maurice odumbe

saw the shocking news today that maurice odumbe, one of the faces of kenyan cricket over the last decade, has been suspended for 5 years on match fixing charges!! this was indeed quite a surprise. i have had the honor and pleasure of knowing maurice ('mauro' to all) for quite sometime. mauro played for the AKSC in the kenyan cricket league under his brother Tito's captaincy for years, and that's how i met him, having schooled there. my father is one of the longest standing umpires in kenya (get the pun, umpire.. standing.. ;-))!!), and mauro has always behaved impeccably with him, on and off the field. always the smart gentleman.

he is known for his love of the game, and how he gives his heart and soul to the game. anyone who has seen him field will attest to that whole-heartedly. he throws himself without a slightest care to any previous injuries he might be carrying (as in the last World Cup), and more often than not he is turned to when runs have to be choked in the middle overs. his batting flair and ability have always been one of the foundations of kenyan cricket.

as for the man himself, let me tell you a small story. i know mauro through my father, and sitting near him telling various cricket stories during the lunch break for the kenyan sunday league. so, once the mighty springboks were in town around '98. as usual i was in the pavilion riding on dad's coat-tails! i desperately wanted to meet jonty rhodes and get autographs from the rest of the team. no amount of pleading with the SA team security was going to get me through. then i see mauro sauntering around.. "sasa mauro!! niaje beste!! manze hawa makopa wamenikatsia.. na vile ninataka kumona jonty.. mauro, si unisaidie jo?!" {loosely translated = hi mauro, howsitgoin'? man, i really wanna meet jonty but these cops are like pricks.. can you help me out?} so maurice odumbe, kenyan cricket captain, takes me by the shoulder and marches me past the cops, into the SA changing room.. walks upto jonty, and says "hey dude, here's a good friend of mine, and he's been dying to meet you.. you got a minute to spare?" by which time i was so excited i was buzzing! no matter what evidence you throw at me, i will not believe that mauro accepted money to throw a game. i will not believe that he will throw a game.

he has had brushes with authority before. he has been called arrogant and snooty.. but i feel it is his cockiness more than anything. he will always be a schoolboy in his heart, and will always cock a snook at authorities.. my dad has been ribbed by him in the bar after the game, but again, with all respect. he does hilarious impersonations of umpires and fellow players over a couple of cold beers! he has passion for the game too.. and can be seen spending long hours in heated discussion with steve (tikolo), kennedy (obuya) and ravindu(shah).. and his is the one voice that always accompanies wicketkeeper kennedy's when kenya fields.. pumping up the players, encouraging them more and more: "c'mon marto (martin suji).. toa hawa watu!" "well bowled thomas (thomas odoyo), well bowled" "yes collo (collins obuya), hivo hivo tu!"

i include an excerpt here from wisden, talking about the kind of man maurice is -
Odumbe has never been afraid to speak his mind, as West Indian legend Brian Lara will attest. The Kenyan, looking for an autograph, was snubbed by a young Lara in England several years before the 1996 World Cup, so he took the opportunity after the shock victory in Pune, to go up to the great left-hander and say: "A few years ago you would not give me your autograph. But now I am saying you can have my autograph."

kenya's next generation of players - rageb aga, malhar patel, francis otieno are all proteges of his - have grown up watching mauro, and been inspired too.. he has one 'Man Of The Match' award from each of the last three World Cups. so maurice, here's hoping that justice prevails and your name is cleared; good luck with your appeal, na tunaomba mungu akusaidie kujitoa kutoka hi balaa umepatiwa.