Rwanda Cricket Association (RCA) has announced that the 2020 Cricket season will commence in September.

The season was due to start in March, but RCA was forced to suspend it a week before kick-off after the first Covid-19 case was confirmed in the country.

In an interview on Wednesday, July 1, Eddie Balaba Mugarura, the RCA President, told Times Sport that the Association will not declare the season null and void despite the six-month hiatus.

"The season will not be cancelled. It is just going to be shorter because we are resuming in September in line with the government’s guidelines,” said Mugarura.

The season has been cut short to four months, from September until December, and only one tournament will be organized as a result.

RCA normally organizes two major tournaments in a season – a T20 Cricket Tournament and the 50-Overs Premier League.

However, the Association has decided to cancel the 50-Overs Premier League this year given the circumstances and considerable time lost due to the novel coronavirus pandemic. The two tournaments, Mugarura insists, cannot be successfully held under four months.

"When competitive action restarts in September, we have agreed to have one tournament instead of two that we normally organise. Only the T2O tournament will be held in the shortened season.”

Training from home continues…

Cricket is among the sports that have not yet been allowed by the Ministry of Sports to hold outdoor training as the country continues to tackle the spread of the pandemic.

Mugarura said that, since March, cricket players have been training from home to keep themselves fit and believes that they won’t struggle with pace and fitness when the season resumes because coaches have been helping them virtually with different workout routines.

"An athlete cannot go six months without training. When the lockdown was announced, players switched to home workouts – helped by their coaches – to stay fit.”