The West-Indies cricketing legend clearly enjoyed his time with the Rwandan players, showing off amongst others the much-feared “super six”, a batting move that earns you six points.

“I had a very wonderful time in this country and I will certainly stay in touch,” Lara promised afterwards.

Charles Haba, the Rwanda Cricket Association (RCA) president, was also all smiles. Getting the Pelé of cricket to visit the country, he is convinced, will open doors to the sponsors and earn cricket more support.

“We will reap big from his visit,” he says. “It has drawn attention to the sport big time, and I am sure we will get more support for the sport now.”

And the impact of the visit goes further than that, Haba points out. “Brian Lara is not only a cricket star known all over the Commonwealth countries, he is also a UN ambassador, so his trip here has drawn global attention.”

Moreover, Lara also had some valuable pieces of advice to give, saying that not only should there be more and better infrastructure, but also a better structure of the Federation so that, for example, cricket games can be played in schools to attract more players.

That the organization of the sport in Rwanda still displays such major gaps is no surprise, though, since cricket was introduced less than a decade ago in the former francophone country.

“Cricket is still new here, and it isn’t easy to attract new players to the game,” says Alex Tuhimbise the secretary general of the RCA, which started with only four clubs.

“Even today, the majority of the players are fans of the sport who learnt it when they were living in former English colonies. Yet we manage to convince some others to come and watch games, and in the end they get attracted to it.”

Today, there are six clubs in the cricket league, and the RCA is in the process of being registered at the ministry of culture and sports.

Test cricket

However, for Rwanda to rise internationally, another obstacle will have to be overcome: on top-level, the “test cricket” format is used, in which games can last for 3 to 5 days.

“It will take a long time for us to introduce that format, because we still have few players and they are not professionals, so they cannot spend several days playing a cricket match,” Tuhimbise explains. “And we will have to get the sport first to another level, because test cricket requires a lot of stamina and intensive training.”

And even though there are so far only few players, those who practice it are typically fanatical. Andrew Kayitera, who plays at Young Tigers and was crowned man of the series of this year, was however initially attracted to cricket not so much for the sport itself. “I liked it because its main language is English, and because it’s a dignified sport,” Kayitera explains.

Yet five years on, he is also considered the best all-rounder in the country, and was uplifted by Brian Lara’s brief visit.

“He showed the importance of concentration and told us put more effort in the game,” Kayitera says. “What is more, his example gives me confidence that I can have a future in cricket.”

Eric Dusingizimana, a wicket keeper and batsman who also plays in the senior national team, remarks that although he had watched lots of videos of Lara to study his batting techniques, coming face-to-face with the superstar was incredible.

“I couldn’t believe that I was standing on the same pitch with him, hearing him explain the fine points of batting,” Dusingizimana says.

For him, one of the main attractions of the sport is that it is an intellectual game, which he even says helps him to perform well in his studies.

Meeting Brian Lara in person has also had a lasting impression on bowler Eric Dusabe Mungu, who says that he will no longer fear any opponent.

“Lara is the best in the world,” Dusabe says, “so now that I have played against him, I am confident that I can face anyone.”

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