A game of haves and have not -- Posted Tuesday, July 31 2007
An amateur solution in a professional world
Amid all the World Cup headlines, one piece of news from Holland understandably slipped under the radar. Daan van Bunge, who is destined to be forever introduced as the man who Herschelle Gibbs smashed for six sixes in an over, announced that he was retiring from international cricket.
In itself, that's not earth-shattering news. He is just one of many players who will choose to bow out after the game's biggest tournament. The difference is that van Bunge is 24, talented, and represents the future for Netherlands cricket.
The reason he gave for his decision was that he could not commit the necessary time to play for his country as well as pursue a full-time job. That should set alarm bells ringing across all the Associates and within the offices of the ICC. There is a real danger that as the demands on part-time cricketers increase, more will decide that balancing those with other aspects of their lives is not practical.
Martin Williamson cricinfo
Celebrate 150th Birthday of Waterloo City with WSCC -- Posted Tuesday, July 31 2007
Waterloo Sunrise Cricket Club is celebrating the 150th birthday of Waterloo City as a Community Sports event at the Waterloo Park on August 5, 2007.
Come and enjoy the day with WSCC.
Sunrise Cricket Club (SCC) based in Kitchener - Waterloo is a member of Southern Ontario Cricket Association.
Sunrise Cricket Club came into existence with a philosophy and a six pronged initiative:
To participate in competitive cricket games in a fair and fun loving atmosphere
To build a club that will attract cricket lovers young and old as members who will promote the game in the tri-city area and Canada
To enhance fairness and build unity in the cricket loving communities
To strive for playing the games by upholding the best sportsman spirit and selection fairness
To develop healthy and physically active young cricket community who emulate passion for the game and instill discipline in their attitude
To promote spirit of Volunteerism and engage youth in constructive team environment
More details can be located at http://www.sunrisecricketclub.com/Sportsday.pdf
Ontario Cricket Association funding from the Ontario Government -- Posted Monday, July 30 2007
The current Board of Control for cricket in Ontario, wishes to address the findings of the Auditor General's Report presented on July 27,2007 pertaining to the Ontario Cricket Association.
Firstly, we wish to acknowledge that all the facts as presented in the report are correct. The main controversy seems to be that the OCA applied for $150,000 but instead received $1,000,000. None of the current members of OCA Board were privy to any information or communication between the then OCA Board and Minister Coll.
After talking to some people involved in the process,the following is what probably transpired:
1. A formal request was made for funding for the improvement of infrastructure and facilities at Maple Leaf Cricket Club in King City, Ontario.
2. At the same time verbal submissions were also made for funding to sustain the ongoing programs, and initiate new programs. With Mr Colle's knowledge of the state of the game in Ontario, he understood our needs and perhaps decided to approve the funding as such.
3. The OCA used to get $100,000 per year from the Ontario Government in the past. However for the past several years,virtually little or no support was received by the OCA from the Government of Ontario.
As per the other issues in the report, here is what has been done and is being done:
*The current OCA Board has adopted a policy of transparency from day one; any time anyone wishes to check our books, we will comply.
*No expense of more than $500 can be incurred without prior approval of the board
*All OCA cheques will be signed by at least 2 of the 3 signing officers
*An internal audit had been ordered even before the Auditor General got involved in this affair and a final report will be presented to the ministry and appropriate actions will be taken.
*The OCA Board has been very conscious of the fact that we have received public funds and we are conducting ourselves in a very professional and responsible manner and the report acknowledges that.
*Programs are being conducted on an on-going basis to meet the growth of cricket in Ontario, including involvement of the school boards to introduce cricket in the schools for the first time.
*University cricket and Womens' cricket has seen support from the OCA.
*Youth training camps,coaching clinics,inter-league play and participation from Ottawa to Windsor is at an all time high.
*Infrastructure and capital expenditure where needed,is being scrutinized.
*With income from the investment,all of the above and a few more initiatives are being undertaken and planned for the future of cricket in Ontario
Although $1,000,000 sounds like a lot of money,it barely addresses the minimum basic needs of cricket in Ontario,as it is the fastest growing sport in Canada. We are extremely thankful to the Government of Ontario for providing the absolutely needed critical funding. I am reasonably sure if someone had put the verbal submissions of the OCA on a piece of paper and presented it to the Government, much of this controversy would not have risen.
Thank you.
Mohan(Mike)Kendall
President
Ontario Cricket Association
Maple Leaf CC and the grant -- Posted Monday, July 30 2007
Cricket club distances itself from grant scandal
toronto.ctv.ca
The Ontario Cricket Association is concerned its connection to the provincial slush-fund scandal will cause a black mark on the sport and hinder future funding for the organization.
The OCA received $1 million in grant money from the provincial government when it requested only $150,000 for facilities upgrades.
The association still has $500,000 of the grant money in a GIC, which continues to earn interest.
The new executive of the OCA has instituted guidelines as to how that money will be spent and has vowed the funds will not be handled in the same manner as the Ministry of Citizenship and Immigration.
Ontario's Minister of Citizenship and Immigration Mike Colle tendered his resignation Thursday after Auditor-General Jim McCarter revealed in his report that Colle's office awarded grants to multicultural groups without an accountable application process.
"The decision behind who got what were often based on conversations and not applications," McCarter said during a press conference on Thursday.
McCarter's report investigated nearly $32 million in year-end grants that were hastily handed out to 110 community groups as the past two fiscal years came to and end.
The Maple Leaf Cricket Club at Dufferin Street and Bloomington Road is the main facility for cricket training and playing in Canada.
Despite the increase in grant money received, the president and treasurer of the club says the facility is still heavily under funded and in desperate need of repair.
"I need $2 million minimum," Ranjit Saini told CTV News on Friday.
"Money is needed to house athletes, to create better facilities and washrooms for international players. Even with $250,000 only makeshift type of work has been done in certain areas."
Saini said his main concern is that the club's connection to the grant scandal will limit the amount of funding the OCA receives in the future.
Premier Dalton McGuinty apologized to Ontarians on Thursday for not respecting their tax dollars and vowed the province would do a better job.
With a report from CTV's MairiAnna Bachynsky
Report sourced from:-
http://toronto.ctv.ca/servlet/an/local/CTVNews/20070726/auditor_report_070727/20070727?hub=TorontoHome
POLITICS: THE MIKE COLLE AFFAIR
Cricket group's leader rebuffs call to return Ontario grant
$1-million payment singled out in report by Auditor-General on suspicious funds
KAREN HOWLETT
With a report from Murray Campbell
July 28, 2007
TORONTO -- The head of the Ontario Cricket Association said it should not have to return any of the $1-million grant it received from the Ontario government and, in fact, he plans to ask for more funding.
The association is at the centre of the controversy that led to the sudden resignation of an Ontario cabinet minister this week. The association received $1-million in February of 2006 after asking for only $150,000.
"It was a nice surprise," said Mike Kendall, who became president of the association in January. "This was a much-needed boost."
The association has spent $360,000, including $250,000 bringing a cricket pitch in King City north of Toronto up to international standards. Of the $640,000 remaining, half is sitting in a GIC.
Premier Dalton McGuinty said yesterday that he has asked newly appointed Citizenship and Immigration Minister Gerry Phillips to look at whether groups such as the cricket association should return some of the unspent money.
Mr. Phillips said he was not prepared to say whether some of the grants could be recovered.
His predecessor, Mike Colle, resigned after provincial Auditor-General Jim McCarter released a scathing report on the $32.4-million doled out by his ministry over the past two years with little or no paperwork. The grant to the cricket association was one of three highlighted in the auditor's report.
"The report clearly shows that we came up short when it comes to openness, transparency and accountability," Mr. McGuinty told reporters yesterday.
But Mr. Kendall said in an interview that his association should not have to give back any money.
"I think that would be very unfair. We're conducting ourselves very responsibly."
But well before the provincial auditor showed up at his door, Mr. Kendall had concerns about how some of the money was spent. He said he hired an accountant in March or April to do an audit of how grant money was spent, including $28,000 in cheques made out simply to cash.
The cheques were signed by Errol Townsend, a Toronto lawyer and former president of the association. Mr. Townsend could not be reached for comment yesterday. But Mr. McCarter said Mr. Townsend explained to him that the cheques were to reimburse Mr. Townsend for payments he had made to various individuals involved with the King City project.
Mr. Kendall said the association now requires two signatures on every cheque. Once the auditor completes his report, he said, a copy will be submitted to the government.
Mr. McCarter said yesterday that the association's new management shared many of his concerns.
"We got some comfort that they were taking it pretty seriously," he said.
Mr. Kendall said the association plans to seek further government funding to help ensure it has adequate facilities to meet international cricket standards and attract teams from other countries.
"This amount of money is barely scratching the surface of what's needed," he said. "Cricket is growing exponentially in Canada. As the sport grows we need to have infrastructure facilities in place."
Article sourced from:-
http://www.theglobeandmail.com/servlet/story/LAC.20070728.ONTCOLLE28/TPStory/TPNational/Politics/
A reflection on the MCC -- Posted Sunday, July 29 2007
The Marylebone Cricket Club would have you believe that they are a family of cricketers who trace their collective genealogy back to before the days the game was played on grass by gentlemen, hence the name “Lords” for their ancestral home. Far from it. For those who bemoan the current plight of cricket with it’s betting, professionalism, marketing and match fixing, you will be comforted to know that the genus of the MCC and Lords was in gambling and the desire of the English nobility to do their scandalous business out of the eyes of the prying public. Go to the MCC website and click on to History and there it is for the likes of cricketing boards of inquiry, police forces, the News Of The World, Mesar’s Malik, Cronje, may he rest in peace, and the whole world to see; “Like shooting and fox hunting, cricket was considered a manly sport for the elite, with plenty of gambling opportunities to boot. Around 20,000 pounds was bet on a series of games between Old Etonians and England back in 1751. As the population of London grew, so did the nobility’s impatience with the crowds that gathered to watch them play. In pursuit of exclusivity, they therefore approached Thomas Lord, …and asked him to set up a private ground with their backing.” The MCC is older than an anachronism and some would say colour blind as evidenced by their choice of family colours, scrambled eggs and ketchup; I suspect gender blind as well, why they refused to recognize the existence of woman until 1998, when as the MCC information package trumpets: “The superb new Grand Stand was opened to great acclaim in 1998-when Members also took the decisive move to allow woman to apply for membership of the Club” My first recollection of the MCC is sitting by my grandfather’s side and listening to the BBC World Service. For 5 minutes here and 10 minutes there, I was transported to Lords or some other cricket venue to listen to the MCC versus Australia or the West Indies. Australia was always Australia, the West Indies the West Indies, but England was always the MCC. Those recollections have stayed with me to the present. When we went to build a radio link for the cricket club webpage there was only one choice, the BBC World Service. I do not know why, but I have comfort in those acronyms, the BBC and the MCC. Today I went searching for the MCC on the Internet. I tried lords.org and lords.com without success. I tried mcc.org and mcc.com upper and lower case without success, only to be disappointed to find what I was searching for at ecb.co.uk, which is “powered” by the Microsoft of cricket, cricinfo. I genuinely hope the name the Marylebone Cricket Club does not disappear from the cricket radar screen to become associated with a brand of sports apparel marketed over the net, but I fear it and your sponsors may drive you to it.
The above authored by C.V. Twist, published on Vancouver's "Home of the Brockton Point Cricket Club" at http://www.cricketclub.org/
Brighter future for cricketers -- Posted Saturday, July 28 2007
Sartorial elegance is often the most important criteria for fashionistas when it comes to the ideal pair of sunglasses.
And you could be forgiven for thinking the same parameters apply for a select group of cricketers judging by their eyewear of choice.
But the natty wraparound sunglasses serve a more serious purpose than just aesthetics. In fact, they could potentially revolutionize the way the game is played.
As well as blocking harmful ultraviolet light emitted from the sun, advances in optical technology now mean players have the option of using lenses which increase the amount of light in their field of vision.
Such technology could have come in very handy at Lord's last week when bad light prevented England from beating India in the first Test.
Fast forward five years and bad light stopped play could find itself confined alongside underarm bowling in the bin of cricket history.
One man who has worked extensively in this field is England and Wales Cricket Board optometrist Nick Dash, who configures the England players' individual sunglasses depending on their optical needs.
"Certain sunglasses can increase the contrast of different colours and are often perceived as increasing the visibility of specific tasks," he told BBC Sport.
"Players often have two or three different lens types, one which is used in bright light and one that is used at the end of the day.
"So you can have a lens that allows 28% of the light in and one that allows 50%.
"However, a great addition over the last month or so has been the photochromic/transition lenses that enhance the red ball but also change darkness depending on the amount of light."
Most England players use lenses which specifically filter light from the green end of the spectrum, enhancing the red end of light and therefore making the ball more visible in all conditions.
Great news for fielders, not so great for batsmen, who probably spend more time staring at the ball than any other players.
As batting helmets tend to get hot very quickly, sunglasses worn underneath are more than likely to mist up at inopportune moments.
As Kevin Pietersen succinctly told BBC Sport: "It wouldn't be fun facing a bowler charging in at 95mph with your glasses misted up."
According to Dash, vented lenses are available on the market, but no company has completely resolved the issue.
But one major advancement has been the introduction of tinted contact lens, an innovation which has been embraced by baseball players in the United States as well as England wicket-keeper Matt Prior.
"Unlike sunglasses these lenses sit directly on the wearer's eye, reducing visual distortion and giving clear vision from all angles," said Dash, who is based at Loughborough University.
"They suppress the blue end of the spectrum and relatively enhance the red end so you can see a red ball stand out much more against a confusing background, making it pop out.
"These lenses are based on a red/orange tint and research has shown that choosing the correct tint can improve depth perception.
"However, the issue is less critical when batting because the helmet shades the eyes and so limits the glare issues."
The optical industry isn't one that rests on its laurels, so expect to see a Test batsman wearing a pair of mist-free sunglasses under a helmet in the not too distant future.
By Pranav Soneji
Story from BBC SPORT:
http://news.bbc.co.uk/go/pr/fr/-/sport2/hi/cricket/6896095
Free Summer Youth Cricket Camp -- Posted Friday, July 27 2007
Hamilton & District Cricket League, in association with Ontario Cricket Association, is proud to announce a Free Summer Youth Cricket Camp for the youths of Hamilton & District between ages of 10 and 18 years to be held at Crescent Cricket Club Ground, Mohawk Sports Park, Hamilton starting from August 13th, 2007 to August 17th 2007
Free To All Participants between ages of 10 and 18 years
Coaching to be provided by renowned coach, Mr. Abdul Majid, one of the Elite Under-19 Coaches from Pakistan
Registration will be available on first come first serve basis.
Zaki Ullah (Event Coordinator)
Vice President
Hamilton & District Cricket League
(905)-560-5144 or (905)-387-9050
zaki.ullah@hdcl.ca
Mr. Rupert Albert
President
Hamilton Cricket Club
(905)979-3796
rupert@hdcl.ca
Ranjit Chaudhri
President, HDCL
416-737-1276 or president@hdcl.ca
Information sourced from http://hdcl.ca/archive/
OCA $1 million grant questioned by auditors -- Posted Friday, July 27 2007
The Toronto Star reports:-
"Mike Colle must have looked like Santa Claus to the folks at the Ontario Cricket Association.
The group was cleared for a $1 million grant just a day after a request for $150,000 was made to Colle's ministry of citizenship and immigration in February 2006 to bring a cricket pitch in suburban King City up to international standards.
They didn't even have to ask.
And before they knew it, Colle and Premier Dalton McGuinty appeared in person at a cricket dinner to announce the good news.
"We were shocked. It was a great surprise," Ontario Cricket Association president Mike Kendall told the Star yesterday from his office in Kitchener. "It was, `Oh, wow! Somebody's finally thinking cricket ... it's about time.'""
...
"Spending controls weren't loose just in Colle's ministry.
The auditor found a similar problem at the cricket association, where cheques totalling $28,000 were made out to "cash" to reimburse members of the executive for money paid to tradespeople for the pitch upgrade and for supplies they purchased themselves. There were no receipts.
Shortly after McCarter's staff visited this spring, procedures were tightened, Kendall said, requiring board approval for expenditures over $500 and at least two signatures on cheques.
"We have nothing to hide. Our books are open."...
Full article
The Conscience of Cricket -- Posted Wednesday, July 25 2007
Since 1788 the MCC and Lords have been the home, heart, soul and conscience of cricket. I can’t remember quite when they were replaced but it may have been at about the time the Lords of Cricket stood four square against Kerry Packer and limited overs cricket.
The new monsters of the midway called the ICC moved into Lords to share digs with the England Cricket Board, the MCC and Middlesex. The marriage was short lived and the ICC currently resides in Dubai not only to reflect the shift of the axis of power in cricket to Asia and Africa but also to take advantage of the laws that allow them to hoard the money they mine from cricket.
It took about 200 years to undermine the power of the MCC over cricket. It has taken barely 25 to 30 years for the ICC to hand it back. The why is not too hard to discern.
The last world cup was a local community relations disaster. The previous world cup in South Africa will be remembered for the lip service paid by the English to the rule of law and New Zealand to their contractual agreements.
It is not to say that the world has not changed but the moral compass has not. Cricket is a game. Its beauty is in its simplicity. Three pegs, bails, a ball and a bat and the game is on. When concluded the green space is returned to park. No goal posts to mar the view.
As for the MCC Committee recommendations I would go further than the MCC and not only ban glue to cement wickets but artificial wickets of any kind.
As for the MCC reasserting its position as the conscience of cricket as a first step they should consider reasserting their independence from the oligopolies that control cricket by having a communications presence on the internet separate from cricinfo.
June 11, 2007 Cricinfo announced that they had been sold to Disney, one of the biggest corporate oligopolies on the block, trading on the NYSE at $34.15, volume on the day 6.9 million shares traded. Now there is a pleasant thought, the M.C.C. media and communications, being controlled by a Disney subsidiary. So much for the conscience of cricket reasserting itself through the M.C.C.
Christopher Van Twest
Article sourced from:-
http://www.cricketclub.org/article_the_conscience_of_cricket.html
Under 11 tour to California -- Posted Tuesday, July 24 2007
My name is Shehan Sarap and I was given the opportunity to captain the U-11 tour for the Toronto Cricket Academy in Cupertino, California.
Following is a record of my experience of the tour.
When I left my house I had the butterflies in my stomach and I was really excited for this trip. When we arrived at the airport, I saw most of my team mates talking to each other and the parents as well, Our coach then arrived and gave us a pep talk. We said our good-byes to all the parents and we departed. A few hours later we arrived at Minneapolis for transit, and then we took our connecting flight to San Jose, California. 3 hours later we arrived in San Jose and took a bus to Budget rent a car to rent 3 mini vans for all of us. Once we got the mini vans we drove to our hotel and rested there for the game the next day.
The next day we woke up and went down for breakfast. Once everyone was ready we took off for our first game. Our final round robin stats were won: 2 lost: 1 which enabled us to be in the playoffs which we lost to the California Jaguars. One of our players Asad Syiid was named man of the tournament with scores of 6, 75, 72 & 63.
Captaining the TCA team was a privilege and made me gain much experience in the strategy of the sport. I learned how to set fields and how to respect both my players and the opposition. We also did some sightseeing in San Francisco where we traveled on the Golden Gate Bridge.
I was really happy of what we’ve achieved and learned from this tour. I am thankful to President of TCA Mr. Hale, Coach Santosh, and Mr. Taploo for arranging this tour and not forgetting all our parents for their support, encouragement and love. I am also thankful to all my team mates for their support given to me during this tour. We returned to Canada the next day and we were happy to be back home with our families again. The biggest lesson that we learned was it doesn’t matter if you win or lose, but how you play the game.
Canadian National Universities Twenty20 tournament -- Posted Monday, July 23 2007
Ryerson victory overshowed by poor organisation
Eddie Norfolk
July 23, 2007
Ryerson University won the first Canadian National Universities Twenty20 tournament late on Friday night, beating McMaster University (Hamilton) in the final.
The scheduled final almost did not take place as the tournament supervising umpire from the Canadian Cricket Association (CCA) proved a highly immovable object to the sentiments of the participating teams. McMaster beat Seneca College in one semi-final and Ryerson edged out the fancied University of Toronto Scarborough (UTS) campus in the other.
It was noticed that one of the Ryerson batsman had not been declared in the original team list of 11 players. At one point, Ryerson were deemed to have lost, and UTS were told the final would be forfeited if they did not take the field. There was a lot of sympathy from the attending students as both last and this year's event owed a massive debt to the key organiser from Ryerson.
Figures showing how McMaster had qualified ahead of Ryerson on run-rate for last year's final have not been publicly disclosed, to the best of my knowledge. I arrived on Friday morning uncertain as to the four semi-finalists. It seems the calculations and discussions went on until late. The ability to advise local media of the line-up for the big-day and a desire to draw a decent crowd evaporated during Thursday night's deliberations and confusion.
The designated CCA vice-president responsible for schools, colleges and universities cricket, as well as umpiring and scoring, was not present. He attended the opening ceremony on Monday. Eventually the CCA president arrived and about 50 minutes later a replay of five-overs-a-side between Ryerson and U of T Scarborough began.
U of T Scarborough, including Trevin Bastiampillai, one of Canada's batting hero's from the recent ICC Intercontinental Cup win over UAE, made 45 for 4. Ryerson overhauled this total in the fourth over for the loss of two wickets.
Closing speeches followed before McMaster U went out and scored 104 for 5 wickets in a match shortened to 12 overs because of problems caused by the setting sun, Hassan Mir leading from the front with an unbeaten 49. Those with long memories recalled he hit 45 earlier in the day against Seneca College. A couple of Toronto and District players formed the bedrock of Ryerson's chase, Harvir Baidwan making 29 off16 balls, and Rahath Mirza 37 off 25, to guide them home with an over to spare. In fairness, the fielding side struggled in far from ideal conditions as the sun set and dusk arrived.
Report sourced from:
http://content-www.cricinfo.com/canada/content/story/303290.html
The Moon presides over Universities Cricket Final -- Posted Sunday, July 22 2007
Ryerson U won the originally advertised first Canadian national universities 20/20 cricket tournament late on Friday night (July 20). They beat McMaster University (Hamilton) in the final.
The scheduled final almost did not take place as the tournament supervising umpire from the Canadian Cricket Association (CCA) proved a highly immovable object to the sentiments of the participating teams. McMaster beat Seneca College in one semi-final and Ryerson edged out the fancied University of Toronto Scarborough campus in the other.
It was noticed that one of the Ryerson batsman had not been declared in the original team list of 11 players. At one point, Ryerson were deemed to have lost, and U of T Scarborough was being told the final would be forfeit if Scarborough did not take the field. There was a lot of sympathy from the attending students as both last year’s tournament (4 teams) and this year’s with ten teams owed a massive debt to the key organizer from Ryerson.
Figures showing how McMaster had qualified ahead of Ryerson on run rate for last year’s final have not been publicly disclosed, to the best of my knowledge. I arrived on Friday morning uncertain as to the four semi-finalists. It seems the calculations and discussions went on until late at the Maple Leaf CC ground. The ability to advise local media of the line-up, for the big-day, evaporated and an attempt to draw a crowd evaporated during the Thursday night deliberations and confusion.
The designated CCA Vice-President responsible for Schools, Colleges and Universities cricket, as well as umpiring and scoring was not present. He attended the opening ceremony on Monday. Eventually the CCA President arrived and about 50 minutes later to see a re-play of just 5-overs-a-side between Ryerson and U of T Scarborough began.
U of T @ Scarborough, including one of Canada’s batting hero’s from the recent ICC Intercontinental Cup win over the United Arab Emirates - Trevin Bastiampillai, made 45 for 4 wickets. Ryerson overhauled this total in the 4th over for the loss of 2 wickets.
Closing speeches followed before McMaster went out and scored 104 run for 5 wickets in 12 overs. Hassan Mir was 49 not out. Those with long memories recalled he hit 45 runs much earlier in the day against Seneca College. A couple of Toronto and District players fired the Ryerson response, with Harvir Baidwan making a quick 29 runs (16 balls) and Rahath Mirza toasting victory with 37 runs (25 balls).
It’s a long time since I have tried to see a red ball in the gathering dusk. The need for a tournament referee/manager had been more than apparent by the second morning when I assisted in getting some of the matches going. I claimed I could not report, take pictures and umpire as the fourth scheduled match began. There is now some evidence I might be able to act as a boundary fielder, take pictures or pass on the latest tournament news by cell phone from my participation with the Ryerson Women’s team in an exhibition match as the final should have been going ahead.
Based on what I have heard, the value of my camera equipment exceeds the CCA’s financial contribution to this event, but it was given seems the customary hype, including the CCA's commitment to cricket at this level. The leadership needs some people with their feet on the ground. Pragmatism. Instead we were told how exciting 5-overs a-side cricket looked. Bah, humbug, to quote Scrooge.
On the positive side, the Heart and Stroke Foundation Ontario representative was able to see some women’s cricket. Hope springs eternal. And there were signs and posters for various AIDS groups, UNICEF and Heart and Stroke at the ground.
Eddie Norfolk
Cricket World Cup !979 and all that - a retrospective -- Posted Saturday, July 21 2007
The 1970s: Glam rock and T-Rex, the Conservatives and Margaret Thatcher, Tudor Crisps and Quosh cordial, cricket and Canada.
Most remembered with fondness, some with fear and the latter pairing, well, probably not at all.
The decade that fashion forgot was also a time when Canadian cricket enjoyed unprecedented success, although it was something, both now and then, that would have slipped the mind of many.
It all began in 1975, when a provincial side beat a strong Australia touring party.
Four years later, Canada took another giant leap forward by qualifying for the World Cup at the first time of asking.
For a country more renowned for its ice hockey excellence, making the World Cup could have been compared to Cheryl Ladd joining 70s TV heroines Charlie's Angels - a surprise, but welcomed in many circles.
But unlike Ms Ladd, Canada's entry into the big-time began with more of a whimper than a bang.
Canada, mostly made up of players who had emigrated from the West Indies, were drawn against England, Pakistan and Australia in the group stages.
First up were Pakistan, a team they played their best cricket against. Canada donned the pads against the third favourites, who had the likes of Imran Khan, Safraz Nawaz and Majid Khan in attack.
The Canadians were intent on making themselves hard to beat.
Openers Chris Chappell and Glenroy Sealy made a 54 partnership, before Chappell (no relation to the famous Australian brothers) fell for 14.
It was a dream start for the minnows.
Up stepped Franklyn Dennis to the crease, a man with a perm only rivalled by captain Brian Mauricette and England's speed merchant Bob Willis.
Sealy managed to make 45 before he was caught and bowled by Asif Iqbal with the scores at 85-2.
Dennis went on to make 25, falling just as Canada reached their ton.
Unfortunately, things turned pear-shaped soon after with the North Americans losing the next six wickets for 36 runs before the end of the innings.
It did not take long for the West Indies to reach 140, and they did so with the loss of just two wickets.
Next up were home side England. With Ian Botham, Chris Old and Willis spearheading the attack, the visitors knew they were in for a rough time.
But they probably never envisaged being dismissed for just 45.
Dennis managed to score 21 runs of that meagre total - the only player to make double figures.
In total, Canada scored 284 runs from their three matches, at an average of just over 90 runs. To say they were outclassed, was an understatement.
Finally, came the might of Australia.
With the Canadians effectively out of the World Cup, pride was the only thing left to salvage.
They did that to some extent by making more than a century against the tough opposition.
However, the Australians lost just three wickets before Kim Hughes and Graham Yallop guided the side past the 105-run mark set for victory.
So by the end of Canada's campaign, the statistics read: Played 3, Won 0, Lost 3.
They might not have won a game, but at least the world found out that North Americans did know something about cricket.
Above sourced from:-
http://news.bbc.co.uk/sport3/cwc2003/hi/newsid_2330000/newsid_2339900/2339977.stm
Harris happy with progress
Canada bade a fond farewell to the 2003 World Cup following their final group match against New Zealand.
The minnows, who qualified for the tournament by coming second in the ICC Trophy, finished their campaign with a five-wicket defeat.
But despite the loss, Canada captain Joe Harris was delighted with his side's efforts in a World Cup which saw them pick up their first-ever win in the tournament.
"I think the World Cup has given us tremendous exposure. The first win over Bangladesh was major news in Canada," he said.
"We came to South Africa from our winter and having not played cricket for six months, so I think the boys should feel proud.
"I must take the opportunity to thank the South African crowd and the country."
Looking back at the match against New Zealand, Harris said his side had failed to capitalise after reducing their opponents to 32-3 at one stage.
We got a few early wickets and thought we could make a game of it. But it was a great batting track and we had top rest a couple of our quicks, who were not feeling well.
"We then bowled a few bad balls and they soon accelerated the run rate," said Harris.
"They came out with a plan to chase the net run rate - they even advertised it on television and we had the limitations of the first 15 overs.
"We could do only so much in the field and we put a lot of pressure on them. In all it wasn't really a bad day of cricket for us."
Above sourced from:-
http://news.bbc.co.uk/sport3/cwc2003/hi/newsid_2810000/newsid_2815900/2815955.stm
Davison keen on county deal
Canadian John Davison is (was) hoping his eye-catching efforts during the World Cup might attract the interest of an English county side.
Davison, an aggressive, fast-scoring batsman and a canny off-spinner, boasts a game ideally suited to one-day cricket.
He picked up two Man of the Match awards in Canada's six games and also has experience of playing state cricket for South Australia.
English counties are permitted to include two overseas players for the 2003 season and there are still one or two vacancies.
Davison scored 75 off just 62 balls in his side's final match against New Zealand, with four sixes in his innings, and also also took three wickets.
Earlier in the tournament, he hit the fastest century in World Cup history against a stunned West Indies team and ended up averaging 37.7 with the bat and 18.7 with the ball.
Davison said: "A lot of good friendships were made here and a lot of good contacts were made.
"We also received a lot of admiration from the South African public.
"I would definitely be available to play county cricket in England if the opportunity arose. I am available."
Davison expressed a hint of frustration that Canada's campaign did not go even better.
Although they beat Bangladesh, they were unable really to hurt any other sides and it was their batting which tended to be their weak suit.
"A couple of guys found it difficult to get off strike," he said, referring to the middle overs of the Canadian innings in Benoni.
Davison was asked if he would be tempted to stay in South Africa in case Australia, for whom he is also qualified, had an injury crisis.
"I'd love to hang around and keep playing but I don't think that's going to happen," he laughed.
Above sourced from::-
http://news.bbc.co.uk/sport3/cwc2003/hi/newsid_2810000/newsid_2816500/2816543.stm
CRICKET WORLD CUP 2003
Minnows 'need pro status'
By Martin Gough
BBC Sport in Potchefstroom
Last Updated Thursday, 27 February, 2003, 11:53 GMT
Kenya struck a blow for the minnows of international cricket this week with their upset victory over Sri Lanka, but the win was no surprise for Dougie Brown, coach of fellow tiddlers Namibia.
But Brown believes a single victory does little to narrow the gulf between teams at the top of the international game and the chasing pack of associate members.
"To see a team we know we can compete with beating a Test nation is great - the team have taken heart from it," said Brown, whose side lost 3-1 to Kenya in a hard-fought one-day series in Namibia last year.
"One of the minnows was always going to over-turn someone.
"We had a chance against England but we couldn't quite take it."
Namibia, the fourth African nation in the tournament, have put up an impressive display so far, having England in trouble for much of a rain-threatened 55-run defeat in Port Elizabeth.
Pakistan also found the going anything but easy against Namibia's bowlers in Kimberley, although they subsequently reduced the batting line-up to 84 all out.
But, while the World Cup is littered with Davids who have taken on Goliaths with nothing more than leather and willow, it is no reliable indicator of a solid improvement in standards.
Brown admits there is only one way to gain a professional standard, and become capable of finishing matches off after laying down the gauntlet, and that is to become professional.
"To have professional standards you have to be paid all the time," he said.
"We're a group of doctors, nurses and electricians."
Home series in the last year against Kenya and Bangladesh have helped improve the level of experience.
But perhaps the deciding factor was Namibia's inclusion in the Standard Bank Cup - South Africa's domestic one-day competition - in the run-up to the World Cup.
Brown, who appeared for Scotland before playing nine one-day internationals in English colours, believes that his own country will benefit from a similar plan in the National League.
"We learned a lot from the Standard Bank experience," he said.
"In four of the five games we were 20 or 30 runs ahead of the game at halfway but the lack of professional discipline enabled the other sides to get back in each one.
"If we had come into the World Cup blind we would have been annihilated."
Other plans are in place as part of the International Cricket Council's development programme, which saw Brown appointed by programme head, Bob Woolmer.
Brown's former Warwickshire coach hopes to introduce two and three-day domestic cricket to associate member countries, with the aim of improving the standard of batting - currently lagging behind bowling ability.
There are plans for an intercontinental cup, featuring composite sides playing an extended version of the game.
Expect to see a super-minnow team at the 2004 ICC Champions Trophy. Woolmer has even lobbied for 16 teams to be admitted to World Cup 2007.
Just do not use a win for one of those minnows in the Caribbean as solid proof that standards are improving across the board.
Above sourced from:-
http://news.bbc.co.uk/sport3/cwc2003/hi/newsid_2800000/newsid_2803900/2803917.stm
Editors comment:-
"So by the end of Canada's (2003) campaign, the statistics read: Played 3, Won 0, Lost 3."
WC2007 the statistics read: Played 3, Won 0, Lost 3
Plus ca change, plus c'est la meme chose. (JH).
P.S.
Canada's rich cricket history
Ice hockey, baseball, skiing and skating are widely regarded as the most popular sports in Canada.
And cricket - that's right cricket - is aiming to join that elite group.
It is estimated that there are 12,000 players within the Canadian Cricket Association, playing in 400 teams around 145 grounds.
Not bad for a country with a population of 30 million - just over half of England.
So how did cricket reach the northern-most areas of North America?
Many enthusiasts in Canada believe that the sport reached their shores during the mid 1700s with British soldiers following the battle at the Plains of Abraham near Quebec City.
But it was schoolmaster George A Barber, considered to be the father of Canadian cricket, who spread the word throughout Toronto during the early 19th century.
Popularity for the game grew rapidly in the country and, in 1844, Canada played the United States in New York.
The match happened 30 years before England and Australia contested a series, and historians believe the contest is the oldest international sporting fixture in the world.
A Canadian record
In 1892, the Canadian Cricket Association was formed. However popularity for the sport was on the wane as baseball's grew.
Between that time and the Second World War there were a number of cricketing highlights, including a 1932 tour by an Australia squad including Don Bradman.
In a match against Western Ontario, Bradman scored 260 runs - a Canadian record which stood for 58 years.
After the war Pakistan and the MCC visited Canada on tours, beginning a cricketing revival in the country.
But it was in 1975 and 1979 that Canada came under the sport's spotlight.
First, Eastern Canada beat the touring Australian World Cup side by five wickets.
Four years later, Canada reached the final of the first International Cricket Conference Trophy, only to be beaten by Sri Lanka.
That effort earned them a place in the 1979 World Cup, where they performed valiantly against the likes of England, Pakistan and Australia, but still failed to win a single match
And in 2001, Canada played host to the International Cricket Council Trophy tournament.
The nation finished third out of 22, to qualify for the 2003 World Cup.
Above article sourced from:-
http://news.bbc.co.uk/sport3/cwc2003/hi/newsid_2300000/newsid_2307600/2307651.stm
PPS: Without a focus on cricket at the grass roots level in Canada we can anticipate "Plus ca change, plus c'est la meme chose" - again. (JH)
Shaughnessy Cricket Club -- Posted Friday, July 20 2007
The Shaughnessy Cricket Club, formerly The University of British Columbia Cricket Club, brings a talented combination of local Canadian players and cricketers from around the world who have come to Vancouver, BC to continue their studies at UBC. Students Dave Carey, Dr. Harry Warren, and Basil Robinson organized the first UBC cricket team, entering the British Columbia Mainland Cricket League (BCMCL) in 1938.
This team was captained by Carey, who the previous year was selected to play for the Canadian cricket team that toured England. Carey led the UBC team in batting in '38 taking it to a third place finish in league standings. In 1939 the team was captained by Robinson, and he led it to both the BCMCL championship and the Fyfe-Smith Shield.
The club went on to enjoy a rich history with UBC through 1995, and while our association remained close through 2006, we now embark on a new era - as The Shaughnessy Cricket Club (SCC), representing the grand old neighborhood of Shaughnessy, Vancouver's poshest subdivision. The area is an important Vancouver heritage landscape, with curving streets, generous lots, lush gardens, and manicured properties that harken to a lost-era of stylish wealth.
(Courtesy to http://www.tourismvancouver.com)
We certainly look forward to both honouring and building upon our proud UBC history with a successful debut season as SCC in 2007.
As the exciting season approaches, players of all nationalities will join UBC students and graduates who constitute the core of the club. The cultural diversity of Canada contributes to the high level of cricket played here, especially evident in the premier division of the BCMCL. This year alone, our club includes players from Australia, England, India, Jamaica, Trinidad, Ireland, New Zealand, and Pakistan.
The BCMCL has slowly grown from a handful of teams in 1914 to over 60 teams playing today in 7 divisions. The Shaughnessy Cricket Club is in the highly competitive second division this year. Our cricket season is from late April through August. One-day, limited-over, weekend matches culminate with the top four premier division teams playing off in September. Finalists then play a one-day match to determine league champions. We play cricket in picturesque parks around the city on permanent, concrete, hard-wickets topped with a thin surface layer of artificial turf. Sir Donald Bradman stated in 1950 that one such venue, Brockton Point, situated on the water at Stanley Park in Vancouver, is "the most beautiful ground in the world".
In addition to the regular season cricket matches, the league also holds two six-a-side tournaments during the summer; one is a "club" six-a-side where all teams within the league are represented. The other is an "international" six-a-side tournament with many different countries represented through the division of league players. The international six-a-side tournament, in particular, draws much interest and curiosity from the local community. The day is filled with flag-waving and cheering from crowds gathering along the boundary markers at the Brockton Oval.
http://www.shaughnessycricket.com/html/AboutUs.html
Canada to host 2012 ICC Under 19 tournament -- Posted Friday, July 20 2007
Papua New Guinea favourites to qualify for next year’s ICC U/19 Cricket World Cup in Malaysia from EAP Region
Papua New Guinea (PNG) will start as favourites to qualify for next year’s ICC U/19 Cricket World Cup in Malaysia when the ICC East Asia-Pacific U/19 Qualifier begins in the Pacific island of Vanuatu on Wednesday.
It will be the first of five regional qualifying tournaments to be played up to the end of August.
The European U/19 Qualifier will be held in Belfast from 23-26 July, the Americas U/19 Qualifier takes place in Toronto from 13-18 August, the Asian U/19 Qualifier is staged in Malaysia from 20-29 August and the Africa U/19 Qualifier will be in Benoni from 25-30 August.
A total of 31 teams will take part in the qualifying tournaments with five teams joining the 10 Full Members and Malaysia for the main event to be played from 17 February to 2 March, 2008.
Pakistan will aim to complete a hat-trick of titles in Kuala Lumpur. It won the 2004 event in Bangladesh by defeating the West Indies by 25 runs and then successfully defended the title two years later in Sri Lanka by beating traditional rivals India in the final by 38 runs.
PNG missed out on the 2000 and 2006 ICC U/19 Cricket World Cups, both in Sri Lanka, but participated in three events that were held in South Africa in 1998, New Zealand in 2002 and Bangladesh in 2004.
The other three teams taking part in the EAP U/19 Qualifier are Japan, Vanuatu and Fiji. Vanuatu is one of the six Affiliates taking part in the tournaments with the others being Qatar, Afghanistan, Oman, the Bahamas and Ghana.
It will be Japan’s debut appearance at this level after it became an Associate in 2005, while Fiji was the host of the previous EAP Qualifier when it was staged in 2001.
Vanuatu hosted the 2005 EAP Cricket Cup, and ICC EAP Regional Development Manager Matt Weisheit believes the country is progressing in the right direction. He said: “We are delighted that Vanuatu will be hosting this significant EAP U/19 Qualifier.
“It follows the successful staging of the 2005 EAP Cricket Cup tournament and we see this tournament as building on the progress Vanuatu is making in terms of cricket development both on and off the field,” he added.
Weisheit hopes the EAP U/19 Qualifier will produce good cricket and sees it as an important tournament in the calendar. “Given the winner of this qualifier will progress directly to the ICC U/19 Cricket World Cup, it is sure to be a hotly contested event.
“The lure of participating in a World Cup will provide significant motivation for the countries involved and as such this is one of the major tournaments on the 2007 EAP cricket calendar.”
The President of Vanuatu Cricket Association (VCA) Mark Stafford said the tournament will provide a valuable boost for the growth of the sport in Vanuatu. He said: “We have focused on developing our junior cricket programs and structures, and hosting the ICC EAP U/19 Qualifier complements our ambitions to cultivate a strong junior base.”
The tournament also has the backing of the Vanuatu Government, with the Minister for Youth Development and Training, the Honourable Dunstan Hilton offering his support. “We have been a long time supporter of cricket in Vanuatu. We realise how important this tournament is to continuing the development of the sport.
“We fully endorse the VCA in the hosting of the U/19 Tournament and look forward to fostering our relationship with the Association in the future.”
On the opening day, Japan will take on PNG at the Kazaa Field while the Independence Park will host Fiji and Vanuatu. The top two teams will play for the title with the winner earning a ticket to Malaysia.
Schedule:
18 July – Japan v PNG at Kazaa Field, Fiji v Vanuatu at Independence Park
19 July – Vanuatu v Japan at Kazaa Field, Fiji v PNG at Club Hippique
20 July – Rest day
21 July – Vanuatu v PNG at Kazaa Field, Fiji v Japan at Independence Park
22 July – final at Kazaa Field, 3/4th place play-off at Club Hippique
The ICC U/19 Cricket World Cup is a vital part of the ICC Development Program and provides a vehicle for the best young cricketers in the world to parade their skills.
Many of the future stars of the game experience their first true international exposure at this tournament and players such as Brian Lara, Michael Atherton, Yuvraj Singh, Inzamam-ul-Haq, Chris Cairns, Michael Clarke, Graeme Smith and Sanath Jayasuriya have used the event as a stepping stone to full international honours.
First staged in Australia in 1988, the tournament was initially organised on an occasional basis, but since the commencement of the ICC Development Program in 1997 it has become a biennial fixture.
The 2010 ICC U/19 Cricket World Cup will be held in Kenya while the 2012 tournament will be staged in Canada and UAE will host the 2014 edition.
Information sourced from ICC media release
Canadian University Cricket Federation -- Posted Friday, July 20 2007
As the federal body governing cricket activity in Canadian Universities and Colleges, our purpose is to strengthen and maintain Canada’s cricket initiative at the post-secondary level.
While operating in all Canadian provinces (under our provincial bodies), we target the grass-root level to strengthen the base of cricket in our country. When the base is firm and the right values are in place, cricket will flourish as never before. Proper structure, planned approach, and rock solid determination – this is how we plant the seeds to bring Canadian post-secondary cricket to be recognized and appreciated internationally.
It is in every aspect of life…it is not just a sport…it is a code of conduct – Cricket.
The mission of CUCF is to develop cricket at the post-secondary level in Canada. This is the link between grass-root level and national level cricket. It is to foster and develop another stream of talent. And it is to boost the fastest growing sport in our nation.
CUCF should be synonymous with dedication, passion and excellence. Our work requires us to perceive Cricket as more than just a sport. Such a beautiful blend of discipline & skill; attitude & technique; speed & accuracy; form & timing; strategy & tactics; mind, body & soul - that is Cricket - and that is what the CUCCF believes in.
Item sourced from:-
http://www.cuccf.com/
Maple Leaf Cricket Club -- Posted Thursday, July 19 2007
The final decision to accept, modify, or reject recommendations will always rest with the board. I feel Maple Leaf Cricket Club is ideally situated to become the “Centre of Cricket Excellence”. In the next board meeting, we need to discuss this matter and if accepted; start to work on a plan to achieve our objectives.
Financially speaking, the hosting of these games doesn’t make business sense. As you are aware that for each day that is lost by TDCA to host its games, TDCA has to go and rent grounds elsewhere. We at Maple Leaf have to cover that expense by refunding certain fixed amounts.
International games take up 2 grounds to play one match. Thus there is no gain made by MLCC. In addition we are also required to pick up several other expenses and provide staff, as well as volunteers. Weekend games at MLCC are a net loss and since TDCA in the end has to ensure that MLCC stays in the black, the TDCA in fact becomes the host. We have responsibilities towards OCA, CCA, and ICC to do our best to host games in Canada at a reasonable cost. I will be initiating discussion with the CCA to find other ways of meeting our costs so that TDCA does not continue to become the most expensive league to play cricket in Canada.
Maple Leaf Cricket Club has the following objectives:
1. Provide Best Quality Cricket Grounds and enjoyable playing environment for its Members.
2. Become the most advanced and best equipped facility to train players in North America. (Centre of Cricket Excellence)
3. Be financially self reliant and reduce/eliminate financial burden on TDCA
4. Be a host to higher level games for OCA, CCA, ICC, and other cricket organisation. I want to thank all those who came to MLCC during and before these matches and provided us with their support.
Best Regards,
Ranjit Saini.
President, MLCC
2007-07-09
Canada's national cricket team now stands at a crossroads -- Posted Thursday, July 19 2007
Having wrapped up what amounts to a home season with matches against fellow associate members of the International Cricket Council, the Netherlands and the United Arab Emirates, Canada's national cricket team now stands at a crossroads.
Depending on the direction taken, the good work of the past five years could be built upon, or it could all come to nothing. Ben Sennik, the president of the Canadian Cricket Association is nothing but optimistic.
Sennik aims high – maybe too high. The CCA president has invited scepticism by among other things, his oft-repeated objective of Canada acquiring Test status in 10 years.
Leaving aside matters of inadequate infrastructure, this is quite rich coming from a governing body that is dirt poor and struggles to pay its players or secure sponsorship.
Read full article at
http://www.thestar.com/Sports/Cricket/article/236633
Powerful Scoring in Universities Tournament -- Posted Wednesday, July 18 2007
There was some heavy scoring in some of Tuesday’s games in the Canadian University and Colleges 20/20 Championships at the Maple Leaf Cricket Club in King City.
The University of Toronto @ Mississauga piled up 217 runs for the loss of 7 wickets in 20 overs in the morning. Centennial College did well to come within 31 runs of this total.
In the afternoon, McMaster University powered to 224 runs for 5 wickets in a win against Centennial College. In a match between two University of Toronto campuses, the Mississagua campus made 166 for 5 wickets in 10 overs. The downtown Toronto St George campus powered to victory in just 14 overs, closing the match with consecutive sixes.
Wednesday is a rest day. The final group matches are set for Thursday with semi-finals and the final on Friday. Morning matches are scheduled for 10 am with a 3 pm start for afternoon games.
Tough going for the valiant few!
Coming so soon after home international match series with the Netherlands and the United Arab Emirates, this event is placing a heavy demand on a select few officials and administrators. There have been several impressive performances that go largely unseen and barely reported as the select few try their best to ensure the matches go ahead as best as possible.
The event is held under the auspices of the Canadian Cricket Association, which left a heavy footprint on the pre-match media release. However, some of the grand expectations, headed by the claim of participation from all provinces, have not materialized. The event has moved ahead from four Ontario-based teams to ten teams, again all from Ontario. Responsibility for the hard work to achieve this was correctly attributed to the prime organizer, Abhimanyu Sharma, a student of Ryerson University. Operationally, this places a mound of daily responsibilities on his plate. At least one or two people have chipped in by helping to get scoring going at some games, by assisting as square leg umpires or turning out as the main umpire.
The groundstaff at Maple Leaf CC is working hard to provide playing surfaces for this event as well as preparing grass wickets for the upcoming ICC Americas Under-19 World Cup qualifying tournament and an Americas Regional womens’ event set for August.
The bulk of the group matches have now been completed and there will be less matches for the faithful few to administer on the last two days. Hopefully, the event will attract some supporters on the last couple of days.
The supporting publicity has patently not matched the CCA’s expectations, highlighted by the absence of TV coverage, even for highlights purposes, and a hinted climbdown to re-designate the event as provincial rather than national.
There had been no TV coverage for the two recent home Intercontinental Cup matches or the ODI with the Dutch. The CCA did not appoint a tournament referee or name any match referees.
Monday Results:
University of Toronto St George campus 91-2 beat Centennial College 90 by 8 wickets;
York U 161-2 beat Brock U 157-7 by 8 wickets
Ryerson U 181-7 beat Centennial U 80 by 101 runs
McMaster U 192-8 beat U of Toronto @ Mississauga 179 by 13 runs
U of Western Onario 150-7 beat Brock U 149-7 by 3 wickets
York U 117 beat Seneca College 48 by 69 runs; (note: corrected score for Seneca, previously shown as 40)
Tuesday Results:
Ryerson U 126-? beat McMaster U 123 *
University of Toronto @ Mississauga 217-7 beat Centennial College 186-9 by 31 runs
University of Toronto @ St George 170-5 beat University of Toronto @ Mississauga 166-6 by 5 wickets
McMaster U 224-5 beat Centennial College *
University of Toronto @ Scarborough 72-4 beat Brock U 71 by 6 wickets (U of T had 2 Canadian internationals - Trevis Bastianpillai & Siad Bin Zafar).
York U 199 beat University of Western Ontario by 70 runs
* margin of victory to be confirmed.
Eddie Norfolk
Ontario Colleges and Universities 20/20 cricket event -- Posted Tuesday, July 17 2007
A 20/20 cricket tournament began yesterday at the Maple Leaf CC with ten teams from the southern Ontario colleges and universities.
York University raced to a 2-0 winning start, after winning a longer-format tournament in 2006. McMaster University, beaten in last year’s final by York, won its only match during the opening day.
Ryerson University closed its innings with Centennial College by scoring 32 runs off the last over, and went on to win by 101 runs. The opening round-robin play continues in two groups on Tuesday and Thursday of this week. Semi-finals, and the final, are set for Friday. There were some fine performances to kick off this tournament. Admission is free.
Opening day results included: York U scored 161 for 2 wickets (Khushro 90) to beat Brock U's score of 157-7 by 8 wickets; University of Toronto's St George campus scored 91-2 to beat the Centennial College score of 90 by 8 wickets; York U scored 117 to beat Seneca College by 77 runs, having scored only 40 runs; McMaster U scored 192 for 8 wickets to beat the 179 runs scored by the U of Toronto Mississauga Campus by 13 runs. Ryerson U scored 181-7 to beat Centennial College's score of 80 by 101 runs.
All ten scheduled teams have played at least one game. It is hoped that some additional resources, to help administer the event, will be available for the rest of this week.
Morning matches start at 10 a.m. and afternoon games at 3 p.m.
There was an opening ceremony with the Consul General of India gracious enough to do the honours. It is regratable that the CCA President was not present.
Eddie Norfolk
A tribute to John M. Laing -- Posted Tuesday, July 17 2007
Although Canada cannot boast of cricketing giants of the calibre produced by some of the Test countries, we have produced some great cricketers, who, had they had an equal opportunity, could have reached that stature.
Perhaps the greatest all-rounder of them all was John M. Laing. High profile cricketers are usually either expert bowlers or expert batsmen. Only once in a while do we come across a cricketer who excels at both bowling and batting.
John M. Laing was born in London, Ontario, on March 13, 1874. His talent at cricket became obvious while he was still at school. In 1981 at the age of 17 he was selected to represent Western Ontario against a formidable touring English team captained by the famous Lord Hawke.
The next year, Laing was chosen to represent Canada against a touring Irish team at Toronto. He took 4 wickets for 35 runs. A few day after this match, he was chosen to represent Canada against the U.S.A. at Germantown. It was at this match that he came against the famous American all-rounder Bart King, who was also making this debut in international cricket. For the next ten years, these tow great cricketers dominated the cricket scene in North America.
In 1893, the 19 year old Laing representing Canada against the U.S.A. at Toronto, clean bowled the first three batcsmen, to complete the innings with 7 wicckets for 54 runs. In the second innings of this match he captured 4 for 69 runs.
In 1894 England again toured Canada again led by Lord Hawke. In the match at Toronto on October 3rd, thanks to Laing's bowling, England was able to accumulate only 147 runs. The match resulted in a draw. In 1895, in the Canada-U.S.A. match at Toronto, the U.S.A. collected only 65 runs in the first innings, with Laing capruring 7 wickets for 21 runs in 15 overs. It was at this match that he created Canadian Cricket history, by recording the first Canadain hat-tricket in international cricket. He clean bowled J.W. Sharp, S. Goodman and L.K. Mallinkrodt with three succesive balls.
He continued to play for various clubs, and during an illustrious career, scored 11 centuries, including 249 at Chicago in 1903, a Canadian record that was equaled by R.J. Buchan in 1913, but has not yet been beaten. Laingh died on October 1947 at age 74.
Article transcribed from "CRICKET POCKET DIGEST' produced by the Ontario Cricket Association, circa 1987. (JH)
Universities & Colleges Cricket -- Posted Monday, July 16 2007
Century Cricket 20-20 Cup 2007
The Century Cricket 20-20 Cup 2007 is being played at Maple Leaf Cricket Club this week. Ten university and college teams from within Ontario are divided into two groups. The top two from each group progress to the semi-finals (Friday 10 am), and those game winners playing in the Final {Friday 3pm).
Currently there are no matches set for Wednesday. On other days there are rounds of matches at 10am and 3pm.
Of the participating teams from Ontario, three are from different campuses of the University of Toronto, with others from York U, McMaster U, Centennial College, Ryerson U, Brock U, Seneca College, and the University of Western Ontario. An opening ceremony is set for Monday at 9am.
Admission is free. Maple Leaf CC is located at the corner of Dufferin Street and 15th Sideroad in King City.
York University won an inaugural colleges and universities tournament in 2006. An event that won the ICC Americas Regional award for Spirit of Cricket/UNAIDS awareness.
Background:
There is a website : www.cuccf.com for the Canadian Universities and Colleges Cricket Federation. Abhimanyu Sharma is the designated media contact at 416-795 6487 or abhimanyu.sharma@cuccf.com.
The event is being staged in conjunction with the Canadian Cricket Association.
Century Cricket are sponsoring this event, as they did last year's event.
A closing ceremony is scheduled for 5 pm on Friday July 20.
Eddie Norfolk
Early cricket tour to Canada and U.S.A -- Posted Sunday, July 15 2007
John Lillywhite (born 10 November 1826 in Hove, Sussex; died 27 October 1874 in St Pancras, London) was a famous English cricketer during the game's roundarm era.
John Lillywhite was part of a famous cricketing family, his father being William Lillywhite, a brother being Fred Lillywhite and his cousin being James Lillywhite.
Lillywhite was an all-rounder who batted right-handed and bowled right-arm roundarm, both slow and fast.
His known first-class career spanned the 1848 to 1873 seasons. He took 223 wickets in 185 matches @ 11.56 with a best analysis of 8/54. He had 12 5wI and 2 10wM. He scored 5127 runs @ 17.43 with a highest score of 138, making 2 centuries. He took 94 catches.
At the end of the 1859 English cricket season, Lillywhite was one of the 12 players who took part in cricket's first-ever overseas tour when an England cricket team led by George Parr visited North America.
Item sourced from:-
http://www.answers.com/topic/john-lillywhite
The following is a notation in the Eldon House Diaries of London, Ontario. (JH)
October 17 1859 George Left London for Hamilton by the six o'clock train to play the great cricket match with All England's Eleven
October 20 1859 George came home by the night train, not at all cured of cricket. He made a very good catch and his play has been praised in the papers (London Free Press). One of the English cricketers said that anyone who could make that catch was worthy of playing with the All England's Eleven. We cannot help feeling pleased that he was praised even for his play at cricket, and yet we think it would have been better for him had his play been a total failure better .....
Common Sense & Evidence – Forgotten cricket history -- Posted Sunday, July 15 2007
Common Sense & Evidence – Forgotten cricket history
by Henry Fraser
With gay men and great
It is pleasant to meet
When the Club of St George's may call:
For true game is there
All honest and fair;
'Tis the game of the Bat and the Ball.
The Toast of the St George's Cricket Club of Philadelphia, 1886, when gay meant cheerful!
PROFESSOR HILARY BECKLES has done it again. The superb "A Nation Imagined – First West Indies Test Team: The 1928 Tour" by Hilary Beckles brought to our attention in vivid detail and colourful media the little-remembered first West Indies Test tour of England. His latest cricket history The First West Indies Cricket Tour: Canada and the United States in 1886 is a splendid little book, bringing to light a completely forgotten epic in West Indian (and North American) cricket history.
In A Nation Imagined, published in 2003 by Ian Randle Publishers and the Centre for Cricket Research of the University of the West Indies (UWI), Cave Hill Campus, to celebrate the 75th anniversary of our accession to test cricket, Professor Beckles intersperses his incisive commentary with the newspaper reports of the day, Press photos, cartoons, scorecards and facsimile reprints of newspaper clippings.
The result is a richly textured book, making this fascinating event in our cricketing history live for us in an even more fascinating and extraordinary way.
A delightful diary
The First West Indies Cricket Tour is an entirely different kind of affair. Professor Beckles, with the extraordinary good fortune that can only come to what might be described as an "archaeological bibliophile", managed to unearth the diary or "memory" of L.R. Fyfe, captain of the West Indies team that toured Canada and the United States of America in 1886.
He has written a scholarly introduction to the diary, setting the bold ambition of these pioneers in the historical context of a decayingand economically desperate sugar plantation economy of the second half of the nineteenth century.
In the first part of the book, Professor Beckles describes the socio-economic developments (or lack of development) in the Caribbean, resulting from the post emancipation changes in the sugar industry, complicated by the British Government's removal of preferential treatment for sugar from the colonies.
Not unlike the challenges of "Free Trade" and "Globalisation" we face today, which is making the rich nations, especially the United States, rapidly richer, and the poor nations progressively poorer (politically acceptable neo-colonisation), the Caribbean colonies, then, were increasingly desperate for economic solutions.
The tour, therefore, had many objectives: cricket and commerce, as Professor Beckles points out "went bat and glove; this much was understood and appreciated. The outcome of matches, important in themselves, were not the key determinants in relations between teams. The entire exercise had to be conducted with grace, shaped by hospitality and expressive of gentlemanly conduct. These values were considered endemic to both the culture of thegame and commercial ethics".
The tour was the brainchild of Guy Wyatt, captain of the Georgetown Cricket Club of Guyana, and the team was selected from the "Big Four", Guyana, Jamaica, Trinidad, and Barbados, although eventually Trinidad sent no one, and the party consisted of seven Jamaicans, three Bajans and three Guyanese, captained by L.R. Fyfe of Jamaica.
The West Indians played six games in Canada, won four and lost only one; the other was a draw.
They clearly did magnificently. They did less well in the United States, playing in and around Philadelphia, the strong cricket centre of the country. They won two matches, lost four and drew one – not a terrible performance, but there was certainly some "crumbling"!
Reasons why we lost
The media varied in their sympathy and reporting. One journalist noted: "The islanders are not accustomed to American wickets, their own being harder, rougher and faster. Again, they are under too great a strain. They play cricket day after day, and generally spend their evening in enjoying the hospitality of their hosts. These are the principal reasons why they have failed to do themselves justice."
(Anything in those comments sound familiar?)
On the lighter side, the style of the diary is delightful. Some amusing and archaic expressions are used, and some "creative" descriptions that might inspire even our own most inventive and startling local sports commentators – from the prosaic ("he gave a hard catch to mid-on which was not accepted") to the risqué ("one of his terrific smites came near removing the garters of a lady tennis player in a distant court")
An interesting passage (on Page 70) is: "The century was passed and 118 was posted when Wilson caught Kerr at 'silly point', as the Philadelphians call forward point close in." So even though we no longer take on the Americans on a regular basis, think of them every time you hear of a fielder placed at "silly point" –
it's an Americanism!
I strongly recommend both of these splendid books for any cricket fan whose interest extends beyond
the mere satisfaction of winning.
Professor Fraser is Dean of the School of Clinical Medicine and Research, UWI
http://www.nationnews.com/editorial/319156417054981.php
The game of cricket has had a long and complicated history in the West Indies. Originally imported to the West Indies as an agent of control and reaffirmation, the game steadily evolved into a cultural institution radically opposed to the original intentions of those who conspired for its import. The exact role cricket has played in terms of resistance to the postcolonial hegemonic order in the West Indies is widely debated. Much of this debate has to do with the variety of ways in which cricket culture has been allowed to progress according to specific histories of individual locales. Because of the diverse national histories in the region, styles of cricket vary a great deal from one island to the next, as does the cultural work each style performs One must therefore question the usefulness in talking in-depth about West Indian cricket in ways that suggest the game developed throughout the region in a singular fashion. Having set forth this advisory, here I will attempt to point up some of the larger issues belonging to cricket culture in the West Indies which may or may not be specific to any single locale. Discussion of these larger issues is merely meant to stimulate conversation on the topic of cricket and its relatedness to postcolonial discourse. The game of cricket was exported from England to all of its colonies, including those in Asia and Africa, during the nineteenth century as a way to reinforce a hegemonic cultural order in the face of the emancipation of England's slave population. A brief history of the state of affairs in the West Indies upon cricketÕs arrival will help explain why a re-commitment to England's Victorian ideals became necessary.
Colonial History of Cricket
English slaves in the West Indies were emancipated in the year 1838. Emancipation brought to an end an institution that had helped England bring one quarter of the world's land mass under British rule. In the West Indies during this time, the two largest groups were the newly-freed Africans, who made up the laboring class, and the white plantation owners who formed the islands' aristocracies. The African population prior to slavery not only performed the role of wealth-makers for the white, land-owning plantocracy, but also provided a metaphorical blackness onto which the plantocracy could project their whiteness. The resulting juxtaposition went a long way in alleviating the anxiety of the white land-owners who were constantly reminded of their location at the farthest reaches of the English empire, of civilization. For the planter class, wealth was not enough. There was the constant need to be reminded that they were a distinct race separate from the Africans in their midsts. Through the use of stereotypes and other forms of hegemonic control, the plantocracy learned to survive life at the edge of civilization. White was much whiter when juxtaposed against the black population.
Once the slaves were emancipated, cricket became the new cultural institution by which England sought to socialize the populations and reinforce hierarchies in its colonies. Cricket was imported to all of England's colonies, not only the West Indies. In The Tao of Cricket, Ashis Nandy explains the cultural evolution of cricket in India:
The age was more an affirmation of the superiority of controlled self-indulgence and controlled flair or style, combined with reaffirmation of a moral universe. The nineteenth century was also the period when the various post-Utilitarian theories of progress began to be applied to the new colonies of Britain. The emerging culture of cricket came in handy to those using these theories to hierarchize the cultures, faiths and societies which were, one by one, coming under colonial domination.
Cricket operated according to a Victorian model in which cultivated style and carefully defined notions of grace under pressure worked to keep most people out of the sport. Terms such as sportsmanship, dash, courage and temperament were important to cricket's Victorian ethos. Cricket was through and through a "gentleman's" game, and all others were excluded by their inability to demonstrate an understanding of cricket's image of the ideal Englishman.
England used its military forces to export the game to the West Indies (Beckles 37). Newspaper accounts written during the early nineteenth-century reveal how matches were staged between English military personnel. Needless to say, West Indian planters, fearful of changing social structures in the islands, welcomed cricket in the West Indies and by 1840 many were staging cricket matches on their plantations (38). Cricket allowed the plantocracy to pledge its support for British cultural values, concepts of social progress, moral codes, behavioral standards and attitudes towards social rankings (Stoddart 66). Blacks who were exposed to cricket on plantations where they made up the indentured labor pool also began to--either in whole or in part--espouse these views.
Despite the actions of the plantocracy , by the end of the nineteenth-century, a mercantile class had begun to dominate West Indian economic and cultural institutions. This new middle-class began forming cricket clubs which were aimed at countering the new image of social unity that cricket was beginning to suggest through its widespread popularity. Cricket clubs were formed throughout the West Indies. Each club drew its membership based on specific racial characteristics, and potential members knew to which club they would be invited to join without being told. There were separate clubs for aristocratic whites, merchant-class whites, coloreds (mulattos), and blacks. Racial integration for the most part during this time was not allowed.
Re-Colonisation or Revolution?
Much of the recent scholarship surrounding West Indian cricket, writes Beckles, addresses the question of cricket's "cultural imperatives" (Intro. 2). The question Beckles and others attempt to answer is whether or not cricket served the needs of the colonial empire England by re-inscribing its Victorian ethos on the newly-freed black West Indians, and if so, to what extent. Those who view cricket as revolutionary prefer the idea of cricket as "an ideological weapon of subversive, anti-colonial, creole nationalism" (Intro. 2). Cultural critics C.L.R. James, Ashis Nandy and Brian Stoddart illustrate three different opinions about the role of colonial cricket.
C.L.R. James, in his seminal work Beyond a Boundary, focuses on aesthetics and takes the position that the style of play of black West Indians is itself a form of "social resistance against British colonialism" (Graves). In Boundary, James writes about the "cutting" ("a batting stroke in which the ball is hit toward the off-side in an arc between cover and third man, with the bat held at an angle closer to horizontal than perpendicular") style of West Indian cricketers (Rundell 47):
By that time I had seen many fine cutters, one of them, W. St. Hill, never to this day surpassed. . . . Phidias, Michelangelo, Burke. Greek history has already introduced me to Phidias and the Parthenon; from engravings and reproductions I had already begun a life-long worship of Michelangelo; and Burke, begun as a school chore, had rapidly become for me the most exciting master of prose in English ... I knew already long passages of him by heart. There in the very center of this was William Beldham and his cut (6).
James equates the cultural value of cricket to great works of Western art, and the omnipotence of style of a great cutter he likens to the artistic style of Michelangelo and Burke."The stylistic specificity of 'cutting,'" writes Benjamin Graves,"is of some relevance here; . . . the point is that the shot is very difficult ... ;a gesture of mastery that serves little if any practical purpose. To James, the 'cut' signifies a belligerent affront to the exigencies of colonial rule ... a stylization of emancipatory ambitions."
II. Ashis Nandy
Nandy, like James, recognizes cricket's revolutionary potential, but he identifies this potential in the "schizophrenic" nature of the game. According to Nandy, it was the "moral posture of the superiority and self-control of the gentleman cricketer" that created the spaces for those outside the hegemony to critique the English for not living up to their own standards of morality (7).
[Cricket] allowed the Indians to assess their colonial rulers by western values reflected in the official philosophy of cricket, and to find the rulers wanting. . . . The assessment thus anticipated the nationalist and particularly Gandhian critiques of the British which judged the everyday Christianity of the British in India with reference to philosophical Christianity (7).
The heroic ideal imputed to cricketers by Victorians in England combined with the pagan desire to win at all costs to create in cricket culture a kind of schizophrenia. The marginalized people in England's colonies recognized the split caused by this psychotic condition inherent in cricket culture and used it as the point of attack for its critique of colonial England.
III. Brian Stoddart
Stoddart, like Nandy, recognizes the significance in cricket's contradictory ideals. While Nandy identifies this contradiction as the site of cultural resistance, Stoddart focuses on an alternative view that points up the power of cricket as a tool deployed by the hegemonic order. Writing about two members of the Spartan club (a club composed of upwardly-mobile coloreds), Graham Trent Cumberbatch and H. M. Cummins, Stoddard points out a more complex reaction to racial discrimination:
On the one hand, men like Cumberbatch and Cummins became ardent enthusiasts of the cricket ideology, attempting to share the cultural values of the whites with whom they competed both in cricket and in society. On the other hand, they developed a strong desire to win, to beat the representatives of those who displayed prejudice. The essential paradox in this dual position is clear. While trying to emulate the ruling cricket and social values, Spartan members had also to deal with the inequalities contained in those ruling values. On the whole, Spartan men resolved to accept the inequalities, an excellent demonstration of Gramsci's theory of hegemony (Caribbean 20).
Stoddart views early cricket not as a revolutionary force, but as a white cultural re-inscription of black West Indian culture. While there were isolated instances of black cultural resistance, writes Stoddart, "for the most part, the colonial elites carried on this process [of colonization] unhindered, controlling those agencies . . . central in the creation of hegemonic cultural values" (26).
Transnational Competition: "But is it Cricket?"
Cricket in today's global environment has been altered a great deal by new technologies, capitalism and revised geo-political landscapes. Because of the intrinsic value of cricket as a repository of culture, postcolonial scholars and fans have looked to this new form of global cricket in an attempt to understand its full implications.
Several sites on the World Wide Web such as CricInfo offer weekly and/or daily information and news items about various national cricket teams. The central role England has maintained in global cricket for well over a hundred years is now being relinquished as her former colonies enter the international and technological marketplace. In the past, England was the primary provider of international competition for many of these countries. As England's Victorian ideal withers under the heat of international play, so too do the theories of nationhood that are tied to, or somehow dependent upon, cricket's age-old Victorian ideal. James's is one such theory, as Kenneth Surin explains: The claim that cricket is "a means of national expression" is just untenable, especially in the last two decades or so, when capitalism has moved into a globally integrated phase. Cricket, as a commercial sport, has had to respond to this transformation as a condition of its financial survival. This shift is especially evident in the way in which the modern (one might as well say "post-modern") West Indian professional cricketer now earns a living, namely, by playing several "seasons" in the course of a single year: the domestic West Indian season, and English summer of county cricket, a winter tour abroad, and if this can be squeezed in, maybe a spell playing for a state team during the Australian summer.
Once professional cricketers become professional athletes who tour the world in pursuit of ever-increasing financial rewards, their faces become more recognizable in the various countries where they play and -- most importantly -- their style of play becomes less distinctive. This latter point is the result of international players who routinely play against one another and who have more opportunity than in previous ages to imitate the best aspects of one another's style. Adds Surin, "Cricketing styles become homogenized in consequence of this 'internationalization' of the game, and even the 'subjectives' of cricketers becomes fungible".
Nandy, like Surin, also bemoans what has become of cricket in the modern world. As is usually the case with Nandy, he focuses on the role of cricket as harbinger of a cultural ideal. Once cricketers resort to bodylining ("fast leg-theory bowling, especially as used by the England fast bowlers during the 1932-3 Test series in Australia"; bowling close to the batsman's body) and other immoral acts in order to win, the real victory is already lost (Rundell 20). The value of cricket for Nandy is the cricketer's constant search for an ideal behavior. When cricketers scoff at seemingly trite notions of good sportsmanship, the space between the ideal and the actual identified by Nandy never materializes and the opportunity for cultural empowerment is closed off."When Australian wicket-keeper Rodney Marsh," writes Nandy, "openly says that Australia should try to beat the stronger West Indian side by reverting, if necessary, to being 'ugly Australians,' he is being true to the anti-culture of consumable sport" (117).
Despite the variance of opinion about the past and future role of cricket, the game remains a favorite pastime in former English colonies and does battle with soccer, another British import, as the most popular sport in the world.
http://www.english.emory.edu/Bahri/Cricket.html
The First West Indies Cricket Tour: Canada and the United States in 1886 (Paperback)
by Hilary McD. Beckles
FROM THE PUBLISHER
"The 1886 tour was a blend of networking and cricket outings, designed to expand business while enjoying the international cricket offered in the United States and Canada at the time. As they played their way from Canada to Philadelphia ('the great centre of cricket in the American continent') to New York, the fourteen men from British Guiana, Jamaica and Barbados may not have realized the significance of their journey in forging a sense of West Indian identity.
"Beckles analyses the journal kept by the Jamaican captain, Laurence Fyfe, and locates the tour within the developing social tapestry of West Indian cricket, identifying the banding together of business interests and cricket as first steps towards imagining a West Indian nation."
Vanesia Baksh, cricket writer, researcher, Wisden contributor, and former director of the ICC-West indies World Cup, Inc.
http://bookshop.uwimona.edu.jm/products/prog_details.asp?PID=SO0042&Cat=
HISTORY OF CRICKET IN NEWFOUNDLAND -- Posted Saturday, July 14 2007
The first reference to the game of Cricket played locally appears in the St. John's Times of August 17, 1847. On the day previous a game was played on the Parade ground between the officers of the H.M.S. Vesuvius (a visiting man-o'-war).
In 1851 there is a further reference to a cricket match played between 'the Gentlemen of St. John's' and the officers of a visiting warship H.M.S. Alarm.
In the St. John's Times issue of August 30, 1854 there is a reference to a St. John's Cricket Club and a Garrison Cricket Club. There is also a mention at Government House serving as a pitch for those contests between two clubs.
In 1859 the local cricket club competed against the officers of H.M.S. Jasper and H.M.S. Alarm and H.M.S. Tartar. Seemingly that same year the game had gained in popularity for we find there is mention of two local cricket clubs, one the St. John's Amateurs, the other team calling themselves the Terra Novas.
By 1868 all games of cricket were being played on the Parade grounds near Fort Townsend (the present site of the Central Fire Station and the Police barracks).
In 1875 the newspapers of that day report that cricket was being played in other towns in Newfoundland and notably Hr Grace, Carbonear, and Brigus (all those communities are in Conception Bay).
By 1879 the game of cricket had apparently 'caught on' locally for we find that the St. John's Cricket Association has come into being. The league then consisted of fours teams: Amateurs, Shamrocks, Terra Nova, and Metropolitans.
In 1882 it would seem that the league began to expand. The Mechanics Society entered a team. That same year the playing pitch was readied at Pleasantville by the side of Quidi Vidi Lake in St.John's. A hostelry and a cycling oval. The game of cricket was played within the area circumscribed by a bicycling racing track.
In 1883 a team from the legal profession (local) played the local clergy at Pleasantville. In 1883, as well, the local societies entered the cricket league: two such mentioned are the Benevolent Irish Society and the Star of the Sea Association.
1884 saw a named Shamrocks carry off all the cricket championship. That same year a team representing St. John's journeyed to Conception Bay there to play a series of games with a Harbour Grace eleven.
In 1884 there appears the first reference to Juvenile Cricket clubs being formed. Those clubs were known as White Rose, the Red Rose and the Black Diamond.
On August 5, 1885 the Terra Nova Cricket club played a match with H.M.S. Tenedos. This files for this year teams with clippings from newspapers as well as notes.
1886 saw games played in inter-town serieswith Brigus, Carbonear, and Harbour Grace. At St. John's a game was played between the Married and Single men.
In 1887 there is the first mention of football (soccer). It would in time challenge cricket as the most popular pastime.
In 1887 as well there is a record of many games of cricket being played at the pitch at Pleasantville. A special game was played on May 24 of that year to mark the celebration of the Queen's birthday.
1888 found frequent references to inter-town games involving St.John's and Conception Bay towns of Brigus, Harber Grace, and Carbonear.
In 1890 there is reference to a game of cricket played at Heart's Content. Presumably it would be a match between those who were involved with the Atlantic Cable company.
1893 and 1894. It would appear that the three local colleges formed and intercollegiate league in 1893. St. Bonaventure's college as well as the Methodist College and Bishop Felid College would be participants.
1896 saw Water Street mercantile firms now entering teams in the City Cricket League.
In 1897 there is a record of a game played between St. John's Tennis Club and H.M.S. Cordelia. Many of those who were associated with the game of tennis were also cricketers of note.
1899 through to 1907 Cricket was very popular with the students of the three City Colleges. Many pictures are on the file showing championship college teams.
In 1900 it would appear that cricket was at its peak locally. Our files are simply bulging with rosters of cricketers, match scores etc.
In the Evening Standard issue of February 17 1900 there is an item deling with the likelhood of a Halifax Cricket team Zingarees playing here. That team did subsequently turn up in St. John's. They played and defeated a City team by a score of 48 to 36.
By 1900 Soccer football seems to be trying to crowd cricket from the picture. However, despite that observation there are many reports on cricket matches played.
Editorial notes:-
The above text was compiled by Frank W. Graham, Curator and Honourory Secretary Newfoundland Sports Hall of Fame and Newfoundland Sports Archives.
The above article was transcribed from a recently acquired original copy of 'THE CANADIAN CRICKETER' vol 7 No. 2 dated March 1979. (JH)
Twenty20 World Championships -- Posted Friday, July 13 2007
Canada postpone quadrangular Twenty20
Cricinfo staff
July 13, 2007
The Canadian board has announced that the quadrangular Twenty20 tournament this September has been postponed. Canada had hoped for West Indies and two other full-member ICC countries to play a competition in Toronto ahead of the World Championships the same month.
The board says there was not enough time to obtain TV rights for such an event, but will continue to look at possibilities in 2008 and afterwards. A Canada spokesperson told Cricinfo: "Unfortunately, due to the difficulties of securing global media support in such a short timeframe, the CCA reports that it has proved impossible to bring the project to fruition in 2007."
The West Indies board apparently remains committed to working with the CCA to expand cricket in Canada, particularly through exposure to the Twenty20 version of the game, which is ideal for the North American cricket public.
Article sourced from:-
http://content-www.cricinfo.com/canada/content/story/301867.html
BEN SENNIK'S PRESENTATION OF THE 104TH ANNUAL REPORT OF THE CCA -- Posted Friday, July 13 2007
It is my privilege to present this morning the 104th Annual Report of the CCA.
The CCA can pride itself on being one of the oldest sporting organizations in Canada. At time the CCA was incorporated - in 1892 - those were the glory days of cricket in Canada. Then Cricket was the national sport, although I have been challenged at times that lacrosse was national sport.
Nevertheless, Ladies and Gentlemen, cricket is fast stepping into another Golden Era. Together, we shall endeavor to put it on a strong footing, so that our children and grandchildren may enjoy the fruits of your labor.
In the past year, we had our challenges and rewards. I will leave it to each of the Executive Director to report to you regarding his portfolio. My responsibilities
consisted of the following: strategic planning and implementation; financial controls,
sponsorships; international relations; and the responsibility for seeking ways and means of attracting international cricket to Canada.
ADMINISTRATION
With the preparations underway for next year's ICC World Cup and several international matches played in Canada through last summer, it has been a testing time. The operation of the CCA depends upon the strength of the volunteering base at the Executive and at all levels of middle and lower positions. Their efforts have been taxed to the maximum. But I believe the sheer passion of cricket amongst the volunteers has been the engine driving them for that little extra effort to meet the commitments.
Canadian cricket is now in the fast lane. Its presence is growing both nationally and internationally - and I believe the time has come where professional management is needed. Hopefully, with the materialization of some of the initiatives currently underway, that need can be fulfilled.
FINANCIAL MATTERS
When the new Administration took office in November 2003, CCA had a deficit of around $200,000.00. After three years of diligent, hard work, strict controls and professional management of the financial undertakings, I am happy to say that we are beginning to see the light at the end of the tunnel. You will be all delighted to know that this year we have managed a surplus of $92,952.00.
This figure could have been even larger if we were not hit with a currency exchange loss of approximately $40,000, due to the gaining strength of the Canadian Dollar against the U.S. Dollar. All proceeds received from the ICC are in U.S. Dollar currency. We had also to fund the considerably larger number of the tournaments this year. I will not steal the wind from the sails of our Auditors Arun Luthra and our Treasurer Damian Jegannathan, and let them present the pertinent details. Damaian has done a superlative job. Well done Damian..
SPONSORSHIPS:
Our main thrust was to seek various levels of sponsorships attached to the ICC WORLD CUP 2007 tournament in the West Indies next March.
The CCA has been in contact with many major corporations to discuss lead sponsorship of the national team and of cricket in general. The names include corporate giants such as Bank of Nova Scotia, Bank of Montreal, Royal Bank, State Bank of India, MoneyGram, KIA Motors, Tim Hortons, The Toronto Star, Rogers Communications, FedEx, Mr. Michael Lee Chin of AIC Limited, TD/Canada Trust and Ford of Canada.
The good news is that all those organizations were prepared to listen to the marketing story from the CCA and Canadian cricket - and in some cases, multiple meetings were held with the organization in question. I think I can safely say that never before has cricket been so much to the forefront in the minds of major Canadian companies. That is marvelous news for the sport.
The bad news is that - so far - none of the individual company initiatives has come to fruition. But our efforts continue unabated.
One of the greatest development, where the CCA can rightfully claim ample credit, is that the discussions we initiated with the Bank of Nova Scotia for Team Sponsorship - together with Scotiabank's existing sponsorship of junior cricket in Canada - led to the bank positioning itself as a prime global sponsor of the ICC World Cup 2007. We believe this transaction must be in several millions dollars. Most importantly, this will be the first instance of a Canadian corporate company participating in cricket sponsorship at the world level. In my opinion, this is a recognition of the future marketing potential for cricket in Canada.
We had another close miss with the MoneyGram, a large emerging financial institution. MoneyGram had confirmed their agreement to proceed with the Team
Sponsorship. But unfortunately again, sponsorship by MoneyGram was refused by ICC due to their prior commitment with another financial operation: Scotiabank.
We believe that the growth of cricket in Canada over the last several years and its increased national and international visibility is such that we are close to having a marketable "product". Certainly, many leading corporations are moving towards what they term "ethnic marketing" and cricket is well positioned to tap into the South Asian and West Indian communities across the country. We are by no means discouraged. On the contrary, we must continue to intensify our efforts, be patient and keep working at it.
The following sponsorships have been successfully completed:
1.01 Bank of Nova Scotia - $25,000 specifically geared towards thedevelopment of the cricket at the school level.
1.02 Slazenger U.K.- approximate value $ 80,000- covering the supply of the equipment and clothing for the National and U/19 teams until June 2007
1.03 World Cricket Inc (Barbados) The project is the printing and merchandising of player cards for the national team players. $5,000 has been received as an "initial deposit" on the marketing concepts. If it progresses further, the full value will be $20,000. It is proposed that the first $ 5000 already received will be distributed equally amongst all the player immediately upon the announcement of the National team for the World Cup. From the balance $ 15,000, 80% will again be distributed amongst the team players and 20% will be retained by the CCA.
1.04 DST Group Canada: $20,000 for National Team Sponsorship at the 2007 ICC World Cup.
1.05 Tourcan Travel: $10,000 as Official Tour Partner for the 2007 World Cup (Tourcan is an ICC-appointed official tour operator for the World Cup).
1.06 We are hopeful that the ongoing discussions with the Royal Bank may provide a long term sponsorship for the development of the cricket in Canada. Discussions are now at very high level of the management at the Royal Bank
1.07 An Agreement is pending final ratification (subject to a few outstanding points) with ATN as the Official Broadcast Media Sponsor of the national and Under-19 teams. The Agreement, if finalized, would cover sponsorship for 3 years with ATN, which has emerged as the dominant TV channel for cricket in Canada.
1.08 I am happy to say that CCA was responsible for the initiation of the process which resulted in OCA becoming a recipient of one of the largest grants ever to any sport organization in Ontario (ONE MILLION DOLLARS). The Ontario Government has shown its far sightedness to recognize the growing popularity of cricket - and, through it, perhaps the entry to the hearts of the cricketing voters. We are very happy for OCA. I am sure this will lead to the wake-up call for other Provinces and especially the Federal Government to make note and act. Cricket needs funding to grow.
1.09 "The Sponsorship Report" a highly respected monthly newsletter, in their publication of September/06, carried a report entitled "Cricket Flies below the Radar Screen". This has created some waves in the industry, and let us hope some thing meaningful will emerge.
1.010 M + D Community Corp a Canadian company has negotiated a deal with the Legendary Cricket players from India and Pakistan to play an exhibition game at the Rogers Center on March 3, 2007. The project is funded and managed solely by M+D Community. In lieu of CCA's support, a fee of $ 50,000 has been negotiated with the promoters. Heart & Stroke Association of Canada has negotiated a deal with M+D to be the major supporters for the event - a deal initiated by the CCA.
1.011 The Gala dinner sponsored by the St. Lucia Tourist Board held here in Toronto on October 5 was a great success. About 500 people attended. It generated a net profit of approximately $35,000, which will be accounted for in the current 2006/2007 financial year. We must thank the St. Lucia Tourist Board for this initiative. They were pleased with the immense interest which was generated for the Group C World Cup games to held in St. Lucia, where Canada is one of the participants.
FEDERAL GOVERNMENT FUNDING:
Definitive progress has been made with Sports Canada towards approval of an ELIGIBILITY APPLICATION. When the application is approved, this will open up the doors to several areas of funding. A few examples are: putting players on contracts, appointment of a CEO and staff to run the affairs of the CCA, establishment of a system to promote the sport from toddler to the national level and funding of foreign tours. Later this morning, the Board will consider the approval of the several Policy documents which are crucially important to meet the mandatory requirements of the criteria.
Ed Bracht helped in making the initial Eligibility Application. Upon review by Sport Canada, it was deemed incomplete due to the insufficient information in several sections. Two names stand out who have been the real stalwarts in providing their services on a volunteer basis for the completion of the inadequacies in the application document.. This meant seeking and compiling information from various sources. These two gentlemen are Ramon Lachmanshingh, who is in a Senior Management position at the Ministry of Environment in Ottawa, and Rajesh Kumar a 4th-year MBA student at the University of Toronto. They have handled the job with creativity, imagination and speed. Both undertook this job for the sheer love of the game. The CCA proposes to recognize their services in the appropriate manner at the appropriate time.
Two meetings were held with Sports Canada in Ottawa. This helped in developing an excellent rapport between us and the Federal officials. The CCA is in discussions with Sports Canada through the Prime Minister's Office, for the consideration of a grant towards the funding for the World Cup in 2007. Let us pray and hope it happens..
WORLD CUP BUSINESS COMMITTEE:
Under the Chairmanship of Steve Ferley, this committee has done an outstanding job.
The committee comprises four members: Farokh Noria, Ajaz Haque, Anil Shah and Andy Merchant. Each and every one has brought to the table wealth of business
acumen, credibility, and total commitment.
This committee solely handles the Sponsorship portfolio. It is also the liaison between the 2007 World Cup Organization in the West Indies and the CCA. Their joint efforts have been conducive to raising considerably large sums of money, which I have already spoken about. The Board thanks them all for their extraordinary achievements.
WICB & INTERNATIONAL CRICKET:
I believe the CCA has developed an excellent relationship of mutual respect and openness with Mr. Ken Gordon, the new President of WICB. I have found him to be a very trustworthy, amiable and down-to-earth gentleman. I admire his progressive ideas and the will to develop the Americas as the next market for cricket. I believe in him because I know he is serious and determined to deliver.
Through the initiative of Mr. Gordon, a high level meeting with top management personnel from the BCCI, was arranged in New York in June. The CCA and USACA attended the meeting. Mr. Gordon most skillfully ensured a commitment from the BCCI contingent to commence yearly international matches in Canada and the U.S. It is a major breakthrough for the promotion and development of the cricket in North
America.
It was agreed that West Indies and India will play two games in Canada and two in the U.S. in September this year, subject to the infrastructure facilities being to the satisfaction of India. CCA met all the commitments punctually as requested by BCCI. A further meeting took place in London during the ICC Annual Conference. Towards the end of July, Mr. Gordon and Mr. Modi of the BCCI, and ourselves it was jointly decided that, in view of the time limitation for holding a successful event in September, the game should be postponed until June or July 2007. We are therefore on for the game next year.
ICC:
Good working relationships with the management, technical and financial personnel have been maintained. Calvin Clarke and I attended the ICC Annual Conference in London in July. This year Dicky Lord from Argentina was re-elected to the ICC Chief Executive Committee and Samir Inamdar from Kenya was elected to the ICC Executive Board and the IDI Board. This was quite a breakthrough for the North Americas and Africa to break the long-standing monopoly of Europe and South East Asia representatives on the ICC Board.
Following an amendment at the Conference to the Code of Conduct Commission Terms of Reference, the top six Associate members, Kenya, Ireland, Scotland, Canada, Bermuda and the Netherlands was each entitled to nominate a person to sit on ICC Code of Coduct Commission. I am pleased to announce that I received the confirmation last Thursday that our nominee Mr. Stindar (Stein) K. Lal, Q.C., was appointed to the Commission.
Canada has been awarded the ICC U/19 Cricket World Cup 2012. A 64 pages Host Agreement is under review. Several clarifications still need to be rehashed with ICC. Our Legal Counsel Rahul Shastri must review and provide his opinion. We still are little distance away prior to coming to a decision.
MEDIA:
Great strides have been made in print, radio and television to grow the visibility of cricket. Almost all the national newspapers have started to cover cricket news. In Toronto specifically, The Toronto Star has made a major commitment to cricket news, often dedicating full-page coverage. Some 20 ethnic media newspapers, radio stations and TV stations have increased the coverage of cricket. In particular, ATN/CBN (Asian Television and the Commonwealth Broadcasting Network) now has live ball-by-ball coverage of many international series, including - I'm told - the upcoming England/Australia Ashes Series. The CCA has played a dominant role in that increasing media coverage of the sport. As we get closer to the World Cup, this will no doubt result in even greater exposure at all levels.
One other point I should address in the area of "media" might surprise you. As we progress the CCA's own website, it's becoming more and more clear to us that the CCA itself is in the media business. In fact, we have our own media vehicle. To the extent that we can operate the website efficiently with appropriate format and informative updates, we are able to offer exposure to cricket-oriented companies via the website. This certainly helps in attracting sponsorship dollars. It would be remiss of me if I didn't give particular mention in this area to Nauman Vania who has done a superb job in building the website in a totally professional manner from all aspects.
MAPLE LEAF CRICKET CLUB:
The CCA was committed to the hilt with the management of Maple Leaf to seek the approval of one of the King City grounds as an official ICC-approved facility. That approval was received and Canada is now in the excellent position of having two ICC-approved facilities.
At last year's AGM, a presentation was made outlining an Architect's concept for developing a modern, state-of-the-art cricket facility at King City. Some further
progress has been made. Two meetings have been held with a prospective sports arena development company based in Washington. This company has done considerable research on their own, and have expressed willingness to go the next step of discussions. But prior to that, they have sought some pertinent information about the property and its Management, which was conveyed to the Maple Leaf some months back. Elvin Pompey, the President of Maple Leaf CC, has assured me that it will be forthcoming shortly. Let us keep positive and focused.
CONCLUSION
Finally, I must express my sincere gratitude to all for having given me the opportunity to serve you. It was indeed a privilege. I tried to the best of my ability to be objective and pragmatic in setting the attainable goals. I believe, together we have made steady progress in our efforts. There could have been times when we were not successful, but I can assure you that it was not for the lack of concentrated effort. Thank you for your support. I must also extend my sincere thanks to, each and every volunteer, who has helped us in providing his services in a multitude of the operational activities.
Winston Churchill had the following words of Abraham Lincoln framed on the wall at his office:
" I do the very best I can. I mean to keep going. If the end brings me out alright, then what is said against me won't matter. And if I am wrong ten angels swearing that I was right won't make a difference"
I, also, have tried to be guided by those words of wisdom.
Thank you all.
Report sourced from:-
http://www.windiescricket.com/index.cfm?objectid=5B9BC32E-E616-7B90-5D34347663083D4F&article=true&id=431195
New Canadian domestic individual scoring record -- Posted Thursday, July 12 2007
Irfan Rabbani scored 304 runs from a 50-over total of 438 runs for 5 wickets as his Appolo team romped to a 227 run victory over United XI in the Canadian Commonwealth Cricket Association last weekend. This is the highest individual score in Canadian domestic cricket, overhauling the 280 scored by Canadian international player Don Maxwell when with York University.
Rabbani hit 48 boundaries and six sixes. He took part in stands of 120 runs for the 2nd wicket, 155 runs for the 3rd wicket and 118 runs for the 4th wicket. Naveed Tariq was next highest scorer with 57 runs. Rabbani was eventually bowled by Khayan Raja.
Congratulations for an amazing batting achievement.
This feat is timely, as the fallen record comes on the eve of the second Canadian Colleges and Universities cricket tournament. This year's event has a 20/20 format and includes ten teams, who will be playing at Maple Leaf CC, King City, Ontario between Monday July 16 and Friday July 20th.
Maxwell took in some of the play during the recent ICC Intercontinental Cup matches at King City.
Eddie Norfolk
UAE’s consolation win over Ontario -- Posted Thursday, July 12 2007
The United Arab Emirates (UAE) wound up its’ trip to the Greater Toronto Area with a 6 wicket win over Ontario.
Ontario batted first and made 228 runs for the loss of 7 wickets in 50 overs. UAE replied with 230 runs for the loss of 4 wickets with nine overs to spare.
Nayeem Aslam sealed victory with a drive for six.
Saqib Ali starred for the UAE with 64 runs, including 7 boundaries and 3 sixes. Khuram Khan took 3 wickets for 27 runs in ten overs of bowling for the visitors. Saad bin Zafar hit 64 runs for Ontario (9 boundaries) and captain Zahir Haniff hit a breezy 51 runs not out in 42 balls.
This was a consolation win for the UAE after losing the ICC Intercontinental Cup match to Canada by an innings. Canada tops the standings in this competition that stretches over 2 years. The top two of the eight competing countries will play off for the title.
Scoring summary Maple Leaf CC, King City, Ont (July 11 – 50 over match) :
Ontario 228 runs for 7 wickets (50 overs; Saad bin Zafar 64 runs, Zahir Haniff 51 runs not out, Azib Ali 37 runs, Khuram Khan 3 wickets for 27 runs)
UAE 230 runs for 4 wickets (40.4 overs; Saqib Ali 64 runs, Arshad Ali 39 runs, Nayeem Aslam 37 runs not out)
ICC Intercontinental Cup Standings 2007-2008
Canada’s next Intercontinental Cup matches
Oct 12-15 v Kenya (Nairobi)
Oct 25-28 v Namibia (Windhoek)
Eddie Norfolk
ICC under 19 Cricket World Cup -- Posted Thursday, July 12 2007
The East Asia-Pacific Region is where it all begins as its qualifying tournament takes place in Port Vila, Vanuatu from 18-22 July. Besides the host country, Japan, Papua
New Guinea (PNG) and Fiji will take part in the tournament with the winner earning a ticket to Malaysia.
The action will then shift to Belfast, Ireland where the European qualifying tournament will take place from 23 to 26 July. Scotland, the Netherlands, Denmark and the host team will take part in the event, which will be held on round-robin league basis.
In America, Canada will be aiming to return to the main event after missing out in 2006. The city of Toronto will host the Americas regional qualifier between 13 and 18 August. Besides Canada, Bermuda, Argentina, the Cayman Islands and the Bahamas will compete on the single league basis with the team finishing on top of the table securing a berth for the Malaysian tournament.
Asia will field the highest number of teams (nine) when that region’s qualifier is played in Malaysia from 20 to 29 August. The participating teams include two Affiliates – Qatar and Afghanistan – while the other seven are Nepal, Kuwait, United Arab Emirates (UAE), Hong Kong, Singapore and Thailand, as well as the host team.
If Malaysia wins the tournament, the losing finalist will qualify for the ICC U/19 Cricket World Cup as Malaysia is already guaranteed a place in the main event.
The Africa regional qualifier will be held in Benoni, South Africa from 25 to 30 August and will have eight teams competing – Ghana, Namibia, Uganda, Kenya, Tanzania, Zambia, Nigeria and Bostwana.
The ICC U/19 Cricket World Cup is a vital part of the ICC Development Program and provides a vehicle for the best young cricketers in the world to parade their skills.
Many of the future stars of the game experience their first true international exposure at this tournament and players such as Brian Lara, Mike Atherton, Yuvraj Singh, Inzamam-ul-Haq, Chris Cairns, Michael Clarke, Graeme Smith and Sanath Jayasuriya have used the event as a stepping stone to full international honours.
First staged in Australia in 1988, the tournament was initially organised on an occasional basis, but since the commencement of the ICC Development Program in 1997 it has become a biennial fixture.
The 2010 ICC U/19 Cricket World Cup will be held in Kenya while the 2012 tournament will be staged in Canada and UAE will host the 2014 edition.
For more information about the ICC U/19 Cricket World Cup including details of all five qualifying tournaments for the 2008 event go to:
http://www.icc-cricket.com/icc/events/u19worldcup/
Article sourced from ICC Media release
ICC WORLD CRICKET LEAGUE EXPLAINED -- Posted Thursday, July 12 2007
The pupose of the ICC World Cricket League is to give regular global one-day cricket opportunities to the top 19 non-Test countries. The tournament in Nairobi involved the best six 'Associates' - Kenya plus Scotland, Ireland, Canada, Bermuda and the Netherlands.
The ICC World Cricket Leahue is about more than just those top six high-performance teams. At present, it is a five-division tournament designed to afford teams of various standards the opportunity to play regular one-day cricket against similarly ranked opponents regardless of where in the world they are located.
It will also ensure that the qualifying pathway for the ICC Cricket World Cup is open to the majority of the 87 ICC Associate and Affiliate members.
This new structure of one-day cricket will sit on top of regional qualifying events to create a pyramid structure in which all teams will have an opportunity to develop and an incentive to improve.
Success will be rewarded with promotion and the ICC World Cricket League will allow ICC to satisfy the relative strengths of these members on a regular basis than ever before.
It means, for example, that Papua New Guinea, currently the strongest team in the East Asia-Pacific region, will be able to test itself against similarly ranked teams from Ugabda in Africa and qualifiers from Europe and the Americas.
Before the introduction of the ICC World Cricket League these matches would only take place every four years. Now these opportunities will come around for all countries twice as often, and even more frequently for some.
Apart from Division 1, the next eight best from the ICC Trophy 2005 have been allocated into Division 2, 3, 4 and 5 with the top teams from the five regional qualifying events. Promotion and relegation will be possible between divisions as each team seeks to move up the world cricket rankings.
Article sourced from the publication 'World Cricket League'.
Lost wickets at Sunnybrook -- Posted Wednesday, July 11 2007
In a walk about in Toronto's Sunnybrook Park yesterday I met a very young lady cricketer with her father.
They had been using one of the nets to improve Christy's batting and bowling. For whatever reason their stumps disappeared.
Christy has written the following:-
"I just wanted to notify some details about the wickets that I lost. The stumps are dark navy blue, and the wickets (bails) have a wood colour.
Maybe if you can see carefully, on the stumps there might be some white letters written.
Thank you,
Sincerely,
Christy.
P.S. This is my e-mail address: batzsc_tech@yahoo.ca ".
I reported the situation to the Sunnybrook Park Superintendent, who indicated that he would make enquiries with his staff.
If the staff do not locate the stumps, perhaps some modest contibutions could be sent to Quasra Sports for the replacement of the lost stumps.
Let us demonstrate to Christy that cricket is more than a game, it being about team work and fellowship.
Jon Harris.
Canada's cricket obligations at home in August -- Posted Wednesday, July 11 2007
ICC UNDER 19 CRICKET WORLD CUP QUALIFYING TOURNAMENT - ICC AMERICAS
Monday August 13 Argentina versus Cayman Islands
Bahamas versus Bermuda
Tuesday August 14 Bermuda versus Cayman Islands
Canada versus Argentina
Thursday August 16 Canada versus Bahamas
Argentina versus Bermuda
Friday August 17 Canada versus Cayman Islands
Argentina versus Bahamas
Saturday August 18 Cayman Islands versus Bahamas
Bermuda versus Canada
ICC AMERICA'S - WOMEN'S CHAMPIONSHIPS
Monday August 20 Trinidad and Tobago versus Canada
Bermuda versus Argentina
Tuesday August 21 Trinidad and Tobago versus Bermuda
Canada versus Argentina
Thursday August 23 Trinidad and Tobago -v- Argentina
Canada versus Bermuda
Friday August 24 Trinidad and Tobago -v- Americas XI
Rest of Americas "A' versus "B"
All matches to be played at the King City facilities
Calgary cricket news -- Posted Tuesday, July 10 2007
Predators Win JRR
Predators has brought the John Ross Robertson Trophy to Calgary. The 2006 Nolan Cup Champions put on a bowling clinic over the weekend in Vancouver to bring the cup home. On Saturday Predators took on the 2006 Manitoba league champions and quickly found themselves in a spot of trouble. Reeling at 20/5 Dev Sharma (30) and Muninder Bhogal (25) led a recovery and dragged Predators total to 114 from 42 overs. With a paltry total on the board a special bowling performance was needed and it was delivered in spades. Sharma is no doubt one of the best bowlers in Western Canada and who showed it again with an openin