Cricket ground is a field of dreams for the Rwandan people

The African nation’s name continues to be as emotive and divisive for many foreigners as it did almost a quarter of a century ago when a million members of the Tutsi tribe were slaughtered by the Hutu government in the 1994 genocide.

But today, Rwanda is a country that has rebuilt itself to become one of the safest in the notoriously troubled region of central Africa. And that renaissance is nowhere more tangible than inside the new £1m cricket stadium in Gahanga on the outskirts of the capital Kigali.

The venue represents a remarkable turnaround for the country which has been largely attributed to the strict regime of the president Paul Kagame, who was at the official opening at the weekend.

Former England and Yorkshire cricketer Michael Vaughan and ex-South African batsman Herschelle Gibbs captained the sides for a celebrity T20 match, which also featured current England international Sam Billings, on Saturday.

Among those in the crowd was the Duchess of York, who is the godmother of the stadium’s project director Alby Shale.

The development of the new ground has been a labour of love for the last six years for Mr Shale after it was first mooted by his father, Christopher Shale.

Mr Shale senior, who was David Cameron’s Conservative Party constituency chairman, had been deeply involved in Rwanda through Unubano, a social action project and helped build a community centre near Kigali for genocide survivors.

He died aged 56 after suffering a heart attack at the Glastonbury Festival in 2011.

Speaking to The Yorkshire Post, his 27-year-old son said: “Seeing how cricket has brought people together in Rwanda has been incredible. Having the new stadium open now is something I wish my father could have seen. I know he would have been so proud to see the impact that this ground will have on a country that was so close to his heart.”

The opening ceremony was, however, not simply a showpiece event for the privileged few, as young Rwandan cricketers were given the chance to play in the game in front of a 1,500-strong crowd. Among them was Landry Rurangwa, who had been selected to play for a Yorkshire Tea team in a cricket festival staged last week before culminating in the final which was won by Uganda yesterday.

While the Yorkshire Tea team was knocked out in the group stages, Mr Rurangwa was picked as the squad’s star player.

He joined Vaughan’s team in the celebrity match, which was eventually won in the last over by the team overseen by Gibbs.

Mr Rurangwa, 21, who grew up in Kigali and now oversees coaching sessions in schools through the Rwanda Cricket Association, said: “Having this stadium means so much to us, and it will help cricket grow throughout the country. Cricket has brought Rwanda together.”

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