Local cricket will only get better, says RCA’s Maina

Newly-elected Rwanda Cricket Association (RCA) secretary general, Mary Maina, has expressed high confidence that Rwandan cricket will only get better and more competitive in the next two years. The remarks are the first official statement from Maina in her new role, a position that among others, entails her to foresee all cricket development programmes and their implementation while working hand in hand with the General Manager. The White Clouds cricket club captain and Rwanda international says she is determined to do everything within her means to develop the game in the country, especially in schools. “The game has of recent become more competitive and we want to bring on board more teams, something that we hope will make the game even much more competitive,” Maina told Times Sport in an exclusive interview. She added that for the last two years, she has been in charge of cricket development in Huye district and looks forward to continue with that in her new role. “Rwanda cricket has grown over the years into one of the top sports with now over 10, 000 cricketers throughout the country and RCA will continue championing its growth,” she stated. Maina noted that RCA plans to continue putting more emphasis on talent identification as well as spreading the game to every corner of the country. “We want to have a cricket team in every district and not just having clubs, all based in Kigali,” she said, adding that, football has succeeded mainly because of its diversity and the fact that almost all districts have football clubs, something she feels needs to be emulated by cricket. She noted that plans to develop cricket in schools already started and it’s an ongoing exercise around the country. The 23-year-old national women cricket team captain was voted RCA general secretary two weeks ago in the new administration led by Eddy Balaba, who replaced Charles Haba. Emmanuel Byiringiro was elected vice-president to take over from Srinath Vardhineni, who was elected as the new Treasurer replacing Steven Musaale. editorial@newtimes.co.rw

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Local cricket will only get better, says RCA’s Maina