Vinod John writes for Howzat:-
“The Hershey Centre gave away no sign of the sub-zero temperature outside. It was a different ball game for the home arena of Mississauga’s ice hockey team when cricket fans from India and Pakistan trooped in to watch the World Cup match between the arch-rivals on a mega screen set up by Pepsi. The fans in blue went hysterical for each run Dhoni and his boys scored at Adelaide Oval. The fans in green matched the celebrations ball by ball. Pakistan’s peak came when captain Misbah-ul-Haq caught out Rohit Sharma at 34, raising the decibel to deafening levels at Hershey. Green balloons with ‘Pakistan Zindabad’ written on them rose over the applause.”
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While hundreds of thousands of cricket fans stay up all night to watch teams compete half way across the globe, Canada’s own cricket scene does not garner the same kind of enthusiasm.
It’s not surprising though. The national Canadian team isn’t even playing in this World Cup.
And as University of Toronto lecturer David Cooper also noted cricket is not as easily accessible a sport in Ontario as hockey, soccer, or baseball.
“There are more clubs growing,” Cooper said. “But the grounds are not as prevalent as baseball grounds or softball or hockey stadiums.”
Cricket is “hard to play, easy to watch,” he said.