When Grace Scrivens leads out the England Women’s U19 team against Rwanda on Thursday January 19, the identity of England’s opposition will be down in no small part to the work of a charity organisation called Cricket Builds Hope.
For Rwanda, it’s an historic first visit to an ICC tournament, and Cricket Builds Hope (formerly the Rwanda Cricket Stadium Foundation) has played a big role in growing cricket within the country.
Along the way, they’ve been well supported by, amongst others, another England captain – and a teammate of Scrivens at London Spirit – Heather Knight.
Cricket arrived in Rwanda after the 1994 genocide. Five years later, in 1999, the Rwanda Cricket Association (RCA) was formed and in 2003 Rwanda became an ICC Affiliate Member.
But a growing demand for the game wasn’t yet supported by the relevant infrastructure. Christopher Shale, who sadly passed away in 2011, was struck by the chance to make a difference and help fund and build the facilities required to help drive cricket forward.
After his passing and in his memory, Cricket Builds Hope was formed by Christopher’s son Alby. The charity has since raised over £1.25 million to fund the building of the new stadium, including the first grass wicket in the country. It now runs social programmes that use cricket for community development, including empowering marginalised women around the stadium.
Thank you so much @DGBeswick1. We think so to. If you want a tour of a lifetime to Rwanda with your club (or get involved in our work in any other way) just send us a message! (Will@cricketbuildshope.org) https://t.co/AMV3QwOhUK
— Cricket Builds Hope (@CricketBuilds) November 24, 2022
To get to that target, supporters of the charity raised money through numerous activities including fundraising dinners, charity bike rides, marathons and world record cricket net sessions.
In 2017, the stadium was officially opened. Fast forward six years and thanks to Cricket Builds Hope and the RCA, cricket is now one of the fastest-growing sports in Rwanda. There are 24 cricket clubs in Rwanda, with the game being played in over 100 schools, with 15,000 regular players.
Crucially from the point of view of the players representing their country in South Africa, the sport is equally as popular among girls as it is boys. As seen in other nations developing their cricket, like Brazil and Thailand, the legacy of cricket being a gendered sport more catered to boys and men is a thing of the past.
For Heather Knight, Rwanda’s presence in South Africa represents the culmination of a lot of hard work. “It’s so special that Rwanda are competing at the ICC U19 Women’s T20 World Cup. Cricket can be a truly global game and when you see Rwanda and Indonesia qualifying for global tournaments you appreciate the size of the opportunity.
“Imagine what it means to a young girl in Rwanda to see her country on that stage. She’ll know that she can aspire to something similar, and you can’t put a price on what it means to inspire the next generation like that.
“From a personal point of view, it’s so rewarding to see Rwanda get to this point. I’ve been privileged to play a small role in contributing to Cricket Builds Hope across the last 10 years, and as a charity they’ve done some incredible work. I’ll be looking out for how they go in the competition, especially Henrietta Ishimwe who I played with at Fairbreak!
“It’s a really special story and it demonstrates the power of cricket to help rebuild communities. It makes me smile that in Rwanda cricket is entirely non-gendered. If we’re able to give young people the chance to play cricket, girls and boys, they’ll embrace it with both hands and the sport will continue to grow.”
Will Hammond, Director of Cricket Builds Hope, said: “We’ve been privileged to be part of Rwandan cricket’s incredible journey. When we built the stadium in 2017, we dreamed of Rwanda playing in World Cups; but we never could have believed that it would come as soon as this.
“The qualification of the women’s U19 team is testament to the passion and talent of Rwandan cricketers, and it just shows what can be achieved when this is combined with the right support and resources.
“Cricket here is rightly seen as a game for all, and we are looking forward to continuing to give more people the chance to play and using the game for wider social change.”