Outgoing ICC president reveals cash boost for Associates -- Posted Friday, June 30 2006
Ehsan Mani, the outgoing president of the ICC, has confirmed that more than US$9 million will be invested in the six leading Associate member countries in a bid to raise playing standards up to the next World Cup in 2011.
Speaking exclusively to cricinfo.com in an interview to be published on Friday, ahead of his final week at the helm of world cricket's governing body, Mani highlighted the need for improved standards as a major task facing the organisation. "We are going to be spending a huge amount of money in trying to do this and we need to make sure it works. No game can sustain itself in the long-term if it is only played by ten countries. We're all watching the football World Cup and you can see how football is in more than double the number of countries than the ICC. They have over 240 countries that are part of FIFA.
"That is what we are up against so we have to make sure not only that the game continues to spread and get stronger in the non-traditional countries, but also that the standard of playing is good enough for these countries to challenge the ten (Test playing) countries."
The leading six countries below Test status at present are Bermuda, Canada, Ireland, Kenya, Netherlands and Scotland. An intense playing schedule has been drawn up for each nation before next year's World Cup in the Caribbean, in a bid to make them as competitive as possible. "They're going to get a lot of cricket before the World Cup. The other very important thing is that we leave behind a legacy after the World Cup for these countries to continue to develop. The board has agreed that from this World Cup each of these Associates will get US$500,000 as a special grant.
"Longer-term, we've decided for the 2011 World Cup, the top associates will get US$1 million each. This is just to consolidate the growth of cricket in these countries to make sure they become more professional in their approach," said Mani, whose three-year term as president comes to an end next week, when he is succeeded by Percy Sonn of South Africa.
The news was welcomed by Irish Cricket Union chairman Murray Power. He told the BBC: "The qualifiers for the '07 World Cup got half a million dollars, so this is a doubling of that and obviously any such increase would be very, very welcome indeed."
Cricinfo staff June 29, 2006
Article sourced from:-
http://content-usa.cricinfo.com/ci/content/story/251842.html
RESPONSE TO AJAX C.C. REPORT -- Posted Friday, June 30 2006
Many thanks for reproducing that excellent article on Bob White and the Ajax Cricket Club.
From my own experience as a player and administrator the applause is well deserved.
Both the man, the club he has been serving with such dedication for so long and its members are a shining example to all involved in this great game.
Errol Townshend
President, Ontario Cricket Association
Please Clean-up After Games -- Posted Thursday, June 29 2006
The League has received a complaint from Surrey Parks regarding garbage left behind after a cricket game. This is a timely reminder to all of us in the cricket community, player and spectators alike, that we all need to work hard to make sure that we can continue the privilege that we have in the various municipalities in the Lower Mainland.
There are plenty of other sports groups who would love to take our place in the parks and we cannot afford to drop our guard, so please make sure that you clean up when you have finished your game. A special note for the grounds in Stanley Park. Please remember that it is the responsibility of BOTH teams to ensure that boundary markers, scoreboards and tables and chairs are put away at the end of the game. I personally witnessed an occasion recently where both teams playing on the upper field (at Brockton) left without putting away any of the equipment. It is not good enough to simply say "we put the stuff out, they are responsible for putting it away".
If the other team leaves without doing the work it is still your responsibility to make sure that everything is tidied up.
Gary Taylor, President, BCMCL 2006-06-28
This same issue was raised at the special meeting of the Toronto & District Cricket League, when the Toronto Parks Department increased the fees for the use of cricket fields.
I shall make photo records of the lack of clean up as I find them, as will my colleagues, and will write about the slovenlyness of the cricket clubs responsible. My own form of shame and blame. (Jon Harris).
Ajax Cricket Club a bastion of multiculturalism -- Posted Thursday, June 29 2006
Bob White has spent a good part of his life as a devotee to what is the second most popular game in the world.
The game is cricket and, although it may not be the most popular pastime in Canada, the land of the frozen puck, it has certainly enjoyed a rich legacy in Ajax, with its roots in the town dating back 43 years. The burgeoning cultural mosaic in the town, he notes, will no doubt sustain the sport for many years to come.
The Ajax Cricket Club sits at the corner of Clements Road and Monarch Avenue with its clubhouse overlooking the expansive field that's home to cricket matches where batsmen face down bowlers on a warm summer's day each weekend. Plaques and trophies hanging in the clubhouse bear witness to the long tradition of the sport in town.
Mr. White has been around for every one of those years at the cricket club, entering his 44th year as the president of the Ajax Cricket Club. As one of the founding fathers of the game in Ajax, the native of England has witnessed all the great cricket nations and personalities who have played on Ajax soil.
The field has hosted a number of international matches over the years, none bigger than a series of 13 international matches in 2001 as part of an International Cricket Council (ICC) Trophy World Cup qualifying event that brought teams to town from Saudi Arabia, Australia, England and India, to only name a few. The club has also hosted the kings of cricket, including India's Sachin Tendulkar, renowned as the world's best cricketer, in a tune-up match with the Canadian national side in 1997, prior to a game against rival Pakistan in Toronto that year.
"When I emigrated to Canada, I never ever thought that I would play cricket and I never thought I would host the top players in the world, having, in some cases, played against them," says Mr. White. "I would never have done that in England. In England it's a high-level social activity. For me, hosting the India game and five years ago hosting the ICC games were the highlights of my cricket life. It would be like Ajax hosting a Montreal and Toronto game in the (NHL playoffs)."
Cricket, describes Mr. White, is not a game for hot-heads or those who can't conform to the rules. At the heart of the cricket creed is sportsmanship -- play hard but within the rules, respect your opponent and, after the game's played, competitiveness gives way to social time. "In cricket there's a certain etiquette. You don't curse at the umpire or throw your cricket bat. It's a gentleman's game, but very hard played and very competitive," explains Mr. White, at the clubhouse which he helped construct back in 1979.
In many ways, the history of the Ajax Cricket Club is the history of Ajax itself.
The club has, despite relocating different times and changing membership over its 40-plus year history, remained a vital part of the town's sporting landscape. And, just like the town, the club serves as a microcosm of multicultural growth in the area, welcoming all creeds, colours and religions over the past four decades, with the gentlemanly sport being the common thread.
Cricket is a worldwide phenomenon having roots in nearly all countries of the world. To hear Mr. White tell it, however, the sport's not so much equated with ethnicity as it is how you play the game.
"When you come down here there is no prejudice," says Mr. White. "You don't look at one another's colour or if their eyes are green, blue or yellow, you're a cricketer and you put on the white shirt and pants and go out there and play and play as a team. You don't recognize people from where they come from.".
Like other sports in Ajax, cricket has benefited from the multicultural boom the town has experienced over the past decade. Mr. White points to the names on the plaques and the faces in the pictures on the clubhouse walls as proof to the club's proud tradition as a truly multicultural bastion in the town.
"We're very diverse here, look at the names," he says as he points to photos on the walls. "We have players who've come from England and others from all over the world, Sri Lanka, you name it.".
Mr. White says he knows of many Ajax Cricket Club members who moved to town simply because of the club and its facilities that, outside of the venerable Toronto Cricket Club, have gained a reputation as the best in the GTA.
One of those who moved to the Ajax area for the cricket is senior team captain Geoff Freshwater. He notes he was looking for a club to play for after emigrating from Victoria, Australia in 1999. He immediately settled on the Ajax club, and has been a fixture ever since. "I love it out here playing with a very strong and very stable club," says Mr. Freshwater. "It's got a good history and I've met a lot of international cricketers through the club."
Mr. Freshwater says the calibre of cricket is slowly improving in Canada, and specifically at the Ajax club, which he refers to proudly as the "best grounds in the Toronto area". "It's a good standard of cricket, not a great standard, but it's improving and that's the best thing."
Mr. Freshwater, along with Mr. White, is involved with introducing the youth of the town to cricket. Toward that end, a youth program is the renewed focus of the club. And, so far, the program has blossomed to about 25 of those ranging in age from 10 to 21 years of age.
White expects the club's youth enrolment will continue to be strong, but laments that its lone field will prevent the club from expanding the program too quickly.
"In the years to come, cricket will become a major force here. It's like soccer, there's not enough fields for soccer and there won't be enough fields for cricket," he says.
The club also hosted the first high school games in early June between Pickering High School and Pickering's Pine Ridge Secondary. Mr. Freshwater served as a facilitator between the two schools, with the end goal of helping cricket grow into a full school sport in Durham Region. And, in the two-game set between the two schools, he also served as a coach.
Alyson Van Beinum, an educator at Pine Ridge who helped arrange the two high school test matches, says the interest in cricket continues to be high at the Pickering secondary school.
"A lot of the kids are from countries where they play cricket and they want to play here," she says. "There are a lot of kids eager to play. That's how it started at Pine Ridge."
"Cricket's also a sport with considerable support at Pickering High School," says Jason McKenzie, a Pickering High grad who's currently an occasional high school teacher in Durham Region. Although cricket has always had pockets of support within the school, including games played by the school's Muslim Student Association, there was nothing of a formal nature. But, a meeting last spring changed all that.
"We talked to people at Pine Ridge and Pickering High School and there was a considerable amount of interest. We had 45 people show up for a meeting, which is more (than you would get) for football, rugby or track and field. There was an incredible amount of initial interest."
The change in the cultural landscape in the two communities, says Mr. McKenzie, has made promoting cricket in area high schools a must.
"A lot has changed since I was at Pickering High in 1986, all of the cultures and languages that are spoken within the school. A lot has changed in a relatively short period of time. And, the sports that schools are offering have to change too. Schools need to get with the times. We should be offering sports that are culturally responsive to the school population."
Article sourced from:-
http://www.durhamregion.com/dr/sports/story/2216206p-2567629c.html
Bob White, a septuagenarian, is currently on a bicycle tour in Manitoba.
I joined the Ajax C.C. in 1964 and played cricket on a ground which is now concreted over. (JH)
Cricket...and the Meaning of Life -- Posted Wednesday, June 28 2006
Cricket...and the Meaning of Life explores identity, nationalism, race and a sport rich with history through the eyes of filmmaker Sanjay Talreja. Filmed in Toronto, Trinidad and India, this unique documentary artfully blends archival photographs and vintage telecasts with the words of a mesmerizing orator whose deep tones express the passion of the game and its deep connection to human values.
Like most boys in his native city of Bombay, Talreja's childhood was filled with cricket. Once the domain of elite colonials, it became a way of life practically all throughout the British Commonwealth ... except in Canada. As an adult, Talreja struggled to adapt when he moved to Toronto. He wondered if he would have to erase his past if he wanted to 'belong' to his new country.
One day, a surprise encounter rekindles a long-buried memory and changes everything. He discovers a thriving, yet underground, community of South Asian and Caribbean cricket players in the city.
He meets coach Brian Hale, who does more than teach the rules of the game. He motivates and mentors young cricketers as they transform from boys into men, some of them from immigrants into Canadians. Hale and his team leave on a life-changing tour to Trinidad. Riyaz, the 17-year-old captain whose zeal for the game makes him determined to win against the odds, is a second-generation Canadian, who is convinced that one day cricket will be a Canadian game. Meanwhile, the youngest player, 9-year-old cricket prodigy Nitish, embodies the bold new spirit of young South Asian Canadians. Cricket proveds him a future he can truly call his own.
By tapping into this vitality, Talreja finds that cricket is a sport crucial to the identity of many new Canadians, and helps to rekindle his passion for the game in his new country.
The DVD can be purchased from the National Film Board (JH)
Cricket .... and the Meaning of Life - a precis -- Posted Wednesday, June 28 2006
Cricket...and the Meaning of Life explores identity, nationalism, race and a sport rich with history through the eyes of filmmaker Sanjay Talreja. Filmed in Toronto, Trinidad and India, this unique documentary artfully blends archival photographs and vintage telecasts with the words of a mesmerizing orator whose deep tones express the passion of the game and its deep connection to human values.
Like most boys in his native city of Bombay, Talreja's childhood was filled with cricket. Once the domain of elite colonials, it became a way of life practically all throughout the British Commonwealth ... except in Canada. As an adult, Talreja struggled to adapt when he moved to Toronto. He wondered if he would have to erase his past if he wanted to 'belong' to his new country.
One day, a surprise encounter rekindles a long-buried memory and changes everything. He discovers a thriving, yet underground, community of South Asian and Caribbean cricket players in the city.
He meets coach Brian Hale, who does more than teach the rules of the game. He motivates and mentors young cricketers as they transform from boys into men, some of them from immigrants into Canadians. Hale and his team leave on a life-changing tour to Trinidad. Riyaz, the 17-year-old captain whose zeal for the game makes him determined to win against the odds, is a second-generation Canadian, who is convinced that one day cricket will be a Canadian game. Meanwhile, the youngest player, 9-year-old cricket prodigy Nitish, embodies the bold new spirit of young South Asian Canadians. Cricket provides him a future he can truly call his own.
By tapping into this vitality, Talreja finds that cricket is a sport crucial to the identity of many new Canadians, and helps to rekindle his passion for the game in his new country.
The DVD can be purchased from the National Film Board. (JH)
News of two Alberta cricket clubs -- Posted Wednesday, June 28 2006
Glenmore CC is planning to visit Regina on the July long weekend where they will be playing two one day games against a Regina Team. Those who have been on this tour before know that how much fun it is. So if you are looking for some fun and good cricket come and join us on this visit.
We have only space for 12 players, so it will be first come (pay the fee) first serve basis.
Plan: - Leave from Calagry - June 30 around noon
Game 1 - July 1 Game 2 - July 2
Return to Calgary - July 3rd.
Greenfield Cricket Club was established in 1990 by a small group of Sri-Lankans, who had a passion for the game of cricket. Within this short time our club has grown to be one of the best clubs in Edmonton, Alberta.
We have contributed in numerous ways to the development of cricket in Edmonton and vastly responsible for promoting youth cricket. The club is focused on developing young players and making them the future leaders of the club. We like to ensure that young players have a great future in this club and all of it's activities. Greenfield is one of the youngest teams in the league and its executive provides opportunity and encouragement to any and all up and coming cricketers.
Greenfield Cricket Club is a family oriented club where members and their families and friends have the opportunity to get involved in various activities and outings. The club has the lowest membership fees in the province (if not in Canada).
If you wish to contact us, please e-mail us at greenfieldcc@hotmail.com and we would be delighted to hear from you or answer any questions you may have.
Ontario Cricket Academy -- Posted Wednesday, June 28 2006
In November 2004 Ontario Cricket Academy coach Derek Perera was selected by the Canadian Cricket Association and the International Cricket Council to attend the first ICC Americas Regional Coaching Seminar. The two components of the seminar included Coach Certification by the West Indies Cricket Board (Ingleton Liburd and Kumar Rampat) and ICC Certification through the ICC Development Officer and Manager, Grant Dugmore and Martin Vieira, respectively.
Members from 15 ICC Associate and Affiliate countries attended this week long seminar held at the Reforma Club in Mexico City, Mexico. In Canada, Derek will be certifying teachers, club coaches, parents and volunteers in the ICC Introduction to Cricket Course- so they can instruct and coach cricket at the grassroots level.
Derek thanked the Canadian Cricket Association and the ICC for this great opportunity, and commented that "this was a great initiative to help develop cricket around the globe".
As part of OCA's Cricket Development Program, the coaching staff visited Bristol Middle School in Mississauga, for a cricket coaching session. Mr. Chee-a-tow, who is a teacher and cricket organizer of the school, said that the cricket crazy students had an amazing time at the session!
Students were given a multimedia presentation, followed by a group practical session and a very exciting game of 'Continuous Cricket'.
All of the 50 students participated in the Drills Session and Game, and openly discussed ideas and questions about everything to do with cricket throughout the session.
The OCA will defnitely continue to develop cricket in this great school!
If your school is interested in having a fun-filled cricket session with the OCA,
contact them at 647-321-7188 or 416-999-2678
or e-mail us at: ontariocricket@trekspace.com
Silly Mid-off passes through Eglinton Flats on Fathers Day - June 18, 2006 -- Posted Tuesday, June 27 2006
Silly Mid-off ploughed through the undergrowth to reach the west pitch at Eglinton Flats. Mississauga Ramblers were batting against Overseas in a Toronto & District Cricket Association Division 3 game.
One batsman almost immediately had a life, dropped at deep mid-wicket, which proved costly for Overseas.The score was around 109-6 (38 overs) but I never checked the scores on the website and don't seem to have any notes on their final total. Ah well, you go to enjoy the game and the company.
Saad Munir, the beneficiary of the extra life', went on to make a decent score, thanks to the bonus runs after being dropped when in the mid-teens. He was eventually out lbw but was far from happy with the umpires decision. The person I was talking to decided not to applaud the innings as a result of this temper tantrum. There was only the one umpire.
On the adjacent pitch, after stopping for an ice cream, Thorncliff Park Boys were playing the Caribbean Limers. (Thorncliff) had made 242-7 with Naidoo Satesh and Andy Jackson each making 67.
The Limers were soon 25-2 and the wickets continued to tumble, mostly to catches. Six were caught. The bowlers were grateful beneficiaries of some gift-wrapped dismissals. Wahid Ali took 3-24 and Jackson 3-9.
Silly mid-off does not recall the Ramblers-Overseas result. Fathers' Day came to a cricketing conclusion aiding a :"baseball" father as he explained, quite well, the principles of cricket to his three sons. Seemingly nobody knew which had been the home team so nobody put the covers on the wicket. That is, until one of the players from the other game decided to be a good corporate citizen and do it himself. Silly mid-off lent a hand.
Perhaps by next week the mystery of how to find the results on the T&D website will have been uncovered by Silly Mid-off. Or, perhaps not.
 Ramblers batting against Overseas |  Play at the Flats can get slowed down as players search the undergrowth. |  The brush is not for curling but is really for sweeping the matting. At other times, it can be used for balancing on your nose! |
Pictures from CIMA Celebration of Cricket -- Posted Tuesday, June 27 2006
 Toronto's Mayor David Miller (Canada shirt) with some of the Mayor's Trophy team captains. CIMA President John Coghlan is wearing his badge of office. |  Mayor Miller with the Media team captains |  Mayor David Miller at the crease |
 Scotiabank players celebrate just after beating Toronto's Police Services |  Scotiabank's team with the Mayor's Trophy | |
A letter to www.canadacricket.com -- Posted Monday, June 26 2006
I was saddened to hear the news of Eddie Norfolk's unceremonious dismissal as media officer from the CCA.
I have not been around the inner workings (administration) of the game of cricket in this country for very long but I do have enough social experience to recognize a valuable asset when I see one.
Eddie Norfolk is a genuinely committed man to all things cricket, but especially those who need to be initiated to the game. In my limited involement with Eddie I have been "bowled over" by his boundless energy and knowledge of the game.
I haven't a copy of the I.C.C. mandate on cricket, but I do believe the primary initiative is to promote the game worldwide. One would be able to make an educated guess that mandate must surely be adopted by the C.C.A.
The game does not get the "leg up" it deserves in this country when those, in supposed positions of authority, dispose of and insult, those who are trying to increase awareness and a love for all things cricket.
As I watched those, our leaders and esteemed authorities, glad handing and backslapping with the media at the Mayor's cup event on Saturday, I couldn't help but notice the paradox.
There was Eddie gladly handing out brochures on all things cricket, fascinating us with his statistics and history, all the while taking photos of the smallest of the cricketing fans as they played with the supplied gear. Only a few of us new that he had already received the news days before.
As a neophyte to the game of cricket I must say that this dismissal, for what ever reason, has increased my frustration, hopelessness and been a blow to my enthusiasm that we might ever really get to enjoy this game as we should.
It begs the question. How do you fire a volunteer? I guess I should really look to Eddie though for my inspiration, and soldier on remembering the primary objective. Promote the game.
Mark Warburton
Zoom Cricket Bats of Aurora
Some thoughts about the state/status of our game in Canada -- Posted Monday, June 26 2006
"The CCA has been awarded an initial sponsorship deal by Scotiabank that will help support cricket at the junior level in Canada. Under the CCA proposal, money from the deal will be used to provide some equipment, assist with coaching support and introduce cricket to some schools. In return, Scotiabank is due to see such features as brand promotion/logo exposure and media coverage of championship matches. Manitoba and Saskatchewan have made a quick start in supporting this program."
The school cricket season in Canada is now virtually complete. Will we be privy to a report from the Canadian Cricket Association about the dispensation of the Scotiabank "initial sponsorship"? or will that be another secret that the Canadian cricketer is not to be trusted with?
If the funds from Scotiabank have not been allocated for "cricket at the junior level", will the money be set aside in some form of trust for use within the system for the 2007 school cricket season". We should not hold our breath in waiting for information from the current adminstration, as they have not been able to clarify where and when ODI's and other International matches will be played this summer.
For example a senior official has suggested that the Sunnybrook pavillion has suitable facilites for changing rooms for the two teams. What was not mentioned is that the public use of these facilities would have to be denied to the myriad of aficiondos, both male and female, of soccer, rugby, field hockey et al to those who regularly have access. What also has to be considered is the ICC requiremnet for the umpires to have separate changing facilities. Would Ross Lord park have the requisite facilities exclusive to cricketers?
No wonder there is a lot of activity going on at the Maple Leaf Cricket Club grounds in King City. All of this will come down to the ICC inspection report from Chris Broad, (a former county cricketer who played with Andy Pick). And that raises other issues around ... when is Andy going to start training the miriad of Canadian cricket coaches which we desparately need?
End of rant. More to come. (Jon Harris).
Ajax Cricket Club has big plans for '06 -- Posted Monday, June 26 2006
The 2005 season title was the culmination of hard work which resulted in the most entertaining and challenging season in the club's 45-year history.
The Ajacians outlasted the Islanders Cricket Club by five wickets in the division final played in King City. The Islanders were bowled out for 206 runs in the 50th over. For Ajax, captain Geoffery Freshwater brought the game home in the 48th over. He also completed his century (100 runs) during the process and rightly won 'Man of the Match' award.
To advance to the final, the ACC defeated National by only three runs in a nail-biter of an encounter. ACC won its quarter-final match over the Toronto Colts by one wicket when last wicket pair of Jason Clements and Raj Vadera scored 30 runs in the last five overs to secure the victory.
This success adds another feather to the already illustrious long history of ACC, which started in 1960 when some picnic-goers started playing cricket in Ajax. During its journey over the years, the ACC has survived the test of time through the commitment of its members. Today, the ACC is the only active cricket club in Durham Region. It has its own ground, with four natural turf and one synthetic turf pitches, at the corner of Monarch Avenue and Clements Road in Ajax. It has a beautiful clubhouse with a practise facility. The ACC ground has been host to various international cricket events in the past and has a proud history to look back upon.
If getting three new teams off the ground wasn't enough, Khan says the club will continue with its ambitious plan to bring cricket to Durham Region secondary schools, particularly those in the Ajax and Pickering areas. Last year, the club was integral in helping to promote exhibition matches between Pickering High in Ajax and Pine Ridge Secondary School in Pickering. The club hopes to host a tournament for Durham secondary schools in 2006.
Membership of the club is open for the 2006 summer season and senior and junior cricketers are invited to join as the club expands its cricket operations. The season normally runs from May to September.
For more information, contact Geoffery Freshwater at geoffresh@hotmail.com or call 905-424-3304
Article sourced from:-
http://www.durhamregion.com/dr/sports/story/3194490p-3699984c.html
National Team Coach to visit Vancouver -- Posted Sunday, June 25 2006
Cricket BC is pleased to announce that the Canadian National Team coach Andy Pick will be visiting Vancouver in July. Mr. Pick will be in Vancouver on July 4th and July 5th. On each day he will be conducting a training session in the afternoon with the British Columbia U-18 squad and an evening session with candidates for the Canadian senior team. In the morning of July 5 he will be meeting with coaches to discuss the development of cricketers in B.C. and in Canada. The training sessions will be held at Connaught Park and will start at 2:30 pm for the U-18 Squad and at 6pm for the senior candidates. Those players selected for these sessions will be contacted by Cricket BC. Clubs are encouraged to contact Iain Dixon, Cricket BC President, at ikdixon@shaw.ca with the names of any persons doing significant coaching work so that they may be invited to meet with Mr. Pick.
Cricket BC U-18 Training Sessions
Cricket BC is currently conducting training sessions for the BC U-18 team. From these sessions Cricket BC will be selecting a squad to travel to the U-18 Canada Cup in Edmonton from August 7-11. The Canadian U-19 side which will attempt to qualify for the next U-19 World Cup will be selected from the players on display at this tournament. Clubs are encouraged to forward the names of any promising junior players born after September 1, 1987 to Iain Dixon at ikdixon@shaw.ca, so that they may be invited to the training sessions.
OCA SEMIFINALS - Etobicoke’s early challenge fizzles -- Posted Sunday, June 25 2006
Etobicoke 195 (48.2overs); TDCA Seniors 196-2 (29.3 overs)
Hamilton 195;TDCA Under-25 198-4
Toronto & District Cricket Association (TDCA), long the king of the hill in Ontario cricket, brushed aside a spirited challenge from newcomers Etobicoke District Cricket League (EDCL) to reach the finals of the 2006 Ontario Senior Championships on Saturday.
TDCA Seniors, including three national caps, survived an early scare to register an emphatic eight-wicket win at the idyllic Laurel Creek Park in Waterloo.
After winning the toss Etobicoke galloped away to 123-1 (27 overs) as Austin Codrington, after bowling opener Mahamadiylas Nakhuda for seven, and Nicholas Ifill were driven from the attack.
Then, suddenly, it all came apart.
The runner for injured topscorer Mohammad Iqbal (59) responded sluggishly to a comfortable single and failed to make his ground. When medium pacer Fiaz Nazar (1-34) had Etobicoke’s top batsman Ganesh Badrie controversially caught behind for 3, the whole scenario changed. Leftarm spinner Rajwinder Randhawa (10-2-24-3) and right arm offspinner Gasham Beharrylall (5-0-11-0) then demonstrated the depth of TDCA talent by turning off the scoring tap.
Middle order batsman Okechukwa Ahuchogu (30 off 34 balls) threatened to take the game away from TDCA but the other batsmen offered little resistance. Etobicoke subsided to 195 in 48.2 overs which never looked like being enough on a large, fast outfield.
TDCA openers Rizwan Cheema and Shahid Iqbal made no secret of their intentions. They put the new ball bowlers to the sword smashing 27 in the first four overs before Cheema was adjudged lbw for 20.
This brought the in-form Nicholas Ifill to the crease. With Iqbal he proceeded to take the Etobicoke attack apart. The bowling was either too short or too slow. The 50 came in eight overs, the 100 mark went in 15, the 150 in 22.
Iqbal, a precocious talent, played some audacious shots all around the wicket and was not afraid to take the aerial route. He essayed several lofted cover drives while the more sedate Ifill hooked and coverdrove in classical style. Together they took the game away from Etobicoke. Ifill (62) was caught at slip just before the target was reached but Iqbal (87 not out) dominated to the end.
TDCA Seniors now meet TDCA Under-25s in the final on July 23 at King City for the $1500 winner-take-all prize after Leroy Grey’s Young Lions made short work of Hamilton &District Cricket League (HDCL) at King City in the other semifinal. Harpiz Ali topscored with 59 as HDCL set a challenging 195 (Durand Soraine 3-26). However Trevin Bastiampillai (50 not out) and player/coach Fazil Sattaur (45 not out) put paid to any hopes of an upset.
Should the CCA be involved in junior cricket? -- Posted Saturday, June 24 2006
A fundemental issue for the CCA to extend into school cricket, (courtesy of the Bank of Nova Scotia sposorship funding) is the development of a national policy for 'the protection of children in cricket'.
The following is the policy developed by the English Cricket Board.
Safe Hands
The ECB has produced Safe Hands – Welfare of Young People in Cricket Policy as part of its commitment to ensuring that the game provides a safe, friendly and enjoyable experience for children and vulnerable adults in particular.
The Welfare of Young People in Cricket Policy provides the sport with the tools to ensure that the whole game takes up the challenge of continuously improving the participation conditions for children and young people.
Safe Hands greatly enhances the value of existing activities and practices throughout ECB's extensive club and schools network and ensures that the many thousands of coaches and volunteers integral to the game are supported.
The Policy is backed up by a comprehensive training and education programme, a structured implementation plan and a sensitive process to respond to concerns.
Safe Hands
The Policy and associated documents are available to download right here in full on ecb.co.uk
It may also be purchased via your County Board at a cost of £10, inclusive of post and packaging.
Once appointed, your Club Welfare Officer will be able to attend a training course regarding their role, requirements and responsibilities. At this course they will be given an official copy of the Policy.
How will Child Protection affect me?
Child welfare and protection in Cricket is mandatory to all.
Club Welfare Officer - job description
The Club Welfare Officer must attend a ‘Good Practice and Child Protection’ course accredited by Sportscoach UK (3 hours)
The Club Welfare Officer must be CRB checked
The Club Welfare Officer must attend the NSPCC ‘Time to Listen’ course (3 hours) advising on the role, requirements and responsibilities of child protection in Clubs. Priority for attendance will be given to Clubmark and Focus Clubs. Contact your Cricket Development Officer to access this course
Complaints and Discipline
See also the Complaints and Discipline Procedure page in this section for full details of the ECB's Child Protection complaints procedures.
The full policy document can be reviewed at:-
http://www.ecb.co.uk/ecb/child-welfare/safe hands,445,BP.html
Editorial Note:
At a public meeting organised by the CCA a couple of years ago, (my wife and I were the only members of the public to attend), one attendee stated that he would not submit to a police check ... hmmm???
Canada: No longer a one-man band -- Posted Saturday, June 24 2006
The ICC's Winter Training Camp (WTC) may well help to ensure that Canada can never again be accused of being a one-man band.
In the past that accusation could have been made thanks to the exploits of John Davison, the offspinning allrounder who smashed the fastest hundred in World Cup history against the West Indies (67 balls) in 2003. But thanks to the work put in by the four Canada players attending the 11-week residential course in Pretoria - Qaiser Ali, Umar Bhatti, Kenneth Carto and Henry Osinde - it is an accusation that could soon be put to bed for good.
"In the past it was possible to argue that if you got John Davison out or ensured he did not get any wickets then that would put too much pressure on the other players but hopefully, from Canada's point of view, those days could be behind them," said WTC head coach Andy Moles. "In Henry Osinde and Umar Bhatti they have two good opening bowlers, Qaiser Ali has made good progress as an allrounder and Kenneth Carto has done the same in his role as a wicketkeeper-batsman. Hopefully the strides these players are making here will add to the depth of the Canada squad and give their selectors some really tough choices over the coming months and years." The four Canadians are part of a group of 23 players from the six Associate countries due to take part in the 2007 World Cupin the Caribbean, all of them working to improve their games.
Davison, who has been working at the WTC in a coaching capacity, is modest about his past achievements but even he is prepared to grudgingly admit that Canada have had a reputation as a side that relied on his performances a little too much. "I am not sure Ian Billcliff or several others of the senior players would agree we have been a one-man band but maybe, on occasion, it has been fair comment," he said. "But whatever may have happened in the past, I am really excited by what is happening now at the WTC. The four players here have come on in leaps and bounds and that has to be good for Canadian cricket."
Perhaps the biggest plus for Canada has been the form and improvement shown by opening bowlers Osinde and Bhatti. "They have the potential to be comfortably the best opening pair of bowlers at Associate level providing they keep up their good work here," said Moles. "The biggest compliment I can pay them is that all the other countries would want them and that is a real feather in their caps."
Moles then went on to explain why they are likely to be so important in taking Canada's cricket to the next level. "When the Associate sides play in the World Cup the bottom line is that they have to get early wickets," he said. "If they do not then the bigger teams have enough quality in depth to rattle up huge scores, especially if they have wickets in hand towards the end of an innings. Both Henry and Umar have the potential to take those early wickets because they are good enough to get good players out and that is a great sign for Canada and for Associate cricket."
Davison echoed those comments, adding: "The prospects for Canada really are great if Henry and Umar keep making progress. Henry bowls fast outswingers from a good height and he bowls balls that will get rid of good players while Umar has a great ability to swing the ball and now he is learning how to work batsmen out."
Moles said he hoped the camp would be a turning point for the Canadian quartet. "I think the WTC has changed the way they think about the game because they came here as club cricketers and I think they may leave as something more," he said. "In the past they may have got by in club cricket playing averagely well but still being successful but now we are teaching them that in order to be successful at a higher level it needs much more from them in every aspect of the game. "They have bought into that, I am very happy with their progress and they have been very hungry to learn."
WTC head coach Moles gives his assessment of the four Canada players in Pretoria:
Henry Osinde - Along with Ireland's Eoin Morgan, Henry is the player with perhaps most potential among those here at the WTC. He has a great physique and is very single-minded with the ball in his hand. At six feet and four inches in height he can generate disconcerting bounce and he hits the pitch hard. Henry can tend to bowl too short but getting him out of that habit is all part of the learning process he is going through with (bowling coach) Bob Cottam while he is here. We have told him he needs to bowl better lengths to better players and he has developed an extra level of consistency. I gather back home he is an accountant and he will be going back to work after the WTC ends in late December but I hope he is able to get some competitive cricket as soon as possible after that so he can put all he is learning here into practice.
Umar Bhatti - A left-arm seam and swing bowler, Umar is wiry and has a quick arm action, just like Wasim Akram, although he is not as fast a bowler as the former Pakistan great. Thanks to the fitness work he has done Umar has developed a lot more strength and mobility and his bowling has benefited as a result because he can now keep going for longer without any loss in quality. He is a genuine swinger of the ball, able to swing it back into the right-handed batsmen but what we are trying to teach him is what is known in the boxing trade as "ring craft." In Umar's case it is about telling him that when you get to the top level it is not enough just to swing the ball back and he needs to think about using other deliveries too. For example, he can look to bowl several balls across a batsman so the player is looking for the ball outside the off stump and at that point he can then look to swing it back in.
Qaiser Ali - Qaiser found the going tough when he first arrived because he was not in the best shape possible for a camp like this but, all credit to him, he has bought into the regime and has shown himself to be a real workaholic. He is a batsman who bowls rather than a genuine allrounder but what he has done since he has been here is to develop his seam bowling so that he is now a viable sixth or seventh bowler for his captain in a one-day game. Qaiser arrived as an offspinner but (bowling coach) Bob Cottam spotted something in him and asked him to try bowling medium pace, he agreed and has made great strides doing it, although he still has plenty of work to do on that front. As a batsman he is keen to play his shots and what we are trying to do is ensure he is more selective in his strokeplay and not premeditate his shots before the bowler bowls. Also we are encouraging him to move his feet more, especially in getting a good stride in when he plays forward.
Kenneth Carto - Like Qaiser, Kenneth had an issue with his condition when he arrived and with both players it was a case of giving them some life education about how they looked after themselves and what they ate. Both players have changed their outlook as a result and both have probably lost between six and seven kilos during their time at the WTC. Kenneth's condition meant he was not as mobile as he needed to be as he is a wicketkeeper but his improved fitness has allowed him to work on that aspect of his game and now he is moving far better. He is probably Canada's second or third choice wicketkeeper at the moment but he is still only young and if he can carry on with the work he has put in here then he will be pressing for a spot in the senior side on a regular basis before too long. Hopefully when his peers see him in his improved condition and see how his game has moved forward it will also send a message to them and make them work just as hard as Kenneth has in order to make progress.
Material sourced from:-http://content-usa.cricinfo.com/canada/content/story/228034.html
The ICC's expansionist dream -- Posted Friday, June 23 2006
Not much remains to be said about the proposed misadventure in USA between India and the West Indies, and even the more outlandish Afro-Asia Cup. By now, we should be inured to the priorities of our cricket boards and the reality of one-day cricket. The ICC has once again bestowed these games with the sanctity of official recognition. To be fair, what choice did it have? The ICC is demonized as if it had a will outside the purview of its members, and we pretty much know who rules world cricket. So the show will roll on. Grin it and bear it, or simply switch off your TV sets.
Of course, these tournaments will give credence to the stories of deal-making that took place during the World Cup bidding process. West Indies, not the most sought after cricket team in the world at the moment, would no doubt be chuffed at the prospect of some extra cash coming their way, as would Zimbabwe and Kenya who will participate in the apparition called the Afro-Asia Cup, a concept so artificial that the last edition was played on a cricket ground which had barren patches painted green to create the illusion of grass. The idea ought to have been abandoned after the spectacular failure of the ICC Super Series which was a stinging reminder that international cricket had little appeal, to both spectators and players, outside the bilateral arena. But why let such considerations come in the way when sponsors are willing?
But while I am resigned to the financial and political considerations, what riles me is the attempt to cloak these matches with legitimacy. Both the ICC and the West Indies Cricket Board have made pious-sounding statements about matches in the USA and Canada helping the spread of the game, and it is simply a false promise.
A few years ago, when Jagmohan Dalmiya was taking cricket far and wide, I had felt a genuine surge of excitement. It was novel watching cricket matches in Singapore, Hong Kong and Canada. Some grounds were oddly shaped, the matches were thinly attended, and there were hardly any locals. But I supported the expansionist zeal, and hoped that cricket would catch on. I was naïve, and wrong.
Chastened and wiser, I can now see the futility of the ambitions, genuine or otherwise, to grow cricket outside its natural habitat and I am prepared to venture that cricket will never catch on. It is just not that kind of a game. Instead of pointlessly envying and aspiring to emulate the growth of football, cricket must spend all its energies trying to preserve and strengthen what exists.
Cricket is not an easy game to start liking. It is a complex and baffling game. It demands utter devotion, infinite patience, certain intellectual engagement, and that utterly scarce commodity: time, lots of it. Also, the cricket lover, particularly those attracted to the alluring charms of Test cricket, must be prepared to enjoy the journey for the sake of it, without obsessing about the destination. Try convincing your American friend that a drawn Test is not a waste of five days.
It's a pity if we cannot learn from our experiences. Cricket was a regular fixture in the UAE for more than a decade, yet how many indigenous cricketers has the country produced? Does the USA have a single player outside the expatriate communities? Has the game taken roots in Singapore? Cricinfo Magazine carried a detailed feature about the attempt to grow the game in China in its May issue, but why do I think that the Chinese will find much harder to embrace cricket than capitalism?
Cricket does not need to be anxious or apologetic about its insularity, or elitism, if you must call it that. It has survived and prospered in the countries where it found root in colonial times, and to try to grow it beyond the Commonwealth might require a distortion of form. More worrying is the state of the game in Zimbabwe, where it has been ravaged by politics, in West Indies, where it suffers from administrative lapses, and in Kenya, which has fallen off the map due to sheer neglect.
Let's leave Americans to baseball.
Article sourced from:-
http://content-usa.cricinfo.com/ci/content/story/247695.html
The Life of an Edmonton Cricketer -- Posted Friday, June 23 2006
About 7 weeks ago, I moved from Vancouver to Edmonton to pursue my career working for Movie Central. Now while getting paid to watch movies is a pretty cool way to earn a living, but there is really no substitute for spending your weekend in the middle of a pristine environment that is Canadian Cricket. And while some of the conditions we have experienced have been less than desirable, I share with you my experience, a home away from home away from home.
The day was Sunday June 11th where the Strathcona CC (the team I play for) headed out of town about 30 minutes to St Albert, one of just three grounds in Edmonton in which cricket is played. The game was against Lincoln, which apparently is a big deal since they're pretty much on par with us in the league. It was good to have some strong opposition, as the last few matches had been pretty easy, however not getting ahead of ourselves, the squad came to each game with gusto and an aim to work hard and battle quickly through the batting lineup of the opposition.
St. Albert cricket ground, as mentioned, is about 30 minutes outside of the downtown core, and has a similar setting as Hugo Ray in North Vancouver, but the complex is also used for soccer, rugby and Canadian football. As above, the club house is small and quaint and overlooks a lush green and tall outfield where the only boundaries hit are ones lofted over the infield, or ones that don't touch the outfield at all.
On top of the lush outfield, was a couple of days worth of rain, that despite a thick cover over the top, had not prevented the pitch, a clay compound covered with a carpet-like mat nailed to the ground, from becoming soaked right on a good length at one end, and in that same spot, causing real trouble for any pace bowlers and their run up.
Full story with photographs can be found at:-
http://www.vancouvercricket.com/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=80&Itemid=1
August International venues determined -- Posted Wednesday, June 21 2006
Canada's home international for August appears to be finalised, based on documents released by the ICC. Only one day of cricket is scheduled for the Toronto Cricket, Skating, and Curling Club, with other games taking place at King City and Ross Lord. The Americas Cup matches may well be played on artificial wickets, with the first-class matches being played on grass at the TCSCC and King City.
DATE ACTIVITY VENUE
August 19th Arrival
August 20th Net Practice Ross Lord and Sunnybrook
August 21st Canada Vs. Bermuda Toronto CC ODI game
August 21st Cayman Islands vs USA Maple Leaf CC, King City
August 22nd Bermuda vs Argentina Ross Lord (B)
August 22nd Cayman Islands vs Canada Ross Lord (A)
August 23rd Cayman Islands vs Bermuda Ross Lord (B)
August 23rd USA vs Argentina Ross Lord (A)
August 24th REST DAY
August 24th
August 25th Bermuda vs USA Maple Leaf CC , King City
August 25th Canada vs Argentina Maple Leaf CC , King City
August 26th Canada vs USA Maple Leaf CC, King City
August 26th Cayman Island vs Argentina Maple Leaf CC, King City
July 29-Aug 1 CANADA vs KENYA Maple Leaf CC, King City, Northwest Wicket (A)
Aug 12- Aug 15 CANADA vs BERMUDA Maple Leaf CC, King City, Northwest Wicket (A)
ONTARIO SENIOR CHAMPIONSHIPS -- Posted Wednesday, June 21 2006
Etobicoke League takes aim at the T & D league in the Ontario Cricket Association semis
The Toronto & District Cricket Association (TDCA), longtime rulers of the roost in Ontario and Canadian cricket, faces its sternest challenge for supremacy this Saturday in an Ontario Senior Championships semifinal clash with newcomers Etobicoke District Cricket League (EDCL) in Kitchener.
The TDCA Seniors narrowly escaped a humiliating exit from the competition last Sunday when a team with four Canadian players and three others in the current national squad eked out a narrow 12-run over Ottawa Valley Cricket Council (OVCC) at King City.
Scores: TDCA Seniors 238-4 (50 overs); OVCC 226.
Meanwhile, EDCL scored a comfortable 61-run win over Hamilton & District Cricket League (HDCL) in Brantford to set up the long awaited semi-final clash this Saturday at Laurel Creek Park in Kitchener.
Scores: EDCL 213-8 (44 overs); HDCL 152
The bulwarks of the TDCA total were Nicholas Ifill who continued his fine early season form with 68 not out and opener Bede Anandappa of Centurions who made a stroke filled 62. Don Maxwell chipped in with 38.
Ottawa looked set for an early return home when lower order batsman Akber Hussain tucked into the TDCA bowlers with a breathtaking 85 off 54 balls. He turned the game upside-down with seven huge sixes before Vikings and Guyana leftarm paceman Naresh Roopnarine (5-36) was belatedly brought back to save the day for the local team.
The day before TDCA’s Under-25 team recovered to reach 183 after faltering at 110-8. Player-coach Fazil Sattaur, former Guyana and Canadian batsman, topscored with 37. His only support came from Cecil Pervez (32) after the other frontline batsmen, including national squad batsman Trevin Bastiampillai who did not trouble the scorers, all went cheaply.
OVCC could muster only 121 in reply. Pankaj Srichand topscored with 31. Harjat Sidhu took 3-26. The Under-25s meet HDCL in the other semi-final on Saturday at King City.
But all roads lead to Laurel Creek Park in Kitchener where the TDCA-EDCL clash has brought new life to the OCA Senior Championships.
“This is the most competitive year we have seen in a long time”, said OCA President Errol Townshend. “T&D is determined to maintain its position at the top of the pile. Etobicoke, in their first year in the tournament, are determined to topple them. Before the game is over there will likely be a lot of nervous men walking around talking to themselves.”
Neither camp is expected to show their hand for this key match by releasing their starting X1 early. However, Etobicoke will almost certainly include leading allrounder Ganesh Badrie who topscored with 48 on debut in the recent Atholstan game versus Quebec in Waterloo and perhaps a few surprise packages as well.
The two semi-final winners meet July 23 at King City in the final which this year comes with a $1500 winner-take-all prize.
Davo featured ...... on the BBC -- Posted Tuesday, June 20 2006
It takes a lot to put me off my beer, especially when the words 'Canada' and 'cricket' are in the same sentence.
But one jar had to last all of John Davison's innings against the Windies, so scared stiff was I that I'd miss something if I made for the eskie.
It took me back to my backyard days when I used to belt my sister's left-armers over the fence and into the neighbour's cabbage patch.
Those were the days. Not in 12 years did she get me out, so not in 12 years did she have a bat.
Yesiree, Davo Number Two did the name no disservice at all with a wonderful knock.
You're probably expecting me to go on and on about how he grew up in Australia, learned his trade in Australia and plays in Australia.
I'll bet Darwin to a duck you think I'm gonna ramble on about how we breed top-class cricketers like rabbits breed, erm, rabbits.
No way. I'm much too humble to do that.
But I'd be fibbing if I said I didn't feel a strange kind of pride watching Davo Number Two whack the Windies.
It wasn't the kind of pride you'd feel if your kid got an A in maths, more if your mother-in-law won a round-the-world holiday.
I'm really warmin' to the Canucks.
Unlike sides like Bangladesh, we'll remember they were actually at the World Cup. All out for 36 against Sri Lanka, then the fastest World Cup ton ever. Great stuff.
And that big bloke, Thuraisingam, gives us all hope that professional sport isn't only for the Merv Hughes' of this world.
.......... Might have even got Davo Number One out. Might have.
Article sourced from:-
http://news.bbc.co.uk/sport3/cwc2003/hi/newsid_2790000/newsid_2792100/2792183.stm
When Bradman came to Canada -- Posted Tuesday, June 20 2006
Early in 1932 "Foxy Dean", the captain of Ontario from the Toronto and Parkdale Clubs, requested the retired leg-spin and googly bowler Arthur Mailey to select a team of Australian cricketers for a Goodwill Tour of Canada and the United States that was to be subsidised largely by the Canadian Pacific Railway. Mailey had two main problems: obtaining the approval of the Australian Board of Control that since the revolt of the "Big Six" in 1912 had forbidden any first-class cricketer to tour without its permission; and fulfilling the only Canadian stipulation, viz. that the party must include D.G. Bradman, the only man who had ever held the record individual scores in both first-class and test cricket (a feat now equalled by B.C. Lara). Mailey managed to overcome the first problem by accepting some stringent conditions, but how was he to overcome the second? Bradman had just accepted employment from three different organizations and was due to marry on April 3Oth. Fortunately a deal was arranged with his employers and Jessie Menzies agreed to accept the tour as a honeymoon, although her husband-to-be was to play in 49 of the 51 matches arranged in a tour of 76 days. North America thus became the only part of the world outside Australia, England, Scotland, Wales and Ceylon to have the privilege of seeing the Don bat.
John McKenzie, the cricket bookseller, has recently published the only account of this tour. It has been written by Ric Sissons, who is probably best known for his The Players: a Social History of the Professional Cricketer. The book includes a foreword by Sir Donald Bradman, an introductory chapter on the organization of the tour and the composition of the party, a description of the tour, reflexions on the tour, results and averages, and sixteen photographs (although not one is of cricket). Annexed to the book are facsimile reprints of the lengthy brochures put out to celebrate the tour by the Illinois Cricket Association and the Canadian authorities in British Columbia.
The tour was clearly a very happy one; and one even happier in retrospect after the grim battle of the "Bodyline Tour" that began less than one month after the return of the Australian players. They played mainly in Canada, in British Columbia, Ontario, Quebec, Manitoba, Saskatchewan and Alberta, with trips to New York, Detroit, Chicago and California. Even though all the matches, except for two in Canada, were of one day's duration there were two innings a side whenever time allowed. The Australians won 4 matches outright, won a further 39 on first innings, drew 7 and lost just one (on first innings) against a Mainland All Stars XV at Brockton Point, Vancouver, which Bradman was moved to say was "surely the prettiest ground in the world". The opposing bowling was usually not very taxing, but even so Bradman's average for the tour, for 3777 runs, was at 102.08 only just above his Test average (99.96) and the captain Vic Richardson averaged only 33.65. The bowling figures were another matter, McCabe taking 189 at 6.02, Fleetwood- Smith 238 at 7.51 and Mailey 203 at 8.64. Bradman himself took six wickets including a hat-trick in one 8-ball over in Victoria. The only century scored against the tourists was Clark Bell's 109 not out at Ridley College. Pitches were of variable type and often of poor quality and both sides had on occasion to contend with the vagaries of inexperienced officials. There are two wonderfully bizarre stories in the book, both in Bradman's foreword. In high wind at Moose Jaw the bails were stuck onto the stumps with chewing gum, and the umpire waited an inordinately long time in giving the verdict for a stumping since he claimed that the batsman could not be out until the bail, hanging by a slender thread of gum, had reached the ground. To Bradman's suggestion in another match that the non-striker's umpire could not give an L.B.W. decision from a couple of feet wide of the wicket he received the reply, "You wait and see": he did not have long to wait before he was thus given , out himself, wishing "that I had kept my mouth shut".
There is little description in the book of the actual cricket, but a few quotations from local newspapers whet the appetite for more. One reporter's sentence was memorably lost in admiration: "Run ragged by the heavy flailing of Bradman who mixed his hard drives with dexterous taps to the slips and the side boundaries, carefully placing his strokes out of the reach of the Montreal defence, arrayed about the sward in a curtain of white flannel calculated to cut down and interrupt the famous Antipodean bat-and-run manufactory ."
In addition to their cricketing responsibilities the Australians had a full social calendar. The book takes its name, The Don Meets the Babe, from the Australians' visit to the New York Yankee stadium, where "the two greatest hitters of a ball in the history of sport met" as Don Bradman was entertained by Babe Ruth in the latter's private box. Has Bradman, in his criticism of modern one-day cricket, even been haunted, I wonder, by memory of words spoken on that occasion: "in two hours or so the (baseball) match is finished. Yes, cricket could learn a lot from baseball. There is more snap and dash to baseball"? Inevitably the Australians were taken to dine in view of Niagara Falls, but their social highlight was their time at Hollywood where they toured the film sets and met many of the stars, including Clark Gable and Jean Harlow who were shooting Red Dust, but even here they earned their keep by playing four matches against Hollywood teams that included an ex-England Test captain in Aubrey "Round-the-Corner" Smith and a wicketkeeper called Boris Karloff.
Ric Sissons' book is beautifully produced, is attractively written with, by today's standards, unusually logical punctuation and is full of things to interest the Canadian cricketer. The names Arthur Mailey and Don Bradman should be reversed in the caption to plate 3, Bradman's and McCabe's highest scores should be, respectively, 260 and 150, not 26 and 15 (p. 58). In the list of results (pp. 53-57) the odds against the Australians are not always given, e.g. against North California All Stars at San Fransisco (sic) on August 20th the opposition must have had more than eleven players since in the two innings McCabe, Mailey and Fleetwood-Smith took 25 wickets between them.
Ric Sissons, The Don Meets the Babe, Ewell, 1995, (125 pages with 16 plates and other text illustrations), is available from J.W. McKenzie, 12 Stoneleigh Park Road, Ewell, Epsom, Surrey, KT19 OQT, England at 18 pounds sterling for the Ordinary Edition or 55 pounds for the Limited Edition autographed by Sir Donald Bradman and the author. (AR Littlewood).
This review was originally submitted to the Canadian Cricketer.
Professor Littlewood is a specialist in classical greek studies at the University of Western Ontario, with his main interests listed on his CV as Byzantine era, Mount Athos, Greek paleography, and Cricket.
Editors comment:-The Don was photographed with Babe Ruth, in 'the Babes' private box at Yankee Stadium, which was published in one of the New York newspapers with the caption that "cricket could learn a lot from baseball". We now are witness to an era when colored uniforms have been adopoted in cricket, and the degree of athleticism has changed dramatically in my six decades plus of being on cricket fields. (Jon Harris).
The following was published of May 22, 2006
Leave Americans to baseball
In an excellent (well, we would say that!) article, Cricinfo editor Sambit Bal has written about the claims that hosting ODIs in the USA will help promote the game there:
"Both the ICC and the West Indies Cricket Board have made pious-sounding statements about matches in the USA and Canada helping the spread of the game, and it is simply a false promise.
"A few years ago, when Jagmohan Dalmiya was taking cricket far and wide, I had felt a genuine surge of excitement. It was novel watching cricket matches in Singapore, Hong Kong and Canada. Some grounds were oddly shaped, the matches were thinly attended, and there were hardly any locals. But I supported the expansionist zeal, and hoped that cricket would catch on. I was naïve, and wrong."
Last item sourced from:- http://blogs.cricinfo.com/btw/
Book review sourced from:-
http://content-usa.cricinfo.com/ci/content/story/89905.html
The Atholston Trophy 2006 - A brief history of the host club -- Posted Monday, June 19 2006
The Kitchener-Waterloo area of southern Ontario has a rich legacy of cricket from 1895 when the first club was formed in Waterloo. The Southern Ontario Cricket Association (S.O.C.A) League itself had started around the time of World-War I. Immigrants from the Caribbean region formed most of the clubs. As time went by immigrants from South Asia were slowly settling down in this tri-city area. These new cricket-playing immigrants, from South Asia, were then playing with the older clubs who were run according to cricketing traditions in the Caribbean. For instance some founders of Sunrise Cricket Club, namely Parveen Sharma, started playing cricket in the tri-city in 1990 and was with Waterloo Cricket Club until 1994. Similarly Jaspal Rana had also arrived in 1990 and was with Kitchener Cricket Club until 1995. Peter Jeranie (mukesh) too was a member of both Waterloo Cricket Club and Cambridge Cricket Club.
A few of the south Asian cricket players had the idea of starting a new club with Asian players. They were confident that they could win the league championship. Thus in 1995 Parveen Sharma, Jaspal Rana, Irfan Arab, Dharmesh Modi, Kamal, Peter Jeranie (Mukesh) and Syd Wazir formed International Cricket Club (ICC) in Waterloo. Incidentally Peter Jeranie (Mukesh) was the only member who originated from Guyana, yet was integral in forming this new club. ICC immediately became part of S.O.C.A. and played well in their first year. Next year the club admitted Bahadur Singh Mangat, Jang Singh Mangat, Nimesh Modi, Rudi and Rizwan Arab as part of the ICC squad. Later that season Dhramesh Krishnammagaru joined ICC. With the induction of Dharmesh K, the team moral soared high. Young guns like Bahadur found someone to look up to and they started performing well. Jang Singh was also a great supporter and helped to run the club smoothly. Both in 1995 and 1996 the club had reached playoffs. In 1997 two new players arrived in to the scene while Dharmesh K. had moved to Toronto and had quit ICC. The players who joined were Anil & Rajan Sharma.
Due to inevitable circumstances, in 1997, the ICC was split and from that emerged Sunrise Cricket club.The initial constitution of the club was formed with the help of Mr.Schmelling Ramlal.
In 1998 Sunrise Cricket Club was formed and Mr. Art Browne took over as the first president. Through the help of Waterloo Cricket Club, the constitution of the club was drawn. Mr Browne had set the standards of how the club should function where the moral responsibility was distributed evenly to all the members. In the first year, the members who resigned from ICC were Mr. Art Browne, Parveen Sharma, Jaspal Rana, Dharmesh Modi, Peter Jeranie, Nimesh Modi, Jang Singh, Bahadur Singh, Kamal, Irfan Arab, Rizwan Arab, and Anil Sharma. Later that season Raghu Peddada, Swami Iyer, Samuel Jones, Sarabjit Singh, Harpal Singh and Kuldeep Joined the new club. The captain was Jaspal Rana and the club played well and qualified to the playoffs in their first year.
Next year in 1999, Parveen Sharma took over as captain. Incidentally Dharmesh K. who came back into to the tri-city joined Sunrise Cricket Club. The club played well and reached the S.O.C.A Knock-Out finals as well as the League finals and were runner up in both finals. The club also added some new members such as Arfan Ahmed, Amandeep Singh, Jagtar Singh, Ajay Singh and Saqib Sheikh.
Year 2000 was a tough year as leadership became split on petty and some avoidable political issues. However under the able leadership of Mr. Art Browne and Raghu Peddada, the club survived some nasty politics. Samuel Jones, Dharmesh Modi, Ajay Sharma and Rajan Sharma had to quit the club. Later just before the season started Raghu Peddada left for California, who became instrumental to keep the team together. Jaspal Rana became the captain. Sunrise was able to put everything behind and win the Knock-Out Championship. New player Ajit Singh (Tiger) was a key performer and moral booster all throughout the season. Inderjit Singh a 14year old was inducted due to talent beyond his age. By stroke of luck Raghu Peddada came back. Full of enthusiasm Mr. Art Browne, Raghu and Swami Iyer joined in effort and laid the plan for success of 2001.
2001 was a season with a lot mixed luck but will remain memorable for the club. Jaspal Rana was elected captain. Meanwhile Ajit Singh was unable to play due to family reasons, while a new talented batsman cum wicket keeper named Nizar Moosa replaced Ajit. Just before the season started Mr. Art Browne was detected with terminal brain cancer. The club was in shock. Mr. Art Browne a spirited individual went through the ordeal in a super human manner. He went through surgery, met the team members to give them a moral boost The club came together emotionally and rallied to dedicate the season in Art Brwones honor.
Sunrise won the pre-season Eagle Trophy by beating all the teams. The regular season had some problems in the beginning, when Jaspal Rana decided to hand over the captainship to Parveen Sharma. This change somehow became a good turn around. The club won 11 straight matches to reach the League Finals. In the finals was the coveted Kaituer Cricket Club, who had players who represented West Indies, Canada and also Guyana. This same club had won the league finals since the last six years and had also won Canadian Championship in the past.
In 2001 Sunrise Cricket club made history by winning four out the five league tournaments. It was made possible by the hard work of every single individual of the club. Art Browne, Raghu, Mike,Dharmesh Dua, Parveen, Rana, Swami, Jang, Dhermesh, Mukesh, Bahadur, Harpal, Sarabjit, S. Rana, Ajit, Nizar, Saqib, Neeraj, Amandeep, Jagtar, Inderjeet and Arvinder all stood together and contributed both off and on the field. In the mid season we had one more addition to our team in the shape of Sukhjinder Rana. A coveted all-rounder who has played in the Canadian national team. He is believed to be the fastest bowler in Canada. This made a lot of difference to the strength and made our moral high that helped us to keep our concentration towards our goal. Sunrise cricket club became The Champion Team, by beating Kaituer in the league final.
Material sourced from the Sunrise C.C. web site.
Associate Coaches link up for pre-ICC Cricket World Cup summit. -- Posted Monday, June 19 2006
The coaches from the six Associate countries to have qualified for next year’s ICC Cricket World Cup will get together this week as part of the ICC High Performance Program (HPP*) to review their programs ahead of the Caribbean tournament.
Gus Logie (Bermuda), Andy Pick (Canada), Adrian Birrell (Ireland), Roger Harper (Kenya), Peter Cantrell (the Netherlands) and Peter Drinnen (Scotland) will assemble in Glasgow for a two-day seminar on Wednesday and Thursday, 21 & 22 June.
Led by ICC High Performance Manager Richard Done, the group will look at a host of topics including teamwork, sports science and other support services, fitness, skill development, match tactics, specialist coaching and match analysis.
They will also benefit from Bangladesh coach Dav Whatmore’s attendance over both days, drawing on his experiences of building a high performance environment both in his current role and with 1996 ICC Cricket World Cup winners Sri Lanka.
Explaining the purpose of the gathering, Richard Done said: “Although each of the countries and coaches have their own individual priorities, together they share a common goal which is the improvement of Associate cricket.
“Gathering everyone together now allows us to review where we are as an HPP group and focus on the essentials for each country to work on ahead of the ICC Cricket World Cup.
“Our belief is that by bringing the experience of these coaches together they can learn from each other’s approaches and ensure they are well prepared for what lies ahead over the next nine months.”
The meeting comes ahead of an intense period of cricket for the ICC Cricket World Cup Associate qualifiers. After ODIs for Scotland (against Pakistan), the Netherlands (against Sri Lanka) and Kenya (against Bangladesh) over the next month, every one of the six countries will play ODIs against each other in August.
Looking further ahead, a Winter Training Camp for the leading Associate players has been penciled in for October and November before the World Cricket League Division One takes place in Kenya in the run-up to the ICC Cricket World Cup in March 2007.
Source: ICC Press release
Cricket and self respect - a letter from a teacher -- Posted Sunday, June 18 2006
Just wanted to update you.
Since I last wrote, the team at school went on to play major cricket schools and we lost and drew a few but won most of our games. There was even cricket played in the school gym here for the first time ever. The last game for the season was won by 58 runs.In September york region schools athletic association is test driving cricket as a new sport.
Too bad that I shut down cricket here permanently; too bad I have students depressed; too bad that graduating students/players are seeking to get the superintendent involved; too bad the team captain who is just an amazing leader and player was denied any recognition; too bad that after being marginalized for 3 years that on our 4th year as a team we were not invited to even sit at the annual athletic banquet and the reasons range from oops sorry to thought you'd be there to you all didn't pay the $20 fee to I don't know why you weren't there. Oh well, I guess the ICC won't be here to let the good folks know that 96 countries play this sport.
On another note I have been approached to initiate cricket in the town of Newmarket but you know what: I'm getting mighty tired of being taken for granted. But I do hear that the ICC is giving away free equipment somewhere. Honestly, I really think that cricket is going nowhere except where it traditionally exists. Currently as I summarize my story, in two other schools with passionate players, the teams are crumbling because of similar attitudes but as we all know, it takes more than spit to play this sport. Silvan Gayadeen.
OTTAWA VALLEY CRICKET UPDATE -- Posted Sunday, June 18 2006
Report from John Lexmond
Ottawa Valley Cricket Council Statistician
I have managed to produce this missive a bit earlier than in the past four weeks – who knows; maybe I shall at some point actually send it out early in the week – as I should.
Last weekend was a busy one for cricket in Ottawa, with three matches taking place on Saturday and four on Sunday.
Saturday, 10-June, Rideau Hall
I saw Kingston demolish Ottawa by 83 runs in a Challenge match: Kingston – 171 for 9 [45 ov] (Ramesh Manhas 37 {126 bls, 1 four}, Jiwan Sharma 30 {45 bls, 2 fours, 1 six}, Narendra Patel 20 {33 bls, 1 four}, Vishy Ramaswamy 19 {14 bls, 2 fours}, Saad ul Haq 3 for 45, Lama Jayawardene 2 for 23, Lushan Silva 2 for 29, Arnie Orloff and Puneet Kushwaha 2 ct each); Ottawa – 88 [27.3 ov] (Arnie Orloff 22 {27 bls, 2 fours}, Steve Chinnatamby 19* {45 bls}, Saad Khan 17 {28 bls}, Dhaval Patel 4 for 30 plus 2 ct, Chetan Aggarwal 3 for 26, Vishy Ramaswamy 2 for 1, Jiwan Sharma 1 ct, 1 st, Sriram Kumarappan 1 ct).
Ramesh Manhas was named Man of the Match.
Next door at Rideau Hall 2, Canterbury won a relatively close Citizen match by 20 runs over Defence: Canterbury – 224 [40.2] (Rahul Raikwar 35 {64 bls, 2 fours, 2 sixes}, Akber Hussain 85 – including 29 off one over {28 bls, 3 fours, 11 sixes}, Ejaz Chaudhry 26 {17 bls, 3 fours, 1 six}, Khoshal Nasery 3 for 36, Delawar Ahmedzai 3 for 41, Rajiv Bhatia 1 ct, 1 st); Defence - 204 [42.3 ov] Kasun Perera 62 {69 bls, 8 fours, 1 six}, Varun Harish 69 {50 bls, 5 fours, 3 sixes}, Delawar Ahmedzai 21 {17 bls, 2 sixes}, Zeeshan Khurshid 2 for 34, Akber Hussain 3 for 45, Kamran Raza 1 ct, 2 RO).
Akber Hussain was named Man of the Match.
Well, it’s Saturday morning – again. What with nodding off again on Thursday and attending the New Edinburgh Memorial Match yesterday evening, it seems events are conspiring to make me late each week – yeah, right – interesting excuse however.
At the Bill Levesque Sports Field in Barrhaven, Cathedral cantered to a relatively simple six wicket win over Exodus in a Citizen match: Exodus – 93 [37.4 ov] (Naram Nareratnam 28 {2 fours, 2 sixes}, Kalam Ambervaner 19, Tobie Edmund 2 for 8, Reggie Ranjit 2 for 20, Hamesh Dhanraj 2 for 14, Fahd Khan 3 for 18); Cathedral – 94 for 4 [28.5 ov] (Ryan Reis 17 {46 bls}, Riad Khan 16 {32 bls), Tobie Edmund 15 {20 bls, 2 fours}).
Tobie Edmund was named Man of the Match.
At Rideau Hall 1 on Sunday, Ottawa were blown away in a Challenge match by an enthusiastically skilful New Edinburgh side: New Edinburgh – 196 [44.2 ov] (Pankaj Shrichand 28 {37 bls, 3 fours}, Steve Pinhey 55 {76 bls, 5 fours, 2 sixes}, Dravya Sharma 19 {33 bls, 1 six}, Harpreet Nanda 25 {32 bls, 2 fours}, Selwyn Chankersingh 4 for 35, Steve Chinnatamby 3 for 20, Graham Myres 3 ct); Ottawa – 42 [24.1 ov] (Harpreet Nanda 3 for 6, Steve Pinhey 2 for 17, Pankaj Shrichand 2 for 4).
The Man of the Match was Steve Pinhey.
At Lynda Lane 1, Cathedral was the last club to fall from the ranks of the undefeated Challenge Division sides – suffering a 79 run reversal at the hands of Canterbury: Canterbury – 201 for 8 [45 ov] (Calvin Rego 22 {48 bls, 2 fours}, Ejaz Chaudhry 24 {37 bls, 2 sixes}, Amit Barave 23 {42 bls, 2 fours, 1 six}, Ahmed Khan 20 {48 bls, 2 fours}, Joy Tanotra 18 {28 bls}, Akber Hussain 43 {30 bls, 2 fours, 4 sixes}, David Mendonca, Senior 2 for 31, Tony Forde 2 for 38, Andy Ali 2 RO); Cathedral – 122 [38.4 ov] (Shailesh Masih 60 {64 bls, 2 fours, 2 sixes}, Fahd Khan 18* {29 bls, 1 six}, Akber Hussain 2 for 15 & 2 ct, Joy Tanotra 4 for 18, Ahmed Khan & Calvin Rego 2 ct each). Akber Hussain was named Man of the Match.
Next door at Lynda Lane 2, Bel Air posted a comfortable 49 run win over Defence in a Challenge match: Bel Air – 155 for 9 [45 ov] (Jeff Joseph 28 {61 bls, 2 fours}, Glenbert Francis 35 {103 bls, 1 four}, Tony Russell 23 {33 bls, 1 four}, Gullu Bajwa 3 for 35, Kasun Perera 3 for 26 & 2 ct); Defence – 106 [38.5 ov] (Kasun Perera 29 {2 fours}, Terry Nandlal 3 for 18, Cornelius Henry 3 for 23, M. Mohan 3 for 15, Shane Russell 2 ct).
Glenbert Francis was named Man of the Match.
In Barrhaven, Kingston defeated Exodus by around 20 runs: Kingston – 113 (Sriram Kumarappan about 43 runs); Exodus – about 90 runs (Kingston leading bowlers were Narendra Patel, Dhaval Patel and Chetan Aggarwal with three, two and two wickets respectively). Sriram Kumarappan was named Man of the Match. Needless to say, I do not as yet have a hard copy summary of this match.
As the time is approaching for my departure for Rideau Hall, I shall close off this missive – adding only that, contrary to my usual custom, the latest OVCC Standings are found this week at the end of my attachments rather than at the beginning.
Season 2006 Standings through Sunday, 11-June
Challenge Division
Team M W L T NR Pts
Cathedral CC 6 3 1 0 2 14 Kingston CC 6 3 1 0 2 14 New Edinburgh C C 5 3 1 0 1 13 Canterbury C C 6 2 2 0 2 10 Bel Air C C 5 2 2 0 1 ??Defence C C 6 1 2 0 3 7 Ottawa C C 6 1 3 0 2 6 Exodus S C 4 0 3 0 1 1
Citizen Division
Team M W L T NR Pts
Canterbury C C 5 4 0 0 1 17 OVCC Juniors 7 2 2 0 3 11 Cathedral C C 5 2 1 0 2 10 Kingston C C 4 2 1 0 1 9 Ottawa C C 4 1 2 0 1 5 New EdinburghCC 4 1 2 0 1 5 Defence C C 3 0 2 0 1 1 Exodus S C 2 0 2 0 0 0
Junior Cricket Development in Winnipeg -- Posted Saturday, June 17 2006
Winnipeg Juniors CC's inagural match of the 2006 season was no easy opener as they faced All India CC. These two teams have won the last five league championships combined, and this match did not disappoint.
The Juniors won the toss at Assiniboie Park centre pitch and elected to field on an overcast, blustery day. After opening bowler Ihsan Khan picked up the early wickets of the opening batsmen, All India 3, 4, and 5 batsmen of Ranjith Udayshankar, Suresh Jayaraman, and Hitesh Modha settled in to combine for 119 runs. Leg spin bowler Sunny Chohan took two of these key wickets on route to his 3-43 performance. Extras hurt WJCC in a big way, handing a whopping 50 free runs to their opponents to give All India a total of 210 runs in their alotted 45 overs.
Skipper Tommy Jilani and Dewan Bayney started the quest towards their goal of 211 runs. However, after an early wicket, it would be Bayney (23) and Andrew Dixon who would build the foundation. A 70 run partnership and effortless 56 by Dixon would help bring the total to 109. Ihsan Khan (43) displayed creative shot-making and speedy running between the wickets with Sampath Wijewardena (29). With the run rate ticking along slowly but steadily, the Juniors found themselves needing 69 runs from the last 10 overs but with 7 wickets in hand. WJCC seemed well on their way to victory until they reach the total of 197 with 5 wickets in hand. Needing only 14 runs from the final 18 balls, a series of rash shots and good catching by All India left WJCC all out for 200 in the 44th over; a mere 11 runs shy of their target. This would be Winnipeg Juniors first loss in nearly 21 months and first time below .500 since August 28 of 2004.
Report sourced from http://www.mts.net/~wjcc/results/report_6_11_2006.htm
It is appropriate to consider why junior cricket development in Winnipeg is so successful. Perhaps the following the following speaks to that issue. (JH).
The 3rd Annual Damian Mills Memorial Match will be played on Sunday, September 10, 2006 at Assiniboine Park Cricket Grounds in Winnipeg.
The Memorial Foundation will be hosting a Fundraising Social on Friday, September 29, 2006 at Breezy Bend Golf and Country Club.
Damian Lewis Mills, also known as ‘Monk’ or ‘Millsey’, the third child of Rona and Barry Mills was born in Winnipeg, Manitoba July 15, 1979.
Damian fell in love with the sport of cricket at the age of seven. Damian started in the Elementary School League, then played in The Junior and Senior Provincial League. He went on to play for Manitoba and Canada at both the Junior and Senior Levels.
Damian’s cricket career was short, but distinguished. Damian earned the admiration and respect of cricketers and fans as a batsman, sportsman and ambassador of the sport. Dedicated to the sport he loved, Damian was an inspiration to many young cricketers.
A look back on Damian’s cricket career:
Teams: Canada, Canada U-23, Canada U-19, Manitoba, Manitoba U-25, The Winnipeg Juniors Cricket Club and Lincoln Elementary School
Batting Style: Right-Hand Opener
Bowling Style: Right-Arm Medium Pace
Major Tours
1995: Western Canada Provincial Tournament, Vancouver
1997: International Youth Tournament, Bermuda
1998: Nortel West Indies Youth Tournament, Trinidad and Tobago
1999: Canada U-23 vs Bermuda, Toronto
1999: WICB Red Stripe Bowl, Antigua
1999: Four month training tour in New Zealand
2000: WICB Red Stripe Bowl, Jamaica
2000: Ilford Cricket Club (England) tour of India
1996 – 2003: Western Canada Under-25 Provincial Championship, Edmonton
Accomplishments
Best Batsman, MCA League: 1999, 2001, 2003
Most Runs, MCA League: 1997, 1998, 1999, 2001, 2002, 2003
Most Outstanding Canadian Junior Cricketer: 1998
Most Outstanding Manitoba Junior Cricketer: 1996, 1997
Damian also won many batting awards at the Western Canada Provincial U-25 Championships, MCA Indoor League and shares a Canadian Junior Record for highest opening partnership of 143 runs from the 1997 International Youth Tournament in Bermuda.
Volunteer Contributions
Coach: Manitoba Cricket Association and Western Canada Youth Cricket Camps. 1999-2003. School Cricket Development Program. Regional Expansion Development Program. MCA Youth Development Program.
Umpire: Youth and School Cricket.
Volunteer: 1995 – 2003: MCA School Cricket Championship, Cricket clinics and community programs.
Volunteered as an Altar Server at his church from the age of 12.
Damian passed away on November 17, 2003.
Your correspondent was privaleged to have met Damien in Winnipeg and have spent a day with him at his beloved Assiniboine Park, and subsequently to have coresponded with him. I like to think that his influence in junior cricket, during his short cricket career, is being honoured by the continued success of the Winnipeg junior development programme. (JH)
Material sourced from:- http://www.tavernerscc.com/
FIT TO PITCH: TORONTO’S POLITICAL ELITE BATTLE THE MEDIA -- Posted Friday, June 16 2006
On Saturday, June 24, at all three cricket grounds of Sunnybrook Park, the Chartered Institute of Management Accountants, Canada (CIMA) will offer the public an opportunity to witness yet another incident of politicians versus the press. The unique feature of this clash is that there will be a happy outcome for all competitors, as Toronto Mayor David Miller himself joins other participants in the CIMA Canada Mayor’s Trophy Cricket Tournament.
The event offers an open invitation for all Torontonians and visitors to enjoy a day filled with the diversion of sport, the participation of an interesting group of players, and a wholesome day at the park.
The Tournament was a great success last year, with the Mayor declaring the CIMA Canada event as an official celebration in the City. Last year’s tournament was recognized by the International Cricket Council, which awarded CIMA Canada - Celebration of Cricket' (Mayor's Trophy 2005) the ICC Americas Region Award for 'Best Cricket Promotional Program.'
This year’s cricket teams will comprise the CIMA Canada VIP team, including such distinguished personalities as Consuls General of Test playing nations in Toronto, Provincial Ministers, Immigration Minister Mike Colle, Minister of Small Business and Entrepreneurship Harinder Takhar, and Oakville M.P.P. Kevin Flynn.
The Toronto Media Cricket team will be led by Adam Vaughn formerly of CityTV, The Globe and Mail team will be led by the Publisher & CEO Phillip Crawley, Editor in Chief Jim Jennings will lead the Toronto Sun team and Toronto Star's Sports editor Graham Parley will lead the Star team. The Mayor’s XI, Police Chief’s XI and TTC Cricket team will also be part of the competition.
The main sponsor of the inaugural event, Bell Canada, continues to maintain its commitment to sports, community and youth affairs. This year’s Tournament will be launched by the Bell Canada Junior Cricket competition. Scotiabank, another leading Cricket sponsor in Canada also joins the event as a joint sponsor.
The CIMA Canada Mayor’s Trophy Cricket Tournament will be attended by representatives of the Canadian Cricket Association (CCA), including the CCA President Ben Sennik, Marketing Manager Eddie Norfolk, and Canadian National Team Coach Andy Pick. As Canada prepares to participate in the Cricket World Cup of 2007, to be hosted in the West Indies, it is certain that these gentlemen will be able to field questions on the Team’s prospects for World Cup supremacy.
Day’s Program
9.00 - 10.30 - Junior Cricket
10.30 - 11.00 - Junior Awards
11.00 AM - 5.30 PM - Mayor's Trophy Games
5.30 PM - Closing Ceremony
Bell Canada will be sponsoring a play area to provide activities for younger children.
Cricket in the park, Sunnybrook that is. -- Posted Thursday, June 15 2006
Within the Canadian Cricket Association document (published on 'the official website') "CATCH THE SPIRIT OF CANADIAN CRICKET 2006!" there is the following:-
August 5-19, 2006 One-Day International in the Toronto Area.
Canada v. Kenya (Aug 5 & 6) and Bermuda (Aug 19 & 21).
Also playing: Bermuda v Kenya (Aug 9 & 10)
With such an important announcement for six days of "International" cricket, a mere 6 weeks away, your correspndent made a visit to some grounds in the Greater Toronto Area. At Sunnybrook Park, where Bermuda was hosted for a 3 day match a couple of years, there was activity on that same ground.
Being known to some of the park groundskeepers, it was no surprise to be waved over to talk about the state of that same ground.
The wicket used a couple of years ago was now in the same condition as the outfield. No attempt had been made to 'save' the turf wicket. Why should there be, for the average club cricketer is used to playing on the astroturf?
The question was raised about the preparation, (or should that be resuscitation?), of the wicket. The staff and supervisor have not received any instructions as of yesterday.
Surprise was in the offing. There has been a proposal for the erection of stadium style seating for 5000 spectators. Whoa there boy! Stadium? Are you sure, August 5 & 6 is a weekend?
Deductive logic would indicate that the park is very busy on summer weekends, let alone a holiday weekend.
You guessed it, no permission will be forthcoming for the erection of stadium style seating.
So be prepared to bring your own deckchair, I know I will. And you better come early, for if 5000 cricket fans turn up, parking will be at a premium. (Jon Harris).
Facilities to host ODI's and other 'International' matches -- Posted Wednesday, June 14 2006
It is “unlikely” Bermuda will have the facilities to host One-Day Internationals before the cricket World Cup next year, Sports Minister Dale Butler admitted yesterday.
Since the national team’s qualification for cricket’s ultimate limited over showpiece, Bermuda Cricket Board have made no secret of their desire to play as many official ODIs and first class games on local soil as possible.
Butler’s view will disappoint the BCB, whose attempts to prepare the team for the awesome challenges of the next 15 months will be hampered by the lack of first-class facilities on the Island.
Along with Ireland, Scotland, Canada and Holland, Bermuda were given ODI status by the International Cricket Council (ICC) as a result of reaching the World Cup finals, while the national team have already played a reasonable amount of first class cricket in the Intercontinental Cup.
As it stands, neither the National Sports Centre nor any of the Island’s premier club grounds meet the requisite standard set by the ICC for ODIs, with Butler confirming yesterday that those standards will “probably” not be realised for another two years, when the NSC’s centre core is nearing completion.
“It seems as if we will not be able to host One-Day Internationals before the World Cup next year – but I am not saying it is impossible at this stage,” said Butler.
“But it is, after all, only next year and it would be unlikely that we could have the facilities in place before then because of the size of the centre core project itself. But the Trustees are aware of the situation and will do all that they can to assist the cricket Board in their objectives.”
The NSC’s North Field is the only ground in Bermuda big enough to host ODIs, but is unlikely to qualify because of the size of the pavilion, the quality of the pitches and other deficiencies in its infrastructure.
It is also not clear whether Bermuda will be permitted to host any more Intercontinental Cup games in the future, particularly if the pitches are not improved dramatically.
Butler added, however, that the Trustees were working hard to ensure that the square on the North Field was of a good enough standard to host international games in the near future.
Seven different soil samples from across the Island have been sent abroad for testing to establish whether they are good enough to play cricket on and Butler said a report was expected back towards the end of next week.
When the square will be ready for international cricket is not yet known.
The NSC’s pitches have been plagued by controversy since they were first laid and it is now an accepted fact that they were never of a high enough standard to host top-quality cricket.
Meanwhile, BCB chief executive Neil Speight would only say yesterday that he is making every effort to work with the Trustees to bring the NSC up to standard as soon as possible.
“We obviously need an ICC accredited ground on which to play ODIs and we have shared all the relevant information on how this must be done with the trustees and the Minister,” he said.
“We know they are working hard to get the centre core completed and the square re-laid and in the meantime we will have to play international games at other club grounds if the NSC is not fit. This is not ideal obviously because none of those games would be official ODI’s and it would be easier attracting bigger teams to Bermuda if they were.”
Editorial comment:- If we were to change the name Bermuda in the above article to that of Canada, the situation of ICC accredited ground(s) on which to play ODI's is problematic. Will the CCA trust Canadian cricketers with the result of Chris Broad's evaluation of Canadian facilities?". (JH).
Articcle sourced from:-
http://www.theroyalgazette.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20060119/SPORT/101190107&SearchID=73233358762578
Cricinfo report on Atholston Cup -- Posted Monday, June 12 2006
Ontario completed a comfortable 106-run win over Quebec to secure the Atholstan Cup.
The victory owed much to a stand of 86 between Ganesh Badrie (48 runs) and Nick Ifill (42) for the third wicket in the Ontario second innings. This was by far the highest partnership of the match and was followed by some effective scoring from the lower-order batsman. Vikram Arora (22 not out) provided a steadying influence in the tail's efforts. Lallu Naresh again proved the most successful of Quebec's bowlers, taking 4 for 61 to leave him with match figures of 9 for 80.
Quebec struggled to make inroads against the opening attack of Henry Osinde and Richie Anand and their difficulties grew when left arm spinner Ravi Puvendran was brought on. Five wickets were down for 28 runs by the end of the 21st over. Abdul Jabbar and Orson Greaves added 39 for the sixth wicket but by then the match was out of reach. Puvendran took 4 for 33 to give him match figures of 9 for 72.
Nick Ifill was selected as Man of the Match for a combination of his runs (26 & 42), a steady spell of bowling and a catch. In the concluding speeches, praise was given to the Sunrise Cricket Club (Southern Ontario Cricket Association) who hosted the game. It was interesting to talk with club officials and hear about their two men's and five junior clubs. Some of their juniors were seen practicing their skills away from the main ground during the course of the weekend.
The full story can be read (recommended) at http://content-usa.cricinfo.com/canada/content/story/250208.html
ATHOLSTAN CUP - SECOND DAY REPORT AND SCORECARD -- Posted Monday, June 12 2006
QUEBEC CRUMBLES AS ONTARIO REGAINS ATHOLSTAN CUP
Dropped catches, resolute batting by Ontario and tight spin bowling to a well-set field turned a tight contest into an easy win for Ontario on the second and final day of the Atholstan Cup at Waterloo.
Resuming at 28-2 after paceman Orson Greaves had rattled Ontario’s cage late on the first day, Nicholas Ifill and Ganesh Badrie regained the initiative for the home team with an 86-run third wicket stand that threatened to take the game beyond Quebec’s reach. Ifill, mixing solid defence with quick singles, and the more aggressive Badrie with five lusty boundaries, looked set for well-deserved half-centuries when they both perished in their 40s. Badrie, on 48, tried to reach his milestone with a six but got no further than Greaves’ very safe hands at long off. Ifill, on 42, meekly responded to skipper George Codrington’s call for a suicide run, and was short of his ground. When Jaspal Rana holed out for 5, Ontario tottered at 102-5, a mere 116 runs ahead.
Up to this point Quebec had fielded like tigers and their leftarm spinners Lallu Naresh and Lesroy Lawrence had kept the Ontario batting in check. When Lawrence yorked Codrington at 118-6 the game was still in the balance.
But Ontario’s tail wagged as chances and half-chances went begging and the Quebec heads dropped. Ottawa’s Vikram Arora held the lower order together with a sedate 22 not out off 41 balls while contributions from pacemen Henry Osinde (14) and Windsor’s Richie Anand (15) helped Ontario to 177-9 and an overall lead of 192.
The target was far from unmanageable but after Osinde and Anand removed the openers Patel and Shiekh with only 14 runs on the board Quebec fortunes changed.
Puvendran, T&D’s top wicket-taker in 2005, closed off one end bowling 14.5 overs unchanged while Ifill and offspinner Jyoti contained the batsmen at the other. The runs dried up and Quebec went to lunch at 19-4 off 16 overs. Their fate was sealed.
There was more of the same after lunch as Ontario skipper Codrington tightened the screws and only a lusty 17 from Greaves and a resolute 29 from Jabbar delayed the inevitable.
Puvendran kept the batsmen on a tight leash throughout the match, extracting turn and bounce and returned excellent match figures of 29.5-5-72-9, marginally superior to Naresh’s 25.4-3-80-9.
Ifill, with 68 runs, three wickets and three slip catches was voted Man-of-the-Match while the courage of former Windward Islands Under-19 rep Lesroy Lawrence was recognized. Despite four stitches in the web of his right hand, he continued to participate and his 16 overs of quality spin bowling helped keep his team in contention.
Quebec, without their captain and top allrounder Qaiser Ali who had to withdraw at the last minute because of a family emergency, fought hard and had a solid contribution from former Canadian allrounder Orson Greaves. Had the other fieldsmen’s hands been as safe as his the result might well have been different.
SCOREBOARD
ONTARIO SECOND INNINGS
(overnight 28-2)
Mohammed Karim c&b Greaves 0
Sandeep Jyoti lbw Greaves 0
Nicholas Ifill run out 42
Ganesh Badrie c Greaves b Naresh 48
Jaspal Rana c Peters b Naresh 5
*George Codrington b Lawrence 13
+Surendra Seeraj c Jabbar b Naresh 13
Vikram Arora not out 22
Henry Osinde c Greaves b Naresh 14
Richie Anand c Greaves b Lawrence 15
Ravi Puvendran not out 1
EXTRAS(4b) 4
TOTAL 177-9 dec ( 50 overs)
BOWLING:
Greaves 8-1-27-2;
Malik 5-0-19-0;
Naresh 16-2-61-4;
Palmer 1-0-3-0;
Tanveer 4-0-11-0;
Lawrence 16-1-52-2
QUEBEC SECOND INNINGS (Target 192)
+Nilesh Patel ct Osinde b Puvendran 6
Sabbir Shiekh ct wkpr b Osinde 3
Leroy Peters ct Ifill b Anand 6
Vidal Baptiste ct Anand v Puvendran 2
Abdul Jabbar ct sub b Jyoti 29
Mudasar Malik ct wkpr b Ifill 1
Orson Greaves ct wkpr b Puvendran 17
*Lallu Naresh run out 0
Azmat Tanveer not out 0
O’Brien Palmer lbw Puvendran 12
Lesroy Lawrence did not bat 0
EXTRAS (2 b, 2lb) 4
TOTAL 85-(37.5 overs)
BOWLING:
Osinde 5-1-5-1;Anand 7-1-12-1; Puvendran 14.5-2-33-4; Ifill 6-0-15-1; Jyoti 5-0-16-1
ONTARIO WON BY 106 runs
Man-of-the-Match: Nicholas Ifill
Umpires: Juman Yasseen, Mike Henry, Austin Forde
Match Referee: Elvin Pompey
Atholstan Cup first day - report and scorecard -- Posted Sunday, June 11 2006
QUEBEC'S GREAVES RATTLES ONTARIO
Former Canadian allrounder Orson Greaves had Ontario on the back foot on a
bitterly cold and joyless first day of their two-day Atholstan Cuo classic at
Waterloo, Ontario Saturday.
Coming in when Quebec tottered at 86-8 replying to 141, Greaves mixed caution
with aggression to prop up the lower order with a fighting 36 that left
Ontario with a narrow 14 run first innings lead. Then he steamed in with the
new ball to send Ontario openers, Sandeep Jyoti and Mohammed Kari, both of
Hamilton, back to the pavilion for ducks.
Jyoti(11) and Karim(32) had sent Ontario on their way with a 49-run stand in
the first innings but after Nicholas Ifill grafted for 26 runs in a 99 minute
knock, the innings quickly fell away. Quebec captain and left arm spinner
Lallu Naresh was the top bowler with excellent figures of 5-19 off 9.4 overs.
Canadian pacer Henry Osinde worked up a lively pace that had the Quebec top
order playing and missing but only once was he able to add the necessary
accuracy when he sent Abdul Jaffar stump cartwheeling.
Ifill picked up two wickets with his medium pacers but it was left to Toronto
& District's 2005 top wicket taker Ravi Puvendran to tie up the Quebec
batsmen. He showed good control and turn to pick up 5-39 off 15 overs.
But it was` Greaves, who played briefly for Canada in the 1990s, to take the
day's top honours. With Ontario reeling at 4-2 it was left to Ifill to
restore balance to the game and leave it evenly poised. In sharp contrast to
his dour first innings effort Ifill launched a ferocious counterattack on
Greaves. With the shadows lengthening he produced several high quality
coverdrives, a relief to the spectators on a day of generally inept batting on
both sides.
Ontario won toss
ONTARIO FIRST INNNGS
Mohammed Karim c Palmer b Tanveer 32
Sandeep Jyoti b Lawrence 11
Nicholas Ifill c Jabbir b Naresh 26
Ganesh Badrie b Tanveer 6
*George Codrington run out 13
Surendra Seeraj+ ct wkpr b Palmer 18
Jaspal Rana ct wkpr b Naresh 0
Vikram Arora ct sub b Naresh 7
Henry Osinde ct sub b Naresh 3
Richie Anand ct Malik b Naresh 4
Ravi Puvendran not out 6
Extras(4 byes,5 leg byes,3 w,3 nb) 15
TOTAL 141 all out(46.4 overs)
BOWLING:Orson Greaves 6-0-21-0;Mudasar Malik 5-0-15-0;Lesroy Lawrence 8.3-2-15-
1;Azmat Tanveer 8-0-25-2;Abdul Jabbar 0.3-0-2-0;Lallu Naresh 9.4-1-19-
5;O'Brien Palmer 9-0-35-1
QUEBEC FIRST INNINGS
Leroy Peters ct Badrie b Karim 5
Sabbir Shiehk b Osinde 9
Abdul Jaffar ct`wkpr b Ifill 3
Vidal Baptiste ct Ifill b Puvendran 18
+Nilesh Patel ct Rana b Ifill 2
Mudasar Malik ct Osinde b Puvendran 22
*Lallu Naresh ct Ifill b Puvendran 21
Orson Greaves ct`Anand b Jyoti 36
Azmat Tanveer b Puvendrsn 0
O'Brien Palmer ct`Anand b Puvendran 3
Lesroy Lawrence not out 0
Extras(2 byes,3 leg byes,2w,1 nb) 8
TOTAL 127 (42.2 overs)
Ontario led by 14 runs
BOWLING:Osinde 10-4-22-1;Karim 2-0-11-1;Ifill 8-1-15-2;Puvendran 15-3-39-
5;Codrington 5-0-30-0;Jyoti 2.2--0-2-1
ONTARIO SECOND INNINGS
M.Karim c&b Greaves 0
S.Jyoti lbw Greaves 0
N.Ifill not out 23
G.Badrie not out 5
TOTAL 28-2
Ontario leads by 42 runs
BOWLING: Greaves 4-0-17-2; Malik 4-0-8-0;Naresh 1-1-0-0;Palmer 1-0-3-0
Atholstan Cup 2006 -- Posted Saturday, June 10 2006
The men’s cricket teams of Ontario and Quebec meet in the Atholstan Cup this weekend (June 10 & 11). The match is being played over two-days, with two innings per side. There are no restrictions on the number of overs in each innings. The venue is Waterloo Park, Waterloo, Ontario. Play is expected to begin at 10 am each day.
Ontario will be lead by George Codrington, and Quebec by Qaiser Ali. Both players were in the Canadian squad for the recent Tri-Nations One-Day International tournament in Trinidad and Tobago. Codrington was top scorer for Canada against Bermuda. Ali made his debut for Canada in the 2005 ICC Intercontinental Cup.
The other members of the Ontario team are: George Codrington (capt), Surendra Seeraj (vice capt), Nicholas Ifill, Ravishankar Puvendran, Henry Osinde (all Toronto & District), Jaspal Rana and Richie Anand (Southern Ontario CA), Sandeep Jyoti, Mohammad Karim (Hamilton & District), Akhbar Hussain (Ottawa), Ganesh Badrie (Etobicoke). Manager: Kris Sawh, Coach: Larry Gomes.
The Quebec squad is: Qaiser Ali(capt), L.Lawrence, L.Naresh, P.Malik, M.Jabbar, P.Nilesh, A.Tanveer, Baptiste, O.Palmer,L.Pieters, Sultan, Shahid, G.Orson. Manager Harry Persad, Coach D.Kirpaul.
Historic Background
The Atholstan Cup is named after Sir Hugh Graham, the first Baron Atholstan. He had been knighted in 1908 and became a Baron in 1917. Hugh Graham was a distinguished journalist. Atholstan, Quebec, was his birthplace.
The Cup was presented by Sir Hugh for competition between Ontario and Quebec in 1936. It has been won 33 times by Ontario and 16 times by Quebec.
Britannica Student Encylopedia - cricket -- Posted Friday, June 9 2006
The sport of cricket is the national summer game of England, where it has been played for hundreds of years, possibly since the 13th century. Laws to standardize the rules of play have existed since at least the mid-18th century. During England's colonial history, cricket was exported around the world, and it is now played in more than 100 countries. It is particularly popular in the British Isles, Australia, New Zealand, India, Pakistan, South Africa, and the West Indies.
The game is played outdoors with bats and a ball between two competing sides (teams) of 11 players each. The sides take turns at batting and bowling (pitching). Two batsmen are up at once, one on either side of the central playing field. Each batsman guards a series of three upright sticks called a wicket, which is topped by two pieces of wood. The bowler delivers the ball toward the wicket of the first batsman and tries to put out, or dismiss, him. One way the bowler can do this is by hitting the wicket with the ball so that one of the pieces of wood falls off. The batsman tries to hit the ball to defend his wicket. If he hits the ball, he can begin a run in an attempt to exchange places with the second batsman. Each time the batsmen switch positions without being put out, they score a run. The side with the most runs at the end of the match wins.
The cricket ground is a large oval playing field. Grounds vary from an area of well-kept grass in a village to a huge field in a stadium that can seat thousands of spectators. The main playing field at Lord's, England's premier cricket venue, is 5.5 acres (2.2 hectares) in area. The playing surface should be a level field of either natural grass or an artificial covering such as fiber…
Editors note:-
The Britannica Student Encylopedia web site limits access to all material. Try your local library for the full text about cricket.
Materail sourced from:- http://www.britannica.com/ebi/article-9273852
The Canadian Encyclopedia - Cricket -- Posted Friday, June 9 2006
Cricket is a game played with a ball and solid wood bat by 2 sides of 11 players on a grassy field centering on 2 wickets, each defended in turn by a batsman. The name may come from the Saxon word cryce or the French word criquet, both meaning stick. It was probably the first of the major games played in Canada, being popular among the garrisons in the late 18th century. An early contest between the 68th Regiment and the Montreal Cricket Club was reported in 1829. The first regular club formed was probably the St John's Cricket Club (1828).
The first international match in cricket history took place between teams from Canada and the US in Toronto in 1844. Some 5000 spectators watched the Canadian team win. The match began a series that has continued, with interruptions, and is likely the oldest of its kind in the world. On the Canadian side was G.A. Barber, of Upper Canada College, sometimes called the "Father of Canadian Cricket." The game was nurtured in other private schools as well, and in 1847 UCC defeated a provincial team. In 1858 The Canadian Cricketer's Guide noted 81 matches played the previous season. The first visit by a team from another continent for sports competition came in 1859, when an English team played in Montréal and Hamilton. International matches continued with visits by English teams (which included the famous Dr W.G. Grace) in 1868 and 1872 and a West Indian side in 1886. A Canadian team toured England in 1887, obtaining the creditable record of 5 wins, 5 losses and 9 draws. Aided by the patronage of the governor general, Lord Lansdowne, by advertising, reporting and the spread of railways, the game was nationwide by the 1890s.
The Canadian Cricket Association was formed in 1892 and is still the governing cricket body, with 8 member provincial associations.
By 1911-12, when the John Ross Robertson Trophy was first offered for the national championship, there were leagues and associations across Canada. Participation declined in the 1920s but was revived in 1932 by a tour of an Australian team, featuring the famous Don Bradman.
In 1936 a strong Canadian team toured England and defeated Marylebone Cricket Club (the traditional name of the English national side) at Lords.
The first interprovincial senior tournament took place in 1947.
The sport was well served by the untiring administrative efforts of Donald King during the 1960s and 1970s, when teams from several countries toured Canada. A highlight was the victory of eastern Canada over the Australians in 1975. Since 1979 the Canada senior team has been a strong contender in the quadrennial International Cricket Conference Associate Member's World Cup competition (the team reached the event final that year).
Frequent senior and youth international and national events and training camps are now staged. Active youth development, coaching and umpiring programs have spurred a rapid growth in numbers of participants in most regions throughout Canada. The game has received wider publicity in Canada since 1997, when the Toronto Cricket Club began hosting the Sahara Cup, a competition between cricket powers India and Pakistan.
Suggested Reading
R. Bowen, Cricket: A History of its Growth and Development throughout the World (1970); Canadian Cricketer magazine; J. Hall and R. McCulloch, Sixty Years of Canadian Cricket (1895).
Article sourced from:-
http://www.thecanadianencyclopedia.com/index.cfm?PgNm=TCE&Params=A1SEC818960
ALI IN, PATEL OUT -- Posted Thursday, June 8 2006
Canadian allrounder Qaiser Ali will lead Quebec against Ontario in defence of the Atholstan Cup at Waterloo Park, Waterloo this weekend.
The Canadian paceman Ashish Patel, still recovering from knee surgery, is not included in the 13-man squad.
The squad is: Qaiser Ali(capt), L.Lawrence, L.Naresh, P.Malik, M.Jabbar, P.Nilesh, A.Tanveer, Baptiste, O.Palmer,L.Pieters, Sultan, Shahid, G.Orson. Manager Harry Persad, Coach D.Kirpaul.
Meanwhile, Ontario has made three changes to their squad announced earlier in the week.
Nicholas Ifill (Victoria Park) replaces Don Maxwell (Tranzac) who is unavailable, Sandeep Jyoti (Hamilton & District ) replaces Bede Anandappa (Centurions) who declined selection while Akhbar Hussain(Ottawa) replaces Tony Russell (Ottawa).
The other members of the Ontario team are: George Codrington(capt), Surendra Seeraj (vice capt), Nicholas Ifill, Ravishankar Puvendran, Henry Osinde (T&D), Jaspal Rana and Richie Anand (SOCA), Sandeep Jyoti, Mohammad Karim (Hamilton & District), Akhbar Hussain (Ottawa), Ganesh Badrie (Etobicoke). Manager: Kris Sawh, Coach Larry Gomes.
The two-day two innings unlimited overs game starts at
11.am each day.
Material source - press release
GENTLEMAN FARMER IN SOUTH WESTERN ONTARIO PLAYS AT CRICKET -- Posted Thursday, June 8 2006
It was 1996 when I first visited Inverhaugh Cricket Club. Tucked neatly under the shoulder of the hill as you descend into the Hamlet of Inverhaugh and perched just above the flood plains of the Grand River. It was a trip well worth waiting for.
A tight beautifully manicured ground ringed with trees and a few seconds imagination away from any of the scenic village grounds that dot the English country side.
The Grounds and Inverhaugh are a testament to the Love and devotion (not to mention the money) that has been spread across them by Bart & Jan Singh.
It is not uncommon to have at least 4 Singh's in the line-up, while Jan toiled to provide teas for 30-40 visitors every week. That's every Saturday from Mid May to Early September.
I first met Bart from about 22 yards as I had the task of bowling to him for Toronto Boks. After playing and missing twice, a hard snick glided through slips and he jogged a single with a wry smile that made the shot seem quite deliberate.
A Fiercely competitive Cricketer, Bart looks after the Cricket grounds the same way he plays the game, the result is one of the few Turf facilities fof Cricket in Canada. Perhaps even more remarkable is that you know every blade of grass has been personally tended to.
Over the past 10 years the addition of covers, sight screen, a scoreboard and a bar and patio have seen the ground mature into what it is today. Be it player, spectator or just curiosity, Inverhaugh is a wonderful place to play or enjoy a summer Saturday afternoon.
Always counting on the availability of a few guest players, Inberhaugh Cricket Club will always be a tough fixture.
I look forward to this season as we drop down the hill into the Hamlet and spy a glance of the lush outfield centered by those tell tale signs that only cricket leaves........today will be a real game, on a real cricket field.
Bart, Jan, Familty and Friends.....may we continue to share your great commitment for this game of cricket and, though often unspoken, our thanks for hospitality.
(Phil Nutall, TCCSC).
Material sourced from INVERHAUGH CRICKET CLUB - 10th Aniversay Edition newsletter - April 2006
Contact information:- www.inverhaugh.com or enquiries@inverhaugh.com
Mark Warburton is the only maker of cricket bats in North America. -- Posted Wednesday, June 7 2006
Your correspondent visited Mark's workshop recently and found that he is the maker of fine, handcrafted, custom cricket bats, using only English select imported cricket bat willow. Each bat blade is individually 'pressed' and 'shaped'.
In order to understand the detail of cricket bat making, the following is offered for Canadian cricketers information.
Manufacturing the Bat Blade
Each length or roll is then divided up to the required size, hopefully obtaining an optimum number of pieces. Each piece (called in the trade a "cleft") is then shaped to the rough shape of a cricket bat blade. It is important that the correct side of the cleft is chosen as the face as this is what will become the face of the finished bat. The "blade" as it is now known, then has both ends waxed to prevent splitting and then air dried to the required moisture content.
Grading
Before despatch to manufacturers in the UK and throughout the world the clefts are graded into various categories varying from wood suitable for the cheapest boy's bat to that for the finest players who have obtained Test Match status.
When the blades have been dried they are graded each blade himself very carefully before dispatch to the customer.
A narrow grain bat will certainly play well, quicker, but will not have a particularly long life.
What makes a good bat?
The answer is that it depends on the taste of the customer and the skill of the bat maker. A bat should always be chosen on "feel" and not merely what it looks like. There are bound to be some small knots or blemishes on the bat, as it is a natural product and cannot be expected to be perfect, with no faults at all, it is just not possible.
For more detail on cricket bat fabrication visit J.S. Wright & Sons Ltd at http://www.cricketbatwillow.com/blades.php
Mark Warburton lives and works in Aurora, Ontario.
He can be reached at mark@zoombats.com and at 905-713-6436
He uses only select imported English cricket bat willow. Visit his web site - www.zoombats.com
St. Catherines C.C. superb win over Cambridge C.C. -- Posted Wednesday, June 7 2006
St. Catharines Cricket Club city league team posted a superb win over Cambridge Cricket Club last Sunday at Cambridge.
After a long and hard pre-season fitness and training for 6 weeks, at the indoor nets and a few warm up games at Ridley College, a balanced and well knit team of 12 traveled to Cambridge to compete for the season opening Hamilton & District League game. The hard work paid off as St.Catharines won the match quite comprehensively.
The major credit and contribution of the decisive win in the H&D league game goes to well deserving St.C bowlers - especially to the attack of absolutely outstanding bowling by Ash Jhanji.
The toss winning hosting team of Cambridge elected to bat first with the hopes to put a big total on an un-predictable pitch. Cambridge opened their batting with Don Watts and Stewart Cullen. Fardeen Aziz from St. Catharines started the attack and let the opening batsmen know the intentions of St.C right from the beginning with his swinging yorkers and accurate line and length. However, the major dent happened when Cambridge lost both opening batsmen to Ash Jhanji, doing his usual in-cutters attack from the other end. Jhanji clean bowled Stewart Cullen while Don Watts was given out LBW, both only scoring one run each.
After the opening batsmen were out for a total score of only 4 on the board, the land slide of Cambridge batting started with Leslie Adams, Neville McCollin and S. Parsad who all went out for “0”. Patrick Wright added another 5 runs before loosing his wicket. By this time the tail end of the batting order was exposed and Gary Corbin, Leroy Tootman, Vince Ford and Don Campbell all went out without making into the double figures. The Cambridge team posted only a total of 38 runs on the board – their lowest ever total in the recent history. Fardeen Aziz with 3 and Ash Jhanji with 5 were the leading wicket takers for St. Catharines while Bilal Akhtar and Warna Peiris took one wicket each.
Chasing a lowest total ever of 39 runs to win, St. Catharines opened batting with Warna Peris and Rizwan Aslam. Warna was out without scoring and Bilal Akhtar joined Rizwan. Akhtar, batting sensibly, got on with his game without any delay and started to tear Cambridge bowling apart. He hit 3 fours and one huge sixer in his innings of 20. Imran Aslam, joining at #4, also batted well and made his mark by hitting a well timed sixer on the last and winning stroke to bring the game home for St.Catharines.
Story sourced from:- http://www.cricket.computan.com/default.asp
Plans for the One-Day International Series -- Posted Tuesday, June 6 2006
Plans for the One-Day International Series, to be played in the United States and Canada, were to be unveiled at a meeting in New York on June 3 which involved the West Indies Cricket Board and the BCCI. It is understood that officials from the Canadian Cricket Association and the USA Cricket Association were "also to attend the meeting, as the two associations are the organizing committee".
"The series is expected to go a long way in helping the WICB to solve its debt burden - presently standing at US$25 million." (Note: Cricinfo have a June 2 story on how thew West IndiesI have only centrally contracted 8 players, due to their financial plight.)".
"Once the Board of Cricket Control of India heard that North America was ready, they were also ready and found what looks like a convenient avenue period when both teams were available to participate.".
Your correspondent has been advised that "The International Cricket Council has given its blessing to the new profit-sharing agreement which will see the West Indies Cricket Board and the Board for Cricket Control of India exploiting the lucrative North American market.".
Malcom Speed is quoted as saying "This will give the West Indies a chance to exploit a huge fan base and exploit a huge market.". Further we learned that India, "with a population of over a billion and the combined populations of Canada and the United States, gives the West Indies a chance to take advantage of these huge economies".
Speed is reported to have stated that "eventually it will promot the game in these two countries. The relationship between the WICB and the BCCI is very important and the WICB should be congratulated for getting this agreement going.".
One of my Indian contacts has indicated that India is responsible for 90% of the funding for international cricket. (Jon Harris).
CRICKET AND THE MEANING OF LIFE -- Posted Tuesday, June 6 2006
In countries like India and Trinidad, the passion for cricket is just as strong as the love of hockey in Canada-maybe even stronger. It is the most watched and best loved sport in many Caribbean and South Asian countries. Cricket is a way of life-and many young boys dream of playing for the national team. Cricket and the Meaning of Life explores the power and meaning of a game that is more than just a sport.
Like most boys in his native city of Bombay, director Sanjay Talreja's childhood was filled with cricket. As an adult, however, he struggled to adapt when he moved to Toronto, wondering if he would have to erase his past in order to "belong" to his new country.
One day, a surprise encounter rekindles a long-buried memory and changes everything. Talreja discovers a thriving underground community of South Asian and Caribbean cricket players in Toronto. He meets coach Brian Hale, who does more than teach the rules of the game-he motivates and mentors the young cricketers as they transform from boys into men, and from immigrants to full-fledged Canadians. Hale and his team depart on a life-changing tour to Trinidad, and Talreja discovers that cricket is crucial to the identity of many new Canadians, as he regains his passion for the game in his new country.
Cricket and the Meaning of Life is directed and narrated by Sanjay Talreja and produced by Gerry Flahive. It is a winner of the National Film Board of Canada Reel Diversity Competition, made in association with CBC Television and CBC Newsworld. The CBC Newsworld broadcast is a world television premiere and the film was recently nominated for a 2006 Golden Sheaf Award at the Yorkton Film Festival for "Best Multicultural Program".
CRICKET AND THE MEANING OF LIFE
will be repeating on Tuesday August 22 & Saturday August 26, 2006 at 10pm ET/PT on CBC Newsworld
New-look Ontario team for Atholstan Cup classic -- Posted Monday, June 5 2006
ATHOLSTAN CUP 2006
Only three members of the shell-shocked Canadian squad just back from stunning defeats by Zimbabwe and Bermuda in the Tri-Nation Series in Trinidad have been included in the Ontario team to meet Quebec in the two-day annual Atholstan Cup classic in Waterloo this weekend.
Allrounder George Codrington, who led Ontario to a one-wicket win over MCC last September, has been retained as captain, while allrounder Don Maxwell and paceman Henry Osinde are also among the six Toronto & District Association players selected. Maxwell was a shock omission from new national coach Andy Pick’s X1 against Zimbabwe while Osinde bowled well in both games and shared a facing-saving 36-run last wicket stand with Codrington against Bermuda.
The team is: George Codrington (TDCA) (capt), Tony Russell (Ottawa) (vice capt), Jaspal Rana and Richie Anand (Southern Ontario), Mohammed Karim (Hamilton), Surendra Seeraj (wk), Ravishankar Puvendran, Bede Anandappa, Don Maxwell, Henry Osinde (TDCA) and Ganesh Badrie (Etobicoke). Manager: Kris Sawh; Coach: Larry Gomes.
The game has been shifted from Laurel Creek Park in Kitchener to Waterloo Park in Waterloo because of a scheduling conflict. The two-day two-innings event is the only such event on the Ontario cricket calendar. The game starts at 10 a.m. each day.
Several players will be making their debut for Ontario. Most prominent among them is Centurions left-arm spinner Ravishankar Puvendran who was the TDCA leading wickettaker last year. He has struck early season form taking 5-13 against Overseas last month. Ganesh Badrie, a right hand batsman/medium fast bowler who has dominated the Etobicoke and District league for several years, also gets his first outing. Etobicoke is an associate member of the OCA and will be represented on an Ontario team for the first time.
OCA president Errol Townshend said this year’s event marks a conscious attempt to spread the game throughout the province. “Waterloo will be hosting the match for the first time and we welcome Etobicoke’s debut on the provincial scene.”
The team to represent defending champions Quebec remained a closely guarded secret up to press time but it will almost certainly include Canadian allrounder Qaiser Ali. Along with Osinde, Ali spent two months at the ICC High Performance camp in South Africa last winter. Ali made an impressive debut for Canada in last year’s Intercontinental Cup against Bermuda and Cayman with half centuries in each game. He was omitted for both games in Trinidad.
Whether it will include paceman Ashish Patel, who had the top order South African batsmen on the run at the 2003 World Cup, is left to be seen. He has been recovering from knee surgery.
TDCA’s young bloods were denied a chance to stake their claims for this weekend’s game when the anticipated clash with TDCA Seniors last Saturday at King City was rained out.
For more information:
Contact: Errol Townshend
416-609-2673
Cricket in America - An historical review -- Posted Monday, June 5 2006
American cricket reached its peak of popularity in the late 1890 and it's so called Golden Era lasted until the early 1900's. At that time, crowds reported at more than 25,000 came to see matches at the Merion Cricket Club, but those days are long gone. According to the faithful it was the First World War that dealt the American game a near mortal blow, but baseball didn't help much either.
Since 1924, popular interest in the game waned and it virtually disappeared from the American sporting landscape that is dominated by big business professional sports. It was teams around the country including the General Electric Cricket Club, the Fairmount Cricket Club in Fairmount Park in Philadelphia, the British Officers Cricket Club who have Cope Field at Haverford as their home ground in the summer, several West Indian Cricket Clubs in New York, the Staten Island Cricket Club, since 1874, (probably the oldest continuously playing cricket club in America outside of Haverford having continued play throughout both World Wars), The Hollywood Cricket Club in Los Angeles and a few others that kept the game alive.
The 4th Annual Philadelphia Cricket Festival is part of what is considered by some to be an American renaissance of sorts. A renewed interest in the game, however, is not due to a rediscovery by Americans, but is largely due to the recent influx of immigrants from Commonwealth countries. Today, there are about 250 cricket clubs active throughout the country with a pool of about 10,000 players. Greater New York is said to have 75 teams, Miami 31, Philadelphia 16, Washington 18, Houston 10 with others spread about. Most clubs don't have their own grounds and play on matting wickets laid down in parks or baseball fields. The Merion Cricket Club, on Philadelphia's Main Line revived the game for which the club was founded in 1865, by re-introducing Spring and Fall "fixtures" in 1978 on its truly magnificent ground.
The Marylebone Cricket Club team, which visited there in 1990, compared Merion's Great Lawn to Lords, the Center of Cricket in England. In the summer, lawn tennis and croquet take over at Merion which recently sent a team on a five-match tour of Hampshire and Surrey - winning their last encounter with The Law Society on the Lloyd's Registry Ground in Dulwich.
Cricket actually became part of American history quite early. Colonists in Georgia, Virginia and North and South Carolina played the game. William Byrd II of Virginia, in his secret diary written in short-hand, refers to an early morning game with family and friends played on the front lawn Westover, his impressive estate on the banks of the James River, on April 25, 1709.
Other historic references to cricket include games in Georgia in 1737 and in Baltimore in 1754, the same year Ben Franklin brought a printed copy of cricket rules of play home to the Colonies, almost one hundred years before the first book of baseball rules was published. But perhaps the most historic reference to cricket came during the 1776 debate in Independence Hall, when John Adams argued against the Chief Executive of the United States of America being called 'President' saying, "there are Presidents of cricket clubs."
The first recorded American cricket match per se was in New York in 1751, on the site of what is today the Fulton Fish Market in Manhattan. A team called New York played the London XI 'according to the London method' probably a reference to the 1744 Code of the game which was more strict than the rules governing the contemporary game in England.
There is evidence that some of George Washington's troops played a game of "wickets" at Valley Forge in the summer of 1778.
Although an 'encounter' took place in Toronto in August of 1840, the world's first international match was between Canada and the United States at St. George's Cricket Club in Manhattan (East 31st near First Avenue) on the 24th and 25th of September, 1844. The series flourished and then died off. It has been revived in recent years with the 69th encounter, a two day affair, held on September 2nd and 3rd, 1995 on the beautiful grounds of the Toronto Cricket, Skating and Curling Club. Canada won comfortably by 128 runs. This competition for the K. A. Auty Trophy has been won by the U. S. 32 times, Canada 27 times and drawn 10 times.
While the distinction of being the first cricket club probably goes to the Union Cricket Club of Camden, New Jersey, started around 1840, the most important club in those days was the St. Georges CC which soon moved from Manhattan to better grounds across the Hudson in the Elysian Fields at Hoboken, New Jersey, known also as the site of the first baseball game. The coach and groundsman was the famous Sam Wright, whose sons, George and Harry were equally adept at baseball. Harry, in fact, went on to become the first manager of the first professional baseball team in the United States - the Cincinnati Redstockings. Both George and Harry Wright are in the baseball Hall of Fame at Cooperstown, New York, as is a third cricket player, Henry Chadwick, who wrote the first Rules of Baseball published by Robin Carver in 1834. Ask cricketers about baseball and they'll tell you it was derived from cricket. Others say it was copied from the English game of 'rounders'. Most Americans think the game was invented by Abner Doubleday who historians now admit had little or nothing to do with the game.
Cricket was played up and down the East Coast and in other locations around the country, but Philadelphia became the mecca of the game due to the stimulus provided by the influx of a number of Lancashire and Yorkshire hosiery and mill-workers in the 1840s. However, it was Jones Wister, an American, who is credited with being the "father" of Philadelphia cricket and it was probably the founding there of the four major cricket clubs that gave the game its biggest boost - Germantown CC, formerly the Manheim CC (1854), Philadelphia CC (1854), Merion CC (1865) and Belmont CC (1874-1913). It was these clubs, plus the 120 or so other cricket clubs in the Philadelphia area, that were the crucible of the game until the First World War.
Compiled from "Cricket in America" written by Amar Singh, Secretary and Chairman of the C. C. Morris Library Committee and a member of the Merion Cricket Club and "The Game of Cricket, (It Was in the States Before We Were States)" by J. Alfred Reeves, President, The British Officer's Cricket Club - Phildelphia.
Article sourced from:- http://www.britannia.com/sports/cricket/cricket4.html
ICC Americas announce Regional Umpiring Panels -- Posted Sunday, June 4 2006
The ICC Americas region is pleased to announce the formal creation and implementation of Elite and “A” Umpiring Panels. Officials selected to these panels will be used for regional tournaments as well as receiving specialized advanced training.
Primary panel selections remain in place until March 31, 2007 after which, on review and evaluation, panels will be re-announced before April 30, 2007 for the two-year period until the end of March 2009.
The following umpires from Canada have been selected for the ICC Americas Elite Umpires Panel: Karran Bayney, Ashook Brijcoomar, Kantilal Patel.
The following Canadian umpires has been selected for the ICC Americas “A” Umpires Panel: Mike Henry, Shantikumar Kantharatnam, Ruben Sivanadian,
ICC Americas panel umpires will be used to officiate in official ICC Americas regional tournaments, including senior WCQS tournaments, U19 WCQS tournaments, as well as regional U15 tournaments, and any official international and regional matches and tournaments as deemed necessary that fall under theauthority of the ICC Americas Development program.
As well as the two above-mentioned panels, ICC Americas will, in due course, also be finalizing the formation of a “Development Panel” which will encompass selection for all remaining eligible umpires in the Americas region from all member countries. The Development Panel will be divided equally into three sub-regional panels, for North America, Central America & Caribbean, and South America respectively.
This will form the first step on a regional Americas umpiring pathway. Also, umpires from the Development Panel will be used as and where possible in ICC Americas events and other related cricket events in the region, as well as occasionally having the opportunity to supplement “A” Panel duties.
Congratulations to those umpires selected for the first ICC Americas regional umpiring panels. More information on regional umpiring will follow in due course.
Material sourced from:-
http://64.233.167.104/search?q=cache:oTY4kQzblbUJ:www.icc-cricket.com/icc/development/americas/newsletter/AMERICAS_DEC_2005.pdf+ICC+Regional++Umpires+Panels&hl=en&gl=ca&ct=clnk&cd=4
Victoria International Six a Side Cricket Tournament -- Posted Sunday, June 4 2006
Victoria, the capital city of British Columbia on Canada's Pacific coast, is situated on the southern tip of Vancouver Island and is proud of its title as the "City of Gardens" and its reputation as the amateur sports capital of Canada.
David Billingham and his cast of merry followers are once again preparing to host the world in beautiful Victoria, BC, Canada for the 11th edition of this renowned cricket and social festival.
VISAS (Victoria International Six a Side) 2006 promises to follow on the success of the previous biennial VISAS festivals held since 1986.
We believe the formula is simple: fast exciting cricket, a beautiful city, teams from around the world, a well-stocked refreshment tent, and a hardworking and prepared group of hosts virtually guarantees you'll have the time of your life.
Cricket has a long and rich history in Victoria, and has been a favoured destination for many touring sides. We have hosted teams from all over the world, most notably the Australians, Kent CCC twice, and the MCC, which made its tenth visit in September 2005.
Victoria has also hosted many club sides, including the Golden Oldies Tournament in 1990. Both the city and broader Vancouver Island offer numerous attractions and activities suited for cricketers and non-playing partners alike, making it a first-class travel destination.
The ten VISAS Festivals and the 1990 Golden Oldies Tournament have welcomed teams from Australia, New Zealand, England, the West Indies, Singapore, Hong Kong, Bangladesh, the Isle of Man, and from across the USA and Canada. Virtually every team that has participated in VISAS has made a return visit to Victoria - we consider that to be the best testimonial to the success of this festival.
A maximum of 16 teams will be will be accepted for participation in the competition for the VISAS Cup, which is scheduled for August 4-12, 2006
Material sourced from:- http://www.victoriacricket.ca/
I.C.C. regulations for everything -- Posted Saturday, June 3 2006
Bermuda escaped with a warning from the ICC after being reported for contravening regulations restricting the size of logos on players' shirts during victory over Canada in the recent tri-nations ODI series in Trinidad.
Clive Lloyd, the tournament referee, reprimanded the Bermuda management for the problems with shirts, as well as the fact that some of the players had prohibited logos on their trousers, while others had shirts without numbers.
Under ICC regulations, Lloyd could have imposed fines of up to $25,000.
"We will now have to take necessary steps to ensure this sort of thing never happens again," Reggie Pearman, the Bermuda board chairman, told the Royal Gazette.
Roger Dill, the Bermuda umpire who made history by becoming the first from the Associate panel to stand in a full ODI, said that the offences had been inadvertent. "I don't think our guys were quite fully aware of the rules and that these types of things will not be allowed," he told the newspaper. "Because it was Bermuda's first tournament of this nature, we were a bit lenient in that sense ... after the match we talked to the players to remind them and showed a bit leniency."
Article sourced from:-
http://content-usa.cricinfo.com/ci/content/story/248889.html
Watching cricket on the cheap -- Posted Saturday, June 3 2006
Canada, it seems, is the only former British colony not obsessed with cricket. From India to Australia and through the West Indies, the game of wickets, batsmen and four-day test-matches is an obsession. Here in Victoria, the city more British than Britain, the game is far from dead.
Member clubs of the Victoria and District Cricket Association (VDCA) play competitive league cricket every Saturday and Sunday from April through September at both Beacon Hill Park and Windsor Park in Oak Bay.
For those hankering for some high calibre cricket, Alan Carter, President of the VDCA, recommends the Victoria International Six-a-Side (VISAS) cricket festival. The biennial 16-team tournament has teams from Bangladesh, New Zealand, England and other cricket hotspots play off in a weeklong competition for the VISAS cup. This year’s tournament is to be held from Aug. 6 to 14 at Beacon Hill Park.
But for Carter the most competitive cricket in Victoria is the annual local “World Cup.” For one weekend every summer, immigrant groups from cricket-loving countries form teams to compete against each other for the title of “Victoria World Champions.” According to Carter the competition at this tournament is fierce.
Spectators are always welcome for any VDCA event and there is no charge to watch. Cricket is free, every Saturday and Sunday from April through September at the Beacon Hill and Windsor Parks. (Richard Warnica)
For more information visit www.victoriacricket.ca.
Article sourced from:-
http://www.martlet.ca/old/archives/040304/sports.html
Vandalism destroys astroturf wickets in west Toronto -- Posted Friday, June 2 2006
Extensive damage has been perpetrated by unscruplous individuals on the artificial turf wickets of the grounds listed below. Efforts are being made to identify the individuals responsible for these actions.
If anyone has any information that will assist the officials in identifing and prosecuting those responsible for these damages, please contact any of the executive officers. Your help is required.
The facilities damaged are yours and are used to foster and protect your sport. You should not be afraid to come forward, rather, you should consider it your duty to identify these perpetrators and take action to prevent a reoccurance of this nature.
ALL EXPENSES INCURRED WILL ONLY INCREASE YOUR LEAGUE FEES TO COVER THE CHARGES FOR REPAIRS UNLESS WE FIND THOSE RESPONSIBLE FOR THE DAMAGES.
Damaged wickets:
1) Dixie North
2) Dixie South
3) Centennial A
4) Centennial B
5) Summerlea Park
Your co-operation is requested and appreciated.
Report sourced from:- http://www.edcl.net/
ICC change in regulations - Will the CCA be able to comply -- Posted Thursday, June 1 2006
According to a report dated March 28, 2006 on the ICC web site, "The duration of games in the ICC Intercontinental Cup has changed .... Each match is now being played over four days instead of the three set aside for clashes in 2004 and 2005 and the competition is truly global from the start, as opposed to the previous two seasons when the group stages were regional."
The full report can be read at:
http://www.icc-cricket.com/iccnews/content/story/242574.html
(Jon Harris).