Briton bats for 26 hours in aid of Rwanda Cricket stadium

Twenty-two year old Alby Shale set a new Guinness World Record for the longest ever individual cricket batting session after spending 26 hours in the net of the Oval cricket ground in London. He began his marathon stand in the indoor nets at London Oval cricket ground on Monday and finally declared his innings at 8:45 am on Tuesday. Shale, said that his goal was to raise as much money and awareness as possible for a foundation which plans to build the first international-standard cricket stadium in Rwanda. The British graduate is now waiting for the Guinness World Records to go through the documentation and confirm his new landmark. He collapsed in a heap on Tuesday at The Oval cricket ground after batting for 26 hours in a bid to break the world record. The previous batting record of 25 hours was set in October by Australian batsman Jade Child. Shale faced around 200 bowlers in his spell at the crease - including Prime Minister David Cameron, who turned up for a few overs. With 10 minutes to go, Shale shrugged off the tiredness and started slogging at every delivery. Shale said there was ‘huge enthusiasm’ for cricket in Rwanda but the country was ‘sorely lacking in facilities’. “A new home of cricket in Rwanda - the first dedicated international standard pitch - would be a great boost to all the cricketers over there,” he said. The idea was the brainchild of Alby’s father Christopher Shale, Cameron’s close friend and his Conservative Party constituency chairman, who died of a heart attack at the Glastonbury Festival in June 2011. The charity is hoping to raise £600,000 ($900,000, 700,000 euros) to build a cricket ground. Around £400,000 has been raised so far. The world record attempt brought in a few thousand pounds through online donations and bucket collections but the main aim was to raise awareness of the cause. The charity is supported by patrons including Cameron and West Indies cricket legend Brian Lara.

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Briton bats for 26 hours in aid of Rwanda Cricket stadium