Cricket: Obuya tournament renamed as sponsors come on board

Oshwal Academy's batsman Paraneeth Battu, right, open bat as Obuya Cricket Academy's Wicket Keeper John Luther waits for a delivery during the unveiling of the Mabati Obuya Cricket Academy tournament at Simba Union on Wednesday, Nairobi, Aug 19th, 2015. PHOTO/ JONAH ONYANGO.

The annual Obuya Cricket Academy tournament has taken a new name and partner.

The tournament will now be called Numi Cricket Challenge in the wake of its partnership with Starfield Sports Limited. Several other sponsors have also come on board.

The 2017 Numi Cricket Challenge will bowl off at several venues across Nairobi on Wednesday and will end on Saturday. The tournament will feature four categories: the U-9, U-11, U-15, and the U-19.

The new tournament has attracted 400 players from more than 30 teams. There are eight teams (four boys and four girls teams) from underprivileged areas across Kenya.

The top clubs that have confirmed their participation in this year’s tournament are Simba Union, Mombasa Simba Cricket Academy, Premier, Nakuru Cricket Club, Nakuru Pirates, Kanbis, Lenana, Starfield, and Obuya Cricket Academy (OCA).

The four-day tournament will be played in three venues in Nairobi - Nairobi Gymkhana, Simba Union, and Ruaraka.

“The finals in all categories will be held on Saturday at the Nairobi Gymkhana,” former international Kennedy Obuya said.

David Obuya, who also featured for the national team, said the reason for amalgamating OCA with Starfield Sports Limited was to make the annual tournament bigger and better.

“The tournament is now prominent after several reputable firms came on board. The sponsors include Numi, MRM, Village Market, Executive Healthcare Solutions, Crown Paints, Portcross, Filmline, Trident Insurance, and Muthaiga Travels,” said David.

[Erick Ochieng’]