Darren Ganga, who now has a role as a sporting ambassador for Trinidad & Tobago according to one recent report, spoke to the crowd late on Friday night at the Mississauga Cricket Festival. Part of his message was about Sunday’s T&T independence cricket festival that included teams comprised of Jamaicans and Guyanese contesting a qualifier to meet T&T in the championship T20 final. A separate part of his message was the potential for Canadian cricketers to gain experience playing cricket in T&T. There are many relationships between cricket in Canada and T&T, including tours in both directions and the participation of T&T players in the Canadian domestic scene, especially the Toronto & District Cricket Association.
With Canada having to play an important qualifier in Namibia in January 2015 and funds not overflowing at the national and other levels in Canadian cricket, the door is potentially open for some of the potential Canadian squad to play in Triinidad & Tobago. The door is likely open in some other countries where cricket is played primarily during the northern hemisphere’s winter months. But Darren Ganga’s invite was about cricket in his home and native land. Perhaps the Canadian juniors could do with some practice before the 2015 ICC Americas qualifier, which if it takes place fairly early in the year (April or May) will be, or almost be, before the elite division of the Toronto & District is underway.
Unfortunately due to a couple of glitches and limited time to check on some details, I was not able to attend Sunday’s T&T independence cricket festival, but my head tells me the sun was shining brightly in Scarborough, Ontario around high noon on Sunday. (EN)