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A wide-ranging group of experts on the social and physical benefits of cricket will gather at the Ontario Institute for Studies in Education at the University of Toronto (OISE/UT) on Saturday, February 4, 2012, beginning at 9 a.m. at 252 Bloor Street West , Toronto , M5S 1V6 . The goal of the Ontario United Cricket Conference is to bring together educators, sports experts, politicians, law enforcement professionals, community leaders and students to share topical information while strengthening traditional and emerging relationships within the cricket community. It is hoped that by bringing these renowned experts under one roof, a multitude of stakeholders will consider new ways of improving communities by promoting cricket. Topics will include how organizations and the public can introduce the sport into their communities, how the media can be utilized to advance cricket’s popularity, and how the team building nature of cricket can lead to lower crime rates among youth.
“Cricket is becoming ever more popular in Canada and the need for more cricket fields is growing, especially in Toronto. The Ontario Cricket Conference will bring greater public awareness of this challenging and well-loved sport that is played around the world, ” said MPP for Don Valley West Kathleen Wynne.
“The sport of cricket is an invaluable builder of character and physical well-being,” says Lisa Grogan-Green – Co-Chair of the Valley Park Go-Green Cricket Field Project and a workshop presenter. “This conference will both explore and advance ways that we can integrate this important and beneficial activity to more Canadians.”
The Valley Park Go Green Cricket Field project will bring an environmentally sustainable cricket field to two of Toronto’s Priority Neighbourhoods: Thorncliffe Park and Flemingdon Park. It is a partnership between Valley Park Middle School, Flemingdon Neighbourhood Services, Thorncliffe Neighbourhood Office and Toronto and Region Conservation Authority.
For further information on how you can participate/attend the conference, please contact the website listed below www.gogreencricketfield.ca
Cricketers donned snow pants and parkas for a Nordic-style cricket tournament on McGill University’s McTavish Reservoir field Saturday.
The annual Snow Cricket World Cup is going strong in its fifth year, giving “sticky wicket” a whole new meaning.
Cricketers drudge through ankle-high snow, chasing a tennis ball instead of a cricket ball.
Tournament organizer Angus Bell says the snow cancels out skill.
“All technique goes out the window,” said Bell, a member of Montreal cricket club Pirates of the St. Lawrence.
“I’ve been playing cricket for 20 years, you could find someone who’s playing for the first time today, and they’ll be at the same level.”
Picture and video
Canada struggled to put up a competitive total against a strong Trinidad and Tobago side in the fourth and final match in the Caribbean T20 competition, and lost by 8 wickets.
Jimmy Hansra has had great success in one area on this tour as Canada won the toss for the fourth time, and again chose to bat. Gunasekera got off the mark with a six in the first over, and followed with another in the second as Canada raced to 29/0 from the first two overs. The pattern of a Canadian innings is becoming depressingly familiar as a promising start led into slowing of the run rate, then a clatter of wickets. Gunsekera was caught for 23 (19), Patel was run out for 32, Surkari, Raza-ur-Rehman, Kumar and Hansra contributed a combined 11 runs, and 43/0 quickly became 76/6. Cheema contributed 6, continuing his poor tour with the bat, and it fell to the last pair to bat out the overs – 99/9 off 20 overs is well below par, and T+T will be confident of a big win.
Henry Osinde made an early breakthrough, having Simmons caught by Kumar in the third over- he bowled his four overs for just 15 runs. Barath was dismissed in unusual fashion, adjudged out for obstructing the field but Trinidad and Tobago made steady progress towards victory until rain stopped play with the score 63/2 from 11.4 overs. This was a temporary respite, and they had little trouble reaching a reduced total.
CricInfo scorecard
Andrew Nixon
There will be a strong Associate presence for the inaugural season of the Bangladesh Premier League with nine Associate/Affiliate players in the auction list and each team required to pick at least one.
The full list of Associate/Affiliate players is as follows:
Hamid Hassan (Afghanistan), Irfan Ahmed (Hong Kong), Alexei Kervezee (Netherlands), Freddie Klokker (Denmark), Mohammad Nabi (Afghanistan)
Thomas Odoyo (Kenya), Niall O’Brien (Ireland), Rizwan Cheema (Canada), Gerrie Snyman (Namibia)
Continue reading Cheema in Bangladesh Premier League auction (Cricket Europe)
The Canadian Press quotes coach Michael Dighton as pleased with improvement in the Caribbean T20 after an 8 wicket loss to Guyana,
“We obviously improved on our last start, which I was extremely disappointed in. Still, the 143 that we posted could have easily been 160. We’re always trying to regain the momentum, losing wickets all the way through.
We haven’t been blown out of the water by any stretch of the imagination, but on the other hand I think we’re a better team than what we’ve shown. We still get some of the basics of the game wrong at times, and there’s no excuses from us, we’re looking to get better and build towards the big tournament in Dubai.”
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Canada put in an improved performance against Guyana today in the Caribbean T20 competition but still went down to defeat by 8 wickets.
Canada won the toss for the third time, and again chose to bat. They got off to an excellent start again, taking 29 from the first three overs, thanks mainly to Gunasekera. Patel (4) was caught at third man, and the run-rate slowed. Gunasekera made 38 from 28 balls before being stumped, and after 10 overs Canada were 61/2. Raza-ur-Rehman (29) continued his good form, and captain Hansra finally got into the runs. Raza was run out by a direct hit, and Cheema failed yet again, but Hansra (40 from 36 balls with three sixes) and Kumar (19) played well before both fell in the last over, with Hamza Tariq also perishing- three wickets in three balls. The final total of 143 represented by far Canada’s best effort of the tournament.
Guyana also got off to a fast start but a neat stumping from Hazma Tariq, and some steady bowling from Cheema and Junaid Siddiqui pegged them back to 53/2. The vastly experienced Chanderpaul (36*) took charge however, and he and Deonarine (52*) took Guyana to an 8 wicket victory with 3 overs to spare.
CricInfo scorecard
Nigel Reed
When you’re talking about the West Indies, it is as far East as it gets. Barbados is the home of the Kensington Oval, Sir Gary Sobers and the remainder of the 2012 Caribbean Twenty20.
Canada is among those for whom a change of scenery can’t come quickly enough. Despite bright starts in both their Group A games in Antigua, the momentum deserted them at crucial times resulting in heavy defeats to both the Windward and Leeward Islands. A worrying pattern is emerging. Canadian skipper Jimmy Hansra has twice won the toss and decided to bat first. He has backed his batsmen, himself included, to post a reasonable total and at least keep the opponent honest and earn the victory. Twice the plan has backfired. Far from compiling a competitive score, Canada has made it easy for the opposition. No-one is expecting the Canadians to win this tournament, or necessarily advance from the group stages but unfortunately Canada has only itself to blame. Too many batsmen have got themselves out. In this abbreviated form of cricket, risk-taking is par for the course. The object of the exercise, after all, is to score as many runs as possible in a comparatively short time frame. Inevitably players will gamble in search of reward. Taking a chance is one thing. Poor choice of shot or execution is quite another. Sadly a fair few Canadian batsmen have fallen in the latter category. I lost count of the number of players who threw away their wickets because of bad shots rather than being beaten by the skill of a bowler.
Continue reading Big room for improvement (Sportsnet)
Canada lost their second match of the Caribbean T20 to the Leeward Islands today. Canada chose to bat after winning the toss on a warm (27 degrees) and cloudy day in Antigua. Patel and Surkari got off to a good start with two boundaries off the first over, and another off the second. Surkari contributed 19 from 20 deliveries including a six before falling in the 6th over with the score on 34. The next three bats however contributed only 6 between them, and when Patel was stumped for 24 (26) Canada were 60/5 in the 12th over. Raza-ur-Rehman however is proving a useful addition to the Canadian team, and he and Hamza Tariq took the score to 90 after 16 overs. Hamza (16) was caught in the deep trying to push the score along. Raza-ur-Rehman made the top score of 30 but was unable to reach the boundary, and Canada were all out for 108 with 3 balls left.
The Leewards made light work of the chase, passing the Canadian total in just 13.4 overs, and losing only two wickets.
CricInfo scorecard
Johnson Charles hit a flambuoyant, unbeaten 61 to lead Windward Islands to their second victory in the Caribbean Twenty20 tournament with a nine-wicket victory in a low-scoring affair against Canada yesterday.
The opener struck four fours and three sixes from 58 balls, as Windwards easily chased 112 for victory in their second Group-A match at the Vivian Richards Cricket Ground.
Charles added 94 – unbroken – with fellow Grenadian Andre Fletcher to take Windwards over the finish line with 21 balls remaining.
Continue reading Charles steers Windwards to second victory (Starbroek News)
Canada went down to a 9 wicket loss against the Windward Islands on Wednesday in their first clash of the 2012 CT20.
Canada won the toss and batted, and took 9 off the first over. Surkari fell in the second however, and Patel struggled to make 11 off 16 balls. Gunasekera contributed a spritely 38 from 31 balls, hitting a couple of sixes but Hansra and Cheema failed to provide support. Raza-ur-Rehman, Zimabwe born and former Pakistan U19 player made his Canadian debut, and his 34 from 41 balls took Canada to 111 from their 20 overs, perhaps below par against a strong Windwards batting side.
Osinde led the Canadian bowling, having Bascombe leg before and bowling his opening spell of three overs for 13 runs. A required run rate of under 6/ over was always going to be hard to defend, and Fletcher (38) and Charles (61) took Windwards to an easy win with 3.3 overs to spare.
CricInfo scorecard
Canada opens its account in the Carribean T20 on Wednesday, taking on the Windward Islands. The Windwards got off to a great start, beating the powerful Trinidad and Tobago team by 11 runs. The Windwards spinners were the deciding factor, with Mathurin bowling four overs for 11 runs, and Shillingford taking three wickets. In yesterday’s other game, Guyana beat the Leewards by 5 wickets. In today’s games Netherlands play Sussex, and Combined C&C play Jamaica. The tournament is being covered by Sportsnet with a combination of live and tape delayed games on Sportsnet One and Sportnet World, so check the TV listings for schedules.
Nigel Reed
Somewhere in the world the sun is always shining. For that reason, cricket never really has an off-season. The closer to the tropics you are, the more the sun shines and the more cricket you can play.
Such is the case in the West Indies where, in the depths of a Canadian winter, the neighbouring islands of Antigua and Barbados are hosting the third edition of the Caribbean Twenty20.
Canada is one of three international teams competing. The Canucks will join the Netherlands and English county team Sussex in completing the line up for the ten team tournament. Divided into two round robin groups of five, the group winners and runners-up will advance to the semi-finals.
It is more than just the start of a new year for Canada. The team has been overhauled since last year’s World Cup with the arrival of a new coach, the appointment of a new captain and a sprinkling of new players. There is definitely a fresh look and, I sense, a fresh feel about the challenges ahead.
Those challenges will come thick and fast in Antigua. Canada failed to progress beyond the group stages last year, winning only one game in the process. The Canadians failed to build on their solitary victory over English T20 champions Hampshire (who went on to reach the Final) but it shows that in this form of cricket there is no such thing as a sure thing.
Continue reading Caribbean Twenty20 Preview (Sportsnet)
Cricket Canada is pleased to announce Rogers Sportsnet as the exclusive media partner for the Caribbean T20 in Canada. Sportsnet will join existing corporate sponsors Teacher’s Scotch Whiskey & Apollo Convention Centre as tournament partners for the event.
For the first time, LIVE CRICKET will be broadcast on a mainstream Canadian network with all of Canada’s matches on Sportsnet ONE and the rest of the tournament on Sportsnet World. In an interview earlier this week, Cricket Canada’s 1st Vice President Ravin Moorthy discussed the announcement with Nigel Reed on the lastest episode of World Cricket Weekly TALK.
Continue reading Caribbean T20 on Canadian TV (Cricket Canada)
Neil Davison writes for the Canadian Press
“Canada opens play at the Caribbean T20 cricket tournament this week, looking to impress its new coach and gear up for a key world Twenty20 qualifying tournament in March….
With newly installed Australian coach Michael Dighton at the helm, the Canadian team prepared for the tournament last month with a 10-day camp in Barbados where it played seven T20 games against Barbados and a Combined Campuses and Colleges side.
“This is a format we’ve been concentrating on the last few months and training for it and we just can’t wait to get out there and dance under the lights,” said Canadian captain Jimmy Hansra.
The 26-year-old from Abbotsford, B.C., was a structural engineer with Armtec, an infrastructure and construction materials company. But he stepped away before the World Cup last February to become one of six players currently under contract with Cricket Canada
“I miss wearing my suit and going to an office where I can be served coffee once in a while,” he joked. “But obviously I put on my sweats and go sweat it outside in the gym. I guess that’s my office now.
“It is a big change for me. It’s very different. It’s two different professions but I’m enjoying it so that’s the reason I put my job on hold. My company’s been more than accommodating enough.”
He made more as an engineer but couldn’t turn down the opportunity to play high-level cricket”
Full article
Twenty three years after cricket history was made in Toronto a local promoter is looking to make the magic happen again.
Cricket Canada is pleased to announce that Kat Rose Inc., a Toronto based event promoter has been sanctioned by Cricket Canada to host an international T20 Cricket Match in Toronto. The match, which will feature Canadian and high profile international cricketers, is tentatively scheduled for late spring at Roger’s Centre, and will include a cultural and entertainment show as part of the day.
Continue reading Indoor 20-20 for Toronto? (Cricket Canada)
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