Dusingizimana carries bat for 51 hours to land Rwanda Guinness record

After seven hours, Eric Dusingizimana whispered to teammate and best friend Derrick Bayingana to inform Ugandan coach Davis Turinawe that he was getting dizzy. The latter obliged and suggested to the Rwanda Cricket Association general manager Robert Mugabe to get the medic-on- call ready.

But before the “courtesy” call could be completed, Dusingizimana was skipping and hopping around the net like he had just completed his first minute of the 51 hours! Fairytale storyline this is!

That was not the only moment of panic and anxiety. There were a couple more when the ever- present smile on the Rwandan captain Dusingizimana’s face turned into a scowl. All of a sudden, the bat seemed like a heavy log, swinging it through the stance was a painful sight and the extra weight of pads did not help matters either.

But all this changed as dawn crashed into sight; half a litre of energisers and four hours left on the clock must have inspired Dusingizimana. He even suggested to Alby Shale, a previous record holder at 26 hours - he felt like going into a fourth hour before his breakfast!

“Alby and I weren’t taking that bout of madness!” said a shocked Turinawe.
After that, the rest was history. Incredibly emotional and heart-ripping!
Coming from little-known cricketing country, Big Eric’s - as Dusingizimana is called by his peers - massive innings from May 11 (8am) to May 13 (11.15am) had been all about gutsy guts and pure passion.

The Rwandan international batted for 51 hours non-stop to the claim the Guinness World Record (GWR) for the longest individual net session at Amahoro International Stadium, beating a time of just over 50 hours set by Indian Virag Mare at the Mahalaxmi Lawns in Karve Nagar, Pune last December.

When Mare set the record, he said it was for the love of the game that drove him to stay at the crease for so long.

Reason for record setting

For Big Eric, it was to raise money for the Rwanda Cricket Stadium Foundation (RCSF) – a charity set up to raise money and build the first international cricket stadium in Gahanga, on the outskirts of Kigali.

But it was Shale who had ignited this noble. Aged 22 and a University student from Oxfordshire in 2013, Shale took it upon himself to help elevate cricket standards in the East African nation through a charity dedicated to his father Christopher, Shale faced a total of 6062 balls during his 26 hours knock at the Kia Oval in London to use cricket as a tool of unity in Rwanda.

But why cricket? The existing cricket field in Kicukiro, Kigali had been the site of a massacre in 1994 and remains were found when the tall grass was mowed to create a pitch in 2002. The idea to raise funds for the cause came from Shale’s father, Christopher, who died in July 2011.

After Shale, a director at RCSF, had done his bit to raise thousands of pounds and the ground- breaking for the cricket stadium in Gahanga was done in December 2015 with South Africa’s first black Test cricketer Makhaya Ntini presiding over as the guest of honour, Big Eric felt he needed to chip in to the cause.

And there will be no regrets; Big Eric’s feat went a long way in raising funds to help put final touches on the ultra-modern social amenity, which is a 20-minute drive from Kigali. To-date, according to http://m.virginmoneygiving.com/, £604,259.46 (approximately Shs2.7b) has been raised towards this cause.

The win-win situation continues next month when a mother of fundraisers is held at the world’s home of cricket at Lord’s Cricket Ground in London.

Super preparations
Dusingizimana’s heroic feat came as a surprise to the world. But to him, it was something achievable, and not because of his lion-heart.
The Civil Engineer graduate did his homework right and proper.

“For three weeks in the build-up to the long innings, Eric had a special programme,” Rwanda Cricket Association (RCA) boss Charles Haba told Daily Monitor. “He had a specific diet, ample rest and no sex. He also did a lot of batting, doing eight to 12 hours non-stop almost on a daily.”

And when dawn came on the day, Big Eric was more than ready to wear his heart on his sleeves and bat Rwanda to a field of dreams.

Former UK prime minister Tony Blair practiced his yorker in England and came to Kigali to send down a couple of deliveries from his short but energetic two-pace run up  in the company of several World Economic Forum (WEF) delegates that were happy to contribute to a genuine cause.

The beautiful Miss Rwanda Jolly Mutesi and Sports minister Julienne Uwacu had a crash course on bowling with the gaffer Turinawe and did not disappoint and neither did the Amavubi Wasps assistant coach Jimmy Mulisa. Uwacu, in fact altered her routine, and came back twice for a bowl.

Dusingizimana paid back the faith.  With supervisors on sight, he paced his innings right. Never in a rush to use his five minutes per hour breaks. He did the first six hours without breaking off.

“He saved a lot of time. There is a time he had 65 minutes in the bag. He piled them up for a big power nap,” said Turinawe.

And after failing to ‘sweet-talk’ his time management team into an extra hour to close shop, the honours of bowling the last ball were bestowed upon Sonia Uwimana, Dusingizimana’s wife.

Beautiful moment

Being pregnant didn’t stop Uwimana, smile on her face like a pretty assassin, from steaming in quick for the final delivery. But Big Eric, like the boss he had been throughout the entire rearguard, kept it away from the stumps and imaginary slip cordon with a straight bat. The couple has played for Ugandan clubs with Uwimana having enjoyed a stint with Charity Trust Fund Cricket Club (CTFCC) and Big Eric still being a regular at legendary Sam Walusimbi’s tutored Wanderers.

“I knew the body would get tired. I was ready for it. So I also played with my mind,” said the new world hero soon after being lifted shoulder-high by his ecstatic teammates amidst a party atmosphere.
“I am so happy to have helped raise awareness for cricket in Rwanda and the work of the RCSF. We need to build the future of cricket in Rwanda, which is why the stadium is important.

But we want also want to use the new facilities to help the sport unite our country and raise awareness about the importance of health and education.”
The charity’s patrons include the British Prime Minister David Cameron, West Indies legend Brian Lara and Test Match Special doyen Jonathan Agnew.

To crown it all, Big Eric showed he was indeed a strong lad – pulling off an unusual headstand celebration to send the packed Amahoro Stadium into ululations with West Indies all-rounder Dwayne Bravo’s captivating hit ‘Champion’ threatening to blare the roof off.

Hats off to you Dusingizimana! May your efforts help cricket to develop into a giant sport in Rwanda and East Africa bear fruit.

Who is Eric

Born to Martin Mushinzimana and Beatha Mukagahunga on March 21, 1987 in Kigali City- Kicukiro District, Kigarama sector, Eric is the sixth born from a family of 10 children, seven boys and three girls. He attended Mburabuturo Primary School before going to ETO Kicukiro for Secondary School studies in both Ordinary and Advanced level.

The 29-year- old started playing Cricket in 2005 as the 12th man in Right Guards Cricket Club.

He later made it to the starting line-up team’s opening batsman. In 2009, he formed his own cricket club-- Young Tigers Cricket Club but it collapsed same year. He started Cricket game to his university college and captained the team from 2010 to 2011. He is married with one wife and one child.
He has been a key member of the national team since 2008 and helped its winning the ICC division 3 tournaments in Accra, Ghana in 2011. On the local scene, he has won various tournaments, including the 50-Overs Premier League in 2006 with Right Guards, scooping the player of the TwentyT20 Tournament award in 2010.

Eric narrates that his academic career has a direct relationship with cricket game. He reveals that while a batsman deals with a cricket ball at a pitch through weighed reaction to the bounce of a ball at a certain angle, turn and speed, as well as wind direction, a civil engineer student is dealing with geometrical angles in Mathematics subject paper, friction forces, collision and motion in physics. He is a graduate in Civil engineer.

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