Saturday dawned early for the CWB team with an anti-social start in preparation for the 3 hour drive to Ruhengeri and ISEA Busogo (an Agricultural College). The initial challenge was negotiating the mountain roads with hairpin bends and over-loaded trucks! However, arriving safely, we found the best facilities yet for a day of cricket coaching – a full-size grass football pitch and welcoming students.
The team swung into action – splitting into two groups (1) hard ball coaching with the college team and (2) a session coaching students new to cricket. The college team went through a number of challenging fielding, bowling and batting drills, with this being the first opportunity to do some coaching with developing players – in preparation for a game later in the day. Of note was their ability in the field with few catches dropped, hard balls whizzing in at stump height to a wicket keeper and really good team work.
The afternoon session saw CWB challenged to a limited (10) overs game by ISAE. Who would have thought we would be playing cricket, outdoors, on grass, in March! The student’s passion for the game that had been evident in the morning, was overflowing by the time PLAY was called for the first delivery. CWB batted first and achieved a paltry 62 (all out) after failing to bat for their full 10 overs; Ceasar, one of the local CWB coaches top scored with 23 and Ben had an animated discussion with the umpire on his way off the pitch having been dismissed LBW for 1. In reply ISAE set about their task in earnest and reach the target with 2 overs to spare – Jono going for 14 in one over! So the first CWB tour match going the way of the home side.
A good day’s cricket had by all. A great venue set in the foothills of Volcano National Park and some really passionate Rwandan cricketers. Key to developing the ISAE capability is the provision of more kit, something their captain impressed on us at the close. As a small ‘stop-gap’ some hard ball kit was handed over, in lieu of some more become available in the near future, either through the RCA or CWB.
Cricket Without Boundaries