It will be a historic day for local cricket when the ICC Cricket World Cup Trophy Tour visits Rwanda for the very first time this Friday. Rwanda last December won the bid to be among the 21 countries whose cricket fans will get up close to the highly coveted trophy during its nine-month journey across the globe. It will travel across five continents, 21 countries and over 60 cities to mark the “most connected Trophy Tour ever” leading up to the 2019 ICC World Cup finals tournament from May 30 to July 14 in Wales and England, the United Kingdom. According to Rwanda Cricket Association (RCA), the trophy will be on a three-day long tour in the country and will culminate on February 10 with some cricket games and celebrations taking place at Gahanga Stadium on the weekend. For the first time, the ICC World Cup trophy has not only visited countries taking part in the tournament and traditional cricket nations, but also places where cricket is rapidly growing such as Rwanda, Nepal, Germany and United States. Rwanda is one of the only four African countries to host the trophy, along with Nigeria, Kenya and South Africa. With more stops than ever before, the trophy started its journey from the ICC headquarters in Dubai on August 27, 2018. From Rwanda, the trophy will head to Nigeria, France, Belgium, the Netherlands and Germany – in that order – before arriving in England and Wales on February 19 for a 100-day domestic Trophy Tour. editorial@newtimes.co.rw
