Dusingizimana set to dine with cricket greats

Guinness world longest batting record holder Eric Dusingizimana travelled to London, UK, yesterday, for a dinner with some of the world’s cricket greats. The dinner is slated tomorrow at the Lord’s Cricket Ground, commonly known as the home of cricket. Dusingizimana is Rwanda national cricket stadium foundation general manager and captain of the national team.The dinner will serve as a fundraiser for Rwanda’s first international cricket stadium. Some US$600,000 have already been moblised toward the construction of the proposed arena to be located in Gahanga in Kigali’s Kicukiro District. “I am so excited about this, it will be my first time to step foot in London, the home of cricket,” said Dusingizimana, adding that to dine with Cricket greats is yet another milestone achievement in his life. The current Guinness world record holder for the longest hours (51) batting nonstop and national team skipper will join other cricket greats across the world for the dinner including the current cricket players and ex-internationals such as Brian Lara, former England National cricket team captain David Gower, West Indies Garry Fobers, Micheal Vowghan, and the current England national women Cricket Team captain Heather Knights, among others. Last month, as delegates from around the world convened in in Kigali for the World Economic Forum on Africa, Dusingizimana was making history as he batted for 51 hours, from May11-13, to break the record for the most number of hours in net batting. “Cricket is a sport famous for dogged efforts lasting multiple days -- think of Michael Atherton’s famous 185 in Johannesburg or Alastair Cook’s epic 263 last year. But one man has just put those achievements in the shade, by batting for an astonishing 51 hours, without a break,” declared Mail Online, a UK publication, shortly after the Rwandan broke the record set by Indian Male Virag who batted for 50 hours nonstop. Mail Online added: “Remarkably, after more than two days of solid batting, Dusingizimana was able to perform a headstand at the end to celebrate his achievement.” The right guard star was doing it for the cause that still lives on: to raise money that would help put up the first ever international cricket ground in his country. editorial@newtimes.co.rw

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Dusingizimana set to dine with cricket greats