Tomato-seller learns from Warne

DURBAN, South Africa, March 13 AAP - Collins Obuya earns $1,000 a year from cricket. The vast majority of his annual income comes from selling tomatoes at his mother's market. He stutters when he speaks but the ball comes nicely out of his hand.

Transformed by words of wisdom from Shane Warne, the Kenyan leg spinner has become one of the sensations of the World Cup, taking 13 wickets to be seventh on the bowling list with Andy Bichel.

He faces his biggest test on Saturday when Australia's batsmen attempt to hit him from Kingsmead to Kingdom Come.

Obuya, 21, was inspired to take up leg spin when he watched Pakistan's Mushtaq Ahmed on television at the 1996 World Cup. He credited his rapid recent development to a conversation with Warne at Nairobi last September after the Kenyans had been flogged twice by Australia at a one-day tournament.

"In Nairobi I had a chat with him and he showed me some tips about how to bowl the flipper and the wrong one," said Obuya.

"I am trying to bowl the flipper. It is not coming as well as Shane Warne can do it but I am trying.

"I've bowled two in this tournament but it pitches short - I got hit for four. I can bowl the wrong one pretty well.

"I thank Shane Warne for giving me a little bit of hope. He told me I can bowl leg spin if I kept working on it."

Warne might have his flaws but he's always made time to help his fellow leg spinners, whether they be Victoria's youngster Cameron White, a group of schoolkids at training camps he attends on tour or a wide-eyed novice such as Obuya from an underdeveloped cricketing nation like Kenya.

"I am looking forward to playing Australia very much," he said.

"If I can get three or four wickets I would be very happy.

"I know Australian batsmen are very aggressive and I'm looking forward to putting the ball in the right places. I hope to get wickets.

"I can say it's a dream come true because people in Kenya were not expecting us to even reach the Super Sixes and we are in the semi-finals. That's a good achievement for Kenya."

Obuya bowled 11 wicketless overs against Australia in last year's Nairobi tournament for 66 runs. Damien Martyn confirmed the Australian top order would attempt to treat him with equal disdain in Saturday's final Super Sixes match before the semi-finals.

"He turns the ball, he takes wickets so we'll treat their team like we're playing South Africa, New Zealand or Sri Lanka," said Martyn.

"We can't go in thinking any differently. It's a big game for us still."

Obuya's voice was almost a whisper. He said most of his friends in Kenya played soccer because there was no money in cricket and it didn't keep them as fit; he hoped Kenya would soon become a Test-playing nation; and he wanted to become a doctor some day when he was finished with cricket and he no longer needed to work at the markets.

Money won't be as big a problem this year.

Obuya's cricketing income is about to go through the roof. Kenya is guaranteed a $500,000 payout for making the semi-finals, with the majority of the booty to be shared among the 15 players who have reached greater heights than any of them thought possible.

Especially Obuya.

"Yes," he said.

"It is hard for me to believe."