U-19 women’s cricket team being another responsibility that she was added. 

Last week, the Nigeria men's senior team almost upset Kenya in the T20 contest during their bilateral series at the Sikh Union Club in Nairobi.

'Yellow Greens'

While Kenya won the opening two matches of the T20 competition by 29 runs and four wickets, Nigeria bounced back with a three-wicket win and 14-run victory in the following two games to tie the series 2-2.

Nigeria nicknamed the ‘Yellow Greens’ gave Kenya a run for their money in the title-decider match on Wednesday, with the hosts recovering narrowly to win by four runs. 

“I’m happy with the way the boys performed because playing against Kenya is not an easy task. The boys did well in the T20 and at some points, we would have won it in the last game but mistakes happen and that is part of sports,” Tikolo said.

Defeating Kenya is a massive achievement for Nigeria since the East Africans are a former cricket powerhouse. 

While the West Africans are yet to grace a Cricket World Cup, Kenya boasts five appearances in the coveted global championship; four ODI (1996, 1999, 2003, and 2011 and one T20 (2007).

Before their bilateral series played last week, Nigeria had only defeated Kenya once in history – a four-run victory DSL method on September 16, 2021, in a Uganda Tri-Nation Series tournament played at Entebbe Cricket Oval.

Tikolo, whose contract with Nigeria ends in October, believes they have what it takes to qualify for the 2026 ICC Men’s T20 World Cup.

“We have two tournaments (sub-regional and regional qualifiers) that we need to play well to find ourselves in the World Cup. Of course, every team in sports has a chance to go forward, it depends on who plays well on that particular day,” said the former all-rounder, who played for Kenya in the 1996, 1999, and 2003 editions of the World Cup. 

The Level III Coaching License holder remains Kenya’s top scorer in ODI with 3,428 runs. In an earlier interview with Nation Sport, he attributed Nigeria’s continued rise to the team’s continued rise to the unwavering support he receives from the NCF and commitment by his players in training.

In his first step to change the fortunes of Africa's populous nation on a cricket pitch, the former right-hand batsman said he changed the team’s training which he found to be inconsistent.  

With Bakhita regarded as one of the most successful female cricketers in Africa and boasting a career spanning 20 years, NCF was excited to have her in their fold.  

“The addition of Sarah to the technical crew of the women’s team is to share her experience with the ladies and also provide a mental and psychological angle to training and match executions, as the women prepare for the Kwibuka games in Rwanda later this month, she will be very influential on the bench of Nigeria,” said NCF president Uyi Akpata in a statement that was posted on the organisation’s website on June 9, 2023. Bakhita penned a two-year contract in January.

Nigeria's bronze medal in the women’s cricket in the African Games in Accra in March is one of Bakhita's major achievements with the team.

Despite Nigeria heading into the tournament as the lowly ranked team, they upset Uganda by three runs.

Nigeria finished fourth in both the 2023 and 2024 Kwibuka T20 Tournaments held in Rwanda.