Lara’s visit will help push RCA’s case

The much anticipated forthcoming visit of Brian Lara to Rwanda next month is precisely what cricket in this country needed to get the recognition it has long craved for. Lara, a native of Trinidad and Tobago and a former captain of the West Indies is one of the finest cricketers to ever stepped foot on the crease. So what does his coming Rwanda mean to the ‘Gentleman’s Game’ in a country where just three years ago, the sports minister said, “Cricket is not a priority,” because his ministry had been approached for support. This happened in 2006 when the senior national team was preparing to participate in the ICC World Cricket League Division Three tournament in South Africa. It was the Rwandan team’s second international competition, and ideally, the team needed all the support it would get from anywhere to make the trip. But when the local cricket governing body, RCA approached the sports ministry for a ‘little financial backing’, Minister Joseph Habineza told them there was no money for them because their sport was not a priority to his ministry! Talking is one thing and implementing the talk is another, but the good Minister did the two without a second thought hence the phrase ‘cricket is not a priority’, which went on to become a common vocabulary within the local cricket fraternity. No one in Rwandan cricket family will ever forget that statement. It taught them to survive on their own without necessary having to run to the ministry for sponsorship at every opportunity. For a sport that only set roots in the country in 2001 by a few enthusiastic individuals and by 2004 it had a reached a level of the national team competing on the international level, the Minister’s comment was the least it needed or deserved—it was ill-timed and set a bad precedent for the sport that until this day, is struggling to reach out to the wider Rwandan public. Why of all times, do I bring in an incident that happened three years ago now? Firstly, it’s good to know where you’re coming from to know where you’re going and secondly, is to show how far cricket in Rwanda has come, from scratch to the level of attracting a legendary figure like Lara. Lara is not a politician but a sportsman, a cricketer to be precise and his visit to the East African region is purely about that, though because of his status, he’s expected to meet with big government dignitaries, which is great since he’ll use his influence to push for greater support to the ‘Gentleman’s Game’. While in the country, Lara is scheduled to pay a courtesy call to President Paul Kagame, the Minister of Sports and Culture Joseph Habineza and of course he will meet, discuss and probably play a short game with his hosts, the Rwanda Cricket Association (RCA). It’s hard to predict all the things he will discussion with the President or Minister Habineza or other government dignitaries but one thing I suppose is that he’ll definitely talk cricket for much of his discussions and how best he can help to take the sport in the country to a new level. Until his retirement two years ago, Lara, who turned 40 years old on May 2, passed several records and milestones in one of the most popular and interesting games. Cricket in Rwanda, just like any other sport apart from football, basketball, volleyball and to some extent athletics depends of the good will of a few enthusiastic individuals for survival—the sports ministry doesn’t care whether it exists or not, after all it’s not a priority. But after Lara visits and hosts discussions with the high authorities, maybe, just maybe, he’ll convince the powers that be that cricket, just like any other sport including karate, badminton, table tennis among other in any developing nation, deserves the right not be left behind in favour of a selected few. Different people are born with different talents and every individual has the right to choose which sport interests him/her, so Minister Habineza ought to release this fact and learn to live with it, after all, not everyone is going to play football, basketball, volleyball, cycling, tennis and athletics. Contact: nku78@yahoo.com