Canadian cricket coach Gus Logie said on arrival in South Africa that
he's impressed with the effort the players have put in since he joined
them on January 10.

"Our preparations have not been the greatest, but we made the best of
difficult circumstances," said Logie. "We have done quite a bit of work
in the past two weeks.  They are confident in their own ability and I liked
what I have seen from them.

"?The players have a fair idea of what to expect here in South Africa?
I think they are mentally strong to handle the conditions."

Manager Karam Gopaulsingh expressed optimism that Canada will do well.

"We hope that people will be pleasantly surprised by our performance here,"
said  Gopaulsingh. "There are five million people who are aware of cricket in
Canada and  we owe it to them to do well."

Harris 'realistic'

Skipper Joseph Harris said the harsh Canadian winter prevented his team
from putting in the necessary work needed to compete at the World Cup.

"We've got to be realistic, but our conditions coming here were not ideal,"
said Harris.  "However, we have got to target teams we think we can do
well against. We must  think of ourselves as pioneers because we want the
game in North America to undergo a revival. We will not put too much
pressure on ourselves."

Canada, making its second appearance in the World Cup, is in Group B
with Bangladesh, Kenya, Sri Lanka, West Indies, South Africa and New
Zealand and was the second team to arrive in South Africa, following Pakistan.

Samad delayed by U.S.

But Cavaliers batsman Abdul Samad's departure was delayed for several
hours by U.S. immigration at Pearson International Airport.

"Though I don't know all the particulars, he had a problem with immigration
and they had to do a background check," said Canadian Cricket Association
(CCA) administrative assistant Austin Ward. "As a result, they could not
clear him in time to leave with the main contingent."

Samad, who broke into the Canadian side last year for the Americas Cup
in Argentina, left on Sunday via Atlanta. The main party had departed
Saturday via New York.

The eighth World Cup starts on February 8 with the opening ceremony
in Cape town.