August 2006

A chronology of Canadian Cricket Milestones -- Posted Thursday, August 31 2006

1785 First recorded reference to cricket at Ile Ste Helene (Quebec), now site of the Montreal Exposition

1821 St. John's CC, Newfoundland in existence

1827 Toronto Cricket Club formed.

1844 Canada beat USA by 23 runs in Manhattan, New York. First international cricket match. (2 innings per side game)
1859 First English side toured Canada

1867 Premier Sir John A. MacDonald declared cricket to be Canada's national sport.

1878 First Australian side toured Canada

1880 First Canadian side toured England

1892 Foundation of the Canadian Cricket Association.

1910 Rosedale CC win the first John Ross Robertson Trophy, the national club championship.

1932-1947 Toronto CC win 16 consecutive J.R. Robertson Trophies.

1982 John Ross Robertson Trophy split into Eastern and Western sections with some overall playoffs.

1975 Eastern Canada beat Australian touring team at Toronto CC.

1979 Canada qualifies from ICC Trophy to play in 1979 World Cup in England. England bowl out Canada for 45 in a WC match.

1989 (Nov 5) West Indies play the Rest of the World under the roof of the newly built SkyDome in Toronto with more than 40,000 in attendance.Match proceeds support the United Way charities.

2000 Canada hosts and wins the first Americas Regional Championship.

2001 Canada hosts the ICC Trophy (22 countries participate) in the Greater Toronto Area. Netherlands edge Namibia for the title thanks to a misfield on the last ball. Canada beat Scotland in the playoff for 3rd place and qualifies for the 2003 World Cup.

2002 Canada beat West Indies 'A' 2-1 in one-day series.

2003 Canada beat Bangladesh. John Davison hits fastest WC century v West Indies. Sri Lanka bowl out Canada for 36.

2004 Canada lose to Scotland in the first ICC Intercontinental Cup final.

2005 Canada finish 3rd in ICC Trophy in Ireland and qualify for 2007 World Cup Finals in the West Indies. Will play Kenya, England and New Zealand in St. Lucia.

2006 Host first home One Day International matches at Toronto Cricket, Skating and Curling Club. Lose 2-0 to both Kenya and Bermuda.

Compiled by Eddie Norfolk

Shaw wins battle of the Theatre Festivals -- Posted Thursday, August 31 2006

The Shaw Theatre XI beat the Stratford Theatre XI by 102 runs at Veterans Memorial Park in Niagara-on-the-Lake.

Jeff Irving was the star for the Shaw side, scoring 49 runs out of a total of 152 runs, and then taking 4 wickets for 13 runs, as Stratford was all out for 50 runs. Andrew Bunker also took 4 wickets for 13 runs, bowling during the Stratford innings.

The Shaw score was also indebted to Ryan de Souza (34 runs) and Julian Mainprize (26 runs). Stratford bowlers Cubby Sadoon took 5 wickets for 38 runs and Jean-Michel Legard 3 wickets for 6 runs.

The two theatre companies have been playing cricket against each other for 31 years. The match was originally going to be played on a matting wicket, but the ball did not bounce well. A strip was then mown on one of the soccer fields, used for this day as the ground and the wicket was rolled.

The scoreboard used for this game rather sadly is a leftover from the days of the Niagara-on-the-Lake Cricket Club. Scott Whitham used to be a driving force with that club but moved to the bright lights of Toronto. He told how cricket was originally played a short distance from the field used on Monday back in 1832. The minutes of the founding meeting can be traced to copies of local newspapers.

Mr. Whittam would love to see the return of a permanent cricket ground on the adjacent common.

He had been present at some of the recent Canadian national team cricket internationals, particularly at Maple Leaf CC. The theatrical contingent turned out in strong numbers (300 plus) and gave solid support to the players.

A string quartet played during the tea interval. Details of theatrical and musical events associated with these two theatre companies can be found at www.shawfest.com and www.stratfordfestival.com.

The pitch was duly available by 5.30pm for the evening soccer match.

Eddie Norfolk

Note for those from outside the Ontario region: The Shaw Theatre is named after George Bernard Shaw, and the Stratford Theatre is the one in Ontario rather than the English midlands. Both companies include actors in their teams, together with some theatre support staff.

A brief "History of the Meloroma C. C", Vancouver -- Posted Wednesday, August 30 2006

Since its inception 15 years ago, the cricket club has won a total of 31 League, Provincial and National Titles including 9 League Championships, 4 Provincial Titles and 3 Western Canadian Titles.

Located at Connaught Park (West 10th Ave and Larch) in Kitsilano, a beautiful beachside district in the heart of Vancouver, British Columbia, the Meraloma club has four teams which play in the Premier, 1st, 2nd and 4th Divisions of the British Columbia Mainland Cricket League.
The Cricket Club was formed in 1989 when some former Vancouver Rowing Club players sought to join with the Meraloma Club. They called themselves the Connaught Cricket Club for the inaugural summer of 1989 and entered two teams in the 76-year-old British Columbia Mainland Cricket League. So successful was this new association that they gained full-fledged Club acceptance in 1990 and commenced play under the Meraloma name.

Since its inception 15 years ago, the cricket club has won a total of 31 League, Provincial and National Titles including 9 League Championships, 4 Provincial Titles and 3 Western Canadian Titles.

Story sourced from:-
http://www.vancouvercricket.com/index.php?option=com_content&task=blogcategory&id=14&Itemid=26

Cricket explained, again -- Posted Wednesday, August 30 2006

First, lets explain CRICKET in a humorous way, as explained to a foreigner...

You have two sides, one out in the field and one in. Each man that's in the side that's in goes out, and when he's out he comes in and the next man goes in until he's out. When they are all out, the side that's out comes in and the side thats been in goes out and tries to get those coming in, out. Sometimes you get men still in and not out.

When a man goes out to go in, the men who are out try to get him out, and when he is out he goes in and the next man in goes out and goes in. There are two men called umpires who stay all out all the time and they decide when the men who are in are out. When both sides have been in and all the men have out, and both sides have been out twice after all the men have been in, including those who are not out, that is the end of the game! Fun aside, here it is in simple serious sentences.....

The Basics

There are TWO teams, with eleven players each (instead of nine as in baseball).
Instead of four bases, there are only two; in the middle of the field, sixty-six feet apart...
all running is between the two bases... the ball can be hit in front, OR behind... or, in ANY direction.
Instead of rotating batting for nine innings each, EACH team does all its batting in a SINGLE inning .
The team scoring more runs wins the game.

[NOTE: Unlike baseball, where a pitcher rests every 10 or so pitches when the BATTING rotates, cricket pitchers rest every 6 pitches as their PITCHING rotates.]

Pitching (Bowling)

The fielding team works with TWO pitchers at the same time. The first pitcher throws from one base to the other.
After six throws, the catcher moves around behind the first pitcher's base, pitcher #2 takes over.
He makes six throws in the opposite direction (i.e. towards the starting pitcher's base).
The two pitchers keep alternating like this, until one or both of them are relieved.

* IMPORTANT: Each six-pitch set is called an "over", and pitchers are called "bowlers" in cricket. So, to say "Doe bowled seven overs", is saying Doe threw 42 pitches, in (alternating) sets of six.

Batting
The MAJOR DIFFERENCE from baseball is that batters can hit in ANY direction.
Also, THE BATTER CAN RUN WHEN HE CHOOSES TO,
NOT every time he hits the ball, as in baseball.
He is safe as long as he protects his wickets WITH HIS BAT (NOT his feet or hands) and makes no other errors.

As long as the batter can protect his base, he is free to keep batting, and scoring, as long as he can!

The batter (or "batsman") is OUT only if: any of the three sticks marking his base (called "wickets") are hit by the pitcher.
--he is "bowled" (like being struck out, except that once is enough).
OR, if: the ball is hit into a fielder's hand without touching the ground, he is "caught" (like baseball's pop fly).
OR, if: he is running between the bases, and a fielder can touch the base he is running to, before the runner crosses the "safe line" in front of the wickets, he is "run out"
(like a tag, except in cricket you tag the base, not the runner).

So: A cricket batter could be out on the first pitch, BUT would go on batting until someone puts him "out";
Some batters can stay on base for hours, scoring 50, 100 runs or more!

Scoring Plays
A batter (or "batsman") can score in cricket by hitting the ball, deciding to run, then running safely between the two bases.

Once across (from one base, to the opposite one) is a "single", scoring 1 run.
There and back is a "double", scoring 2 runs.
Three times back and forth is a "triple", scoring 3 runs.
A hit that reaches the fence scores four runs.
A hit that flies over the fence is a sixer, scoring 6 runs.

Progress of Play
Before the game starts, the opposing captains toss a coin, to decide who is to bat first... or second.
The game begins.
TWO batters are sent in, one for each base (they are called "batsmen" in cricket).
(i.e. the bases are "loaded" to start a team’s batting, and have to stay that way.)

As one batter is put out, the next person in the batting order goes in.
In North America, each team is allowed 10 outs OR a maximum number of overs....say 40 overs (i.e. 240 pitches)... to bat.

At the point the innings is finished EITHER when 10 outs have occurred (i.e. 1 man is left on base, out of the 11 in the team), OR when the 40-over limit has been reached.

After one team finishes batting, there is a tea (actually, sandwiches, beer and pop) break.

Now the team which has been fielding gets its chance to bat.

Let us say that the team batting first scored 120 runs. If the team batting second scores only 100 runs in its 40 overs, it has lost by 20 runs.

BUT.. if it reaches 121 runs for (say) only 6 outs within its allowed 40 overs, it wins by 4 "wickets" (meaning, the number of outs it had left when it passed the first team's score).

How Long...
In North America, a typical cricket game takes about as long as a weekend baseball double-header.
In fact, this is a useful way of looking at cricket if you understand baseball.

Each team's batting takes about as long, and has as many things happen, as a complete baseball game.
A typical cricket game in North America might take 5 to 6 hours. This could consist of 4 to 5 hours of actual play,
and the rest of the time for lunch, tea, refreshment breaks and other pauses.

This is about average. There CAN be low-scoring games that are over in 2 or 3 hours...

On the other hand, if both teams score 200 to 300 runs each, these VERY high-scoring games last seven hours... or more.

It all depends---on the day, the teams, the mood and the playing conditions.

Article sourced from:-

http://ghaznavi.intheteam.com/modules/page/Page.aspx?pc=2871&mid=162&pmid=0

St, Catherines win Ed Burn Cricket Cup -- Posted Tuesday, August 29 2006

On one of the hottest weekends, St. Catharines Cricket Club struggles match after match and brought the prestigious ED Burn Cricket Cup home.

The Ed Burn Tournament, usually a knockout event held by H&D Cricket League, was formatted as round robin with 6 teams in competition from Mississauga, Brantford, Cambridge, CCC, St.Catharines, Crescent and Hamilton.

St. Catharines Cricket Club won the first round on Saturday vs. Crescent quite compressively. Crescent scored 105 runs in 20 overs which St.Catharines ended up chasing in the 12th over with 6 wickets still in hand.

The semi final took place on Sunday vs. Hamilton CC at Brantford. St. Catharines cricketers chased 137 runs, made by Hamilton in the first innings, in only 13 overs to win the semis and to have a birth in the final round. Tawab Ikram, hitting sky sixers and quick boundaries rocked the Brantford Cricket Club park and scored 48 runs in only 19 deliveries.

The stage was set for the finals between Crescent CC and St. Catharines for the championship match. Crescent CC, after winning the toss, put St. Catharines to bat first. After the loss of the openers, Omair Khan and Gurpreet Singh provided the well needed stability and took quick runs to make sure that the top order batting line up stay focused with hopes to put up good total in 20 allotted overs. Both scored runs off almost every delivery and established a 52 runs partnership. Nasir Mahmood, Ash Jhanji, Bilal Akhtar, Tawab Ikram, and Adeel Khan were all major contributors in the semis and finals of the Ed Burn Tournament. The score in the final reached 150 in just 17 overs by St. Cathartines.

In reply, Crescent batted well but were at 145 i.e. 6 runs short of desired total in the 19th overs bowled by STC in the allotted time of 80 minutes. Shoaib, showing his all round cricketing skills made major contributions for Crescent. However, the middle order of Crescent CC batting line up was destroyed by Adeel Khan as he took total of 3 wickets including 2 consecutive on 2 deliveries in his very first over.

The last time St. Catharines won this championship was in 1999.

Report sourced from:-
http://www.cricket.computan.com/default.asp

World Cricket League Division 1 - Bermuda v USA -- Posted Monday, August 28 2006

Match 1:
USA 212 runs for 4 wickets (34.3 overs; Sushil Nadkarni 83 runs, Steve Massiah 81 runs)
Bermuda 12 runs for 2 wickets (2.2 overs)
[Bermuda were chasing 163 runs in 24 overs under the Duckworth/Lewis method. Rain had interrupted play.]
Match abandoned - No Result

Match 2: Argentina 182 runs for 8 wickets (50 overs, innings closed; Alejandro Ferguson 52, A. Forrester 43, Steve Welsh 2 wickets for 18 runs)
Canada 140 runs for 1 wicket (21.3 overs; John Davison 53, Sandeep Jyoti 46 runs not out)
Canada won by 9 wickets under the Duckworth/Lewis method.

Summary

Rain and bad light put an end to the top-of-the table clash between Bermuda and USA at Maple Leaf CC, King City, Ontario,. Bermuda needed to score 163 runs in 24 overs when the match resumed after a lenghty rain delay, but bad light soon put an end to the play in the third over.

The match was later abandoned and declared a no result.
Bermuda has now completed their matches and end with 3 wins and a no result. The championship depends on the outcome of the USA v Canada game which is to be being played on Saturday at King City. A win for the USA might give them the championship, depending on overall run rate. The USA has two wins and this no result going into their final match.

A partnership of 168 runs in 24 overs set the USA on their way to a large total but two rain interruptions meant their innings was eventually deemed to have closed after the second stoppage. The US made 213-4 in just under 35 overs. Sushil Nadkarni (83 runs) and captain Steve Massiah (81 runs) were the two played involved in the stand for the second wicket.

Canada won their first game of the tournament, beating Argentina by 9 wickets in another rain interrupted match. Canada were required to score 138 runs in 33 overs, following a disruption to their innings.

Captain John Davison made 53 runs (1x6, 8x4) and Sandeep Jyoti made 46 runs not out (3x4) in miserable conditions.
Canada bowled fairly tidily in restricting Argentina to 182 runs for the loss of 8 wickets in 50 overs. Opening bowler Steve Welsh took 2 wickets for 18 runs in his 10 overs. A highly economical bowling performance.
Alejandro Ferguson made top score for Argentina with 52 runs.

The tournament concluded with Canada facing the USA in the oldest international rivalry in cricket. These countries first met in 1844. Cayman Islands playfc Argentina in the other match.

Eddie Norfolk

John Davison, the Canadian captain, lead the way to his side's ten-wicket victory over USA in Ontario, on Saturday.

Canada's win meant that Bermuda won the World Cricket League Americas Division One tournament, with three wins (over Canada, Cayman Islands and Argentina) and a no-result (against USA).

Davison won the toss and put USA in to bat, which proved to be a fine decision and the Canadian bowling contained the might of the USA top order, who had pummeled the bowlers in their previous matches.

Davison came on to bowl in the twelfth over and immediately bowled Gowkaran Roopnaraine for 25. Three balls later, Steve Massiah was run out in a mix-up and the most prolific scorer in the tournament was dismissed. Davison brought fast bowler Steve Welsh back into the attack and Welsh struck twice in two balls to remove Lennox Cush and Desai. USA were left tottering at 65 for the loss of 6 wickets.

Davison, and Kevin Sandher, a slow left-arm bowler, then mopped up the tail to dismiss USA for 116. The last four wickets fell with a replacement ball after Imran Awan had lofted a ball from Sandher out of the ground.

Davison and opener Sandeep Jyoti – who strung together a useful partnership the previous day against Argentina - combined well before the luncheon interval to leave Canada at 104 for no loss. Davison played the winning shot shortly after the interval to finish with an unbeaten 62, which included six fours and a six. Jyoti was unbeaten on 44.

This match concluded Canada's home international program for the year.

The team is scheduled to tour South Africa in November for a tri-series with Bermuda and the Netherlands. That will be the start of the winter campaign leading to the World Cup in March 2007.

Eddie Norfolk

USA crash to Canada -- Posted Monday, August 28 2006
USA crash to Canada on final day
ICC Development (Americas) Media Release
August 27, 2006

It was too little for Canada as they crushed title contenders USA on the final day of Americas Championship action by 10 wickets, thus giving Bermuda their first ever Americas Championship title.

After a faltering start to the event, with two losses on the first two days, the Canadians improved dramatically over the final half of the tournament to ultimately claim third place, still their worst ever finish at this event.
For the United States, it was a disastrous day when it had dawned with them only a win away from claiming the Americas cricket championship title. Their much-vaunted top-order failed for the first time in the tournament, and the Canadian twin spin attack of Davison and Sandher nailed down the rest of the USA innings.

With only Carl Wright, scoring 31 in 51 balls, including 2 fours, and Gowkaran Roopnarine, 25, getting some runs on the board, the USA were bundled out for only 116 in 32.4 overs.

Canada needed only four bowlers, who all delivered the goods on the day. Opening bowlers Austin Codrington, 1 for 27, and Steve Welsh, 2 for 35, did the initial damage, and the rest was left to spinners John Davison, 3 for 22, and Kevin Sandher, 3 for 24.

The Canadians showed no mercy in racing to a comprehensive victory by 10 wickets as opening pair John Davison and Sandeep Jyoti polished off the runs required in a mere 16,4 overs. Man of the match Davison ended undefeated on 58, off 55 balls, smashing 5 fours and a six, while Jyoti was not out on 47, in 49 balls with 5 fours.

Thus USA finished in second place, their new-look team certainly showing vast potential for a US resurgence on the global cricket stage, while Canada, ending in third spot, have plenty still to think about ahead of their big challenge.

Match report sourced from:-

http://www.icc-cricket.com/iccnews/content/story/257938.html

St. Catharines CC win ED Burn Cricket Cup -- Posted Monday, August 28 2006

On one of the hottest weekends, St. Catharines Cricket Club struggled in match after match and brought the prestigious ED Burn Cricket Cup home.

The Ed Burn Tournament, usually a knockout event held by Hamilton & District Cricket League, was formatted as round robin with 6 teams in competition from Mississauga, Brantford, Cambridge, CCC, St.Catharines, Crescent and Hamilton.

St. Catharines Cricket Club won the first round on Saturday vs. Crescent quite compressively. Crescent scored 105 runs in 20 overs which St.Catharines ended up chasing in the 12th over with 6 wickets still in hand.

The semi final took place on Sunday vs. Hamilton CC at Brantford. St. Catharines cricketer chased 137 runs, made by Hamilton in the first innings, in only 13 overs to win the semis and to have a birth in the final round. Tawab Ikram, hitting sky sixers and quick boundaries rocked the Brantford Cricket Club park and scored 48 runs in only 19 deliveries.

The stage was set for the finals between Crescent CC and St. Catharines for the championship match. Crescent CC, after winning the toss, put St. Catharines to bat first.

After the loss of the openers, Omair Khan and Gurpreet Singh provided the well needed stability and took quick runs to make sure that the top order batting line up stay focused with hopes to put up good total in 20 allotted overs. Both scored runs off almost every delivery and established a 52 runs partnership. Nasir Mahmood, Ash Jhanji, Bilal Akhtar, Tawab Ikram, and Adeel Khan were all major contributors in the semis and finals of the Ed Burn Tournament. The score in the final reached 150 in just 17 overs by St. Cathartines.

In reply, Crescent batted well but were at 145 i.e. 6 runs short of desired total in the 19th overs bowled by STC in the allotted time of 80 minutes. Shoaib, showing his all round cricketing skills made major contributions for Crescent. However, the middle order of Crescent CC batting line up was destroyed by Adeel Khan as he took total of 3 wickets including 2 consecutive on 2 deliveries in his very first over.

Canadian win over USA gives Bermuda the Americas Championship -- Posted Sunday, August 27 2006

SCanadian captain John Davison watches his match-winning stroke go to the boundary to give his side a 10 wicket win over the USA. Davison made 62 runs not out.

Scoring Summary

USA 116 all out (C. Wright 31 runs, Gowkaran Roopnaraine 25 runs, John Davison 3 wickets for 22 runs, Kevin Sandher 3 wickets for 24 runs)

Canada 119-0 (16.3 overs; John Davison 62 runs not out, Sandeep Jyoti 44 runs not out)

Canada won by ten wickets

Note: In today’s other match, Cayman Islands defeated Argentina. A separate report will follow.

Davison Stars in Canadian Win

Canadian captain John Davison lead the way to his side’s 10-wicket victory over the USA at Maple Leaf CC, King City, Ontario, on Saturday. Firstly, he won the toss and put the US in to bat. This proved to be a fine decision and the Canadian bowing contained the might of the US early batsmen who had pummeled the bowlers in their previous matches in the World Cricket League Americas Division One tournament.

Canada’s win meant Bermuda take this Americas tournament. Bermuda end with 3 wins (over Canada, Cayman Islands and Argentina) and a no-result (against USA) were on top entering the final day. A US win would have given them the title.

Davison came on to bowl the twelth over and almost immediately had Gowkaran Roopnaraine bowled for 25 runs. Three balls later, US skipper Steve Massiah was run out in a mix-up and the most prolific scorer in the tournament was removed from the scened. Davison brought pace-bowler Steve Welsh back into the attack and Welsh struck twice in two balls to remove Lennox Cush and Desai. This made the score 65 runs for the loss of 6 wickets.

The later USA batsmen had not seen much action in this tournament as Sushil Nadkarni and Massiah had plundered other teams bowling. Davison, an off-spinner, and Kevin Sandher, a slow-left arm bowler, then mopped up the tail.

All three of Sandher’s victims were ruled out leg-before wicket. The US total of 116 all out gave Canada hope of a win against a new-look USA team that had been poised to take this championship.

The last four wickets fell with a replacement ball after Imran Awan had driven a ball from Sandher out of the ground into an adjacent field of deep vegetation.

Davison and Sandeep Jyoti had put together a useful partnership the previous day against Argentina. They combined well before the luncheon interval to leave Canada on 104 runs for the loss of no wickets. It took just eight balls after lunch to seal the victory. Davison played the winning shot to end on 62 runs not out. This included 6x4 and 1x6. Jyoti scored 44 runs not out, including 4x4.
This match concluded Canada’s home international program for the year. The national team next sees action in South Africa in November for a Tri-Nations One-Day international series with Bermuda and the Netherlands. That will be the start of the winter campaign leading to the World Cup in March 2007.

Consecutive one-day match wins over Argentina and USA provide some momentum for these future matches after a summer of success in 4-day matches but struggles in One-Day Internationals.

It was interesting to see National Coach Andy Pick take a time-out from his priority duty with the senior men’s team, to sit with the Canadian Under-15 squad who play in Florida next week. Pick was seen talking the players through some of the strategies and techniques at play in the Canada-US match.

Eddie Norfolk

Note: I regret that I do not have US wicketkeeper Wright's first name at hand. I in fact spoke to him for a short time after the match but was mostly on the way out of the pavillion to see the rest of the Cayman-Argentina match.

A Canadian cricket coach reflects on our game -- Posted Sunday, August 27 2006

Most cricket Critics around the world are stating that the Quality of Cricket is going down, it lacks quality. The Overall Health and the aura of cricket is declining, Are we creating a “full cricketer” in our juniors?

This could be because all divisions and Leagues are shifting towards one-dayers...Is this healthy, particularly at the junior levels. Undoubtedly Test Cricket is the soul of cricket but the One-day cricket is the breadwinner.

Let’s take the slam-bang cricketer out of our juniors!!

I have to agree in some aspects, the ODI world has exciting structured cricket players to be selective, Crowd appealing or face the fact of the boring long drawn game of cricket, but.. but...

For example... Negative bowling, on the leg side, the wide rule, Inner circle and so on, what is this doing to the game of cricket... ???????

Yes, Test cricket provides for all these limitations, to make the game playable in a circular or oval field, or will we be calling the cricket field a Cricket Diamond or Square soon !!!?

So as Cricket coaches, we teach the kids how to play on the OFF & ON, Bowl on the OFF and ON.

But when we come to the game, anything down the leg is pretty redundant! It,s a wide, free 1 run, let it go..

A spinner can’t really set his/her field because of the first 15 overs restriction, so what are we doing to the future of Spinners?

Leg spinners will be penalised depending on where they pitch the ball, because batsman have forgotton how to play a ball on the leg side.

Games are won on the last bowl, even when the batsman is out stumped or caught. Because the ball was bowled wide/negative before caught or stumped.

So the question is?
1 -Do we teach our Kids to be comprehensive, fully skilled, complete cricketers?
2- Learn to play all the strokes.
3 - Bowl all the potential balls, Leg side off side?

And the next big question when playing Junior games, should the Rules/Laws allow Leg side bowling.
Do we re-bowl the Balls called Wides??

The sooner the better, or we will have the next generation of cricketers, playing in a diamond.

We are a fast growing and thriving cricket nation(Canada).
We should seriously look into this, particularly in the junior divisions !!!

Philip Navaratne (Cricket Coach – Ajax CC)

Bermuda Women’s National Cricket Tour -- Posted Sunday, August 27 2006

The Bermuda Cricket Board are pleased to announce that the National women’s cricket team is about to embark on its first international tour when they depart for British Colombia, where they will challenge the Canadian women’s team for the right to participate in the Women’s World Cup 2009.

This maiden tour will see the Bermudian women compete against the Canadians in three One Day games on the 2nd, 4th and 8th of September during an 11 day tour that encompasses 3 training days.

Mr. Reginald Pearman is quoted:
“This is an exciting time for cricket in Bermuda. This is the first time ever that the Bermuda Cricket Board has had a National women’s team so this tour will serve as an important learning step in the general progression of women’s cricket in Bermuda.

The tour will be a good opportunity for the women to challenge not only the Canadian’s for the right to participate in the Women’s World Cup next year, but most importantly it will provide them with vital exposure to an elevated game of competition. I, and the BCB, wish the team all the very best and I expect that this will be the catalyst for an increase of interest in women’s cricket in general.”

Mr. Allan Douglas, the Women’s coach, had this to add:
“The women have been working very hard in the lead up to this tour so it will be good to see their skills put to test. As this is the first National women’s team, let alone tour, we are still very much in the learning stages and so will use this tour to further implement what they have learnt in the context of an international fixture. I feel confident that the team’s dedication will pay off and that they will come away from the tour with a wealth of vital experience to improve upon.”

The women’s team departs from Bermuda on August 30th and will return on September 10th.

Article sourced from:- http://www.bermudacricketboard.com/index.jsp?page_id=womans_team

Americas Cup- Friday report -- Posted Saturday, August 26 2006

Steve Massiah (USA) bats v Bermuda

Match 1 - Bermuda v USA
USA 212 runs for 4 wickets (34.3 overs; Sushil Nadkarni 83 runs, Steve Massiah 81 runs)

Bermuda 12 runs for 2 wickets (2.2 overs)

[Bermuda were chasing 163 runs in 24 overs under the Duckworth/Lewis method. Rain interrupted play.]
Match abandoned - No Result

Match 2: Argentina v Canada

Argentina 182 runs for 8 wickets (50 overs, innings closed; Alejandro Ferguson 52, A. Forrester 43, Steve Welsh 2 wickets for 18 runs)

Canada 140 runs for 1 wicket (21.3 overs; John Davison 53, Sandeep Jyoti 46 runs not out)

Canada won by 9 wickets under the Duckworth/Lewis method.
Match played at Maple Leaf CC, King City, Ontario

Summary

Rain and bad light put an end to the top-of-the table clash between Bermuda and USA at Maple Leaf CC, King City, Ontario on Friday. Bermuda needed to score 163 runs in 24 overs when the match resumed after a lenghty rain delay, but bad light soon put an end to the play in the third over. The match was later abandoned and declared a no result.

Bermuda has now completed their matches and end with 3 wins and a no result. The championship depends on the outcome of the USA v Canada game which is to be be played on Saturday at King City.

A win for the USA might give them the championship, depending on overall run rate. The USA has two wins and a no result going into their final match.

A partnership of 168 runs in 24 overs set the USA on their way to a large total but two rain interruptions meant their innings was eventually deemed to have closed after the second stoppage. The US made 213-4 in just under 35 overs. Sushil Nadkarni (83 runs) and captain Steve Massiah (81 runs) were the two players involved in the stand for the second wicket.

Canada won their first game of the tournament, beating Argentina by 9 wickets in another rain interrupted match. Canada were required to score 138 runs in 33 overs, following a disruption to their innings. Captain John Davison made 53 runs (1x6, 8x4) and Sandeep Jyoti made 46 runs not out (3x4) in miserable conditions.

Canada bowled fairly tidily in restricting Argentina to 182 runs for the loss of 8 wickets in 50 overs. Opening bowler Steve Welsh took 2 wickets for 18 runs in his 10 overs. A highly economical bowling performance.

Alejandro Ferguson made top score for Argentina with 52 runs.

The tournament concludes on Satuday August 26 with Canada facing the USA in the oldest international rivalry in cricket. These countries first met in 1844. Cayman Islands play Argentina in the other match.

Eddie Norfolk

Saskatoon Cricket Association Youth Academy -- Posted Saturday, August 26 2006

The Saskatoon Cricket Association is working positively to promote Cricket in Saskatoon and Area. The organization is non-profit organization.

If you are one of those parents who is amazed at the vast variety of sports available but not sure which one your child(ren) like? Or if you are wondering if your kid is willing to try a new game which is played by more than a billion people around the world! How would you like to see your kids display their hidden talents in this very artistic, competitive yet gentle sport of Cricket?

While having fun why can’t opportunities be created and found, and that’s exactly what we are set out to do. Teach Cricket to youth making learning fun and energizing. Our volunteers love to coach young players who are interested in learning. Saskatoon Cricket Club provide many volunteers who not only enjoy but also like to help new talent to raise their interest learn the game and excel in the game.

The young generations interest to learn the game motivates us to work with them closely. We stick to some basic methods of teaching which includes video presentation, techniques of batting/bowling/fielding, practices, and games. We also believe in innovative and creative ways to make learning & playing cricket a more satisfying and fun experience.

Article sourced from:-
http://www.saskatooncricketclub.com/

Canada sink to new low -- Posted Saturday, August 26 2006

Cayman Islands pulled off a shock seven-wicket victory over Canada at Maple Leaf Cricket Club in the World Cricket League Americas Division 1 Championship while Bermuda beat Argentina by 109 runs

Canada were bowled out for 187 runs. The main feature of the innings was a stand of 93 for the ninth wicket between George Codrington and Steve Welsh.

Canada reached 25 before Sundeep Jyoti was out. Wickets then tumbled and half the side was out before 50 runs were on the board.

One of the Cayman Islands camp had been overheard during the morning session saying he hoped Canada would be restricted to 120 runs or less. However, Steve Gordon and Perason Best lead the way to victory.

Canada’s coach Andy Pick said that "the selectors had stressed at the start of the week that winning the Americas tournament was a secondary consideration and that they wanted to look at certain players."

There were plenty of runs in the other Americas match played at Maple Leaf CC on Tuesday. Bermuda beat Argentina by 109 runs. Bermuda scored 371 runs for the loss of three wickets. The major feature was an unbroken stand of 202 runs for the fourth wicket between Kwame Tucker, who scored 100 not out, and Lionel Cann, who scored 139 nor out. Cann has showed his hitting power in matches against Canada this season, but really flowered in the final over against Argentina. He hit five sixes and a two, making 32 runs off that over.

Janeiro Tucker made 79 in a stand of 128 runs for the second wicket with Kwame Tucker. Kwame Tucker hit 10x4 and 1x6. Cann scored his runs off 88 balls.

Argentina had a spirited reply of 262 runs for 5 in their 50 overs. Opening batsman Lucas Pateruni was their top scorer with 70.

Eddie Norfolk

Article sourced from:- http://blogs.cricinfo.com/btw/archives/2006/08/canada_sink_to.php

USA v Argentina match report -- Posted Saturday, August 26 2006

The United States cruised to a comfortable seven-wicket win over Argentina on the third day of the Americas Championship at Maple Leaf CC in Toronto, Canada, and in doing so set up a potential championship decider with Bermuda on Friday.

Sent in to bat, Argentina started disastrously, losing their first two wickets in the very first over to paceman Imran Awan. It was a continued uphill struggle from then for the Argentine batsmen against a sharp USA attack, and it was only thanks to a gritty 6th wicket partnership of 59 between Donny Forrester and Alejandro Ferguson that steered Argentina towards respectability.

Forrester eventually ended with 43, from 75 balls, with five fours, while Ferguson scored a well-deserved half-century, making 57 from 83 balls with five fours and a six. Argentina's innings closed on 182 in the 49th over.
For the USA pacemen Iwan, with 3 for 51, and Khawaja Shuja, with 2 for 22, did the initial damage, while spinner Lennox Cush bowled well to end with 2 for 30.
Although a respectable target set by Argentina, it was never going to be enough against a powerful USA top-order, despite a spirited opening burst from the Argentine seamers.

With the USA at 64 for 3, and first-day centurion Sushil Nadkarni back in the pavilion, there was a sniff of another giant-killing act in the tournament. But captain Steve Massiah and Lennox Cush had other ideas, and their 120 run undefeated 4th wicket partnership saw the USA home with 22 overs to spare. Massiah continued his fine form with the bat, scoring an undefeated 54 off 59 balls, with 7 fours, while Cush, later named man of the match, scored a blistering 73 not out off only 42 balls, with 8 fours and 5 sixes.

Seamers Gary Savage, 1 for 37 in 8 overs, and Steven Nino, 1 for 34 in 8 overs, bowled well to test the USA top order, but Argentina ultimately did not score anywhere near enough in their innings.

The USA now face unbeaten Bermuda on Friday in a key clash. A Bermudan victory will clinch the title for them for the first time in their history, while a USA victory will keep the championship chase alive into the final day on Saturday.

The Friday game refered to was rained out. (JH)

Story sourced:- http://blogs.cricinfo.com/btw/archives/2006/08/usa_set_up_berm.php#more

Live coverage of Canada- Argentina, Canada-USA -- Posted Friday, August 25 2006
Cricket Europe - http://www.cricketeurope4.net/CRICKETEUROPE/
will be covering these games live, with more details and discussion on http:///www.bigcricket.com

Romaine completes Canada's wretched campaign -- Posted Friday, August 25 2006

Bermuda completed a 2-0 series win over Canada with an 11-run win at the Toronto Cricket, Skating and Curling Club, inflicting the fourth defeat in four ODI matches played by the Canadians in the last month. Although they had the consolation of a victories in the Intercontinental Cup, the results are a major blow to Canada's World Cup preparations.

Irvine Romaine's 101 was the anchor of Bermuda's impressive 272 for 7, and although Canada batted much better than in other games, there were always slightly behind the clock and in the end the stiff target was just out of reach. Romaine, a powerful striker of the ball, slammed his hundred off 111 balls, hitting five sixes and 12 fours.

The controversial decision by the Canadian selectors to omit their regular opening bowling combination of Henry Osinde and Umar Bhatti from this match surely had a bearing on the outcome. Austin Codrington did take the first three wickets that fell, but there was not the same control and power in the opening bowling as usual.
The selection throughout the summer has been a mess, and although this was identified as a problem after last year's failure in the Intercontinental Cup, nothing seems to have changed.

One local observer noted: "There should have been a focus on preparing for the World Cup, realistically from the time Canada qualified in the 2005 ICC Trophy, but this has not been the case. Indeed since the 2001 ICC Trophy was played in the Greater Toronto area there has been a procession of coaches for the national side. Additionally, there have been three High Performance Managers in the past year; something which does not lend itself to a proper evaluation and selection process."

The section on Canada in the ICC Americas Annual Report for 2005-2006 indicated the new national coach was to have a say in the selection process. This does not appear to have been put in place.

At least this time Canada batted with conviction. John Davison looked good for his 55, and then Ian Billcliff played a good innings that gave his side hope for victory. If nothing else, this match saw Canada reach a respectable total for the first time this summer. But it will be Bermuda who emerge from this brief series with hope for the World Cup.

For Canada, time is fast running out to get out of first gear.

Bermuda 272 for 7 (Romaine 101, Codrington 3-31) beat Canada 261 (Billcliff 59, Davison 55, Durham 4-45, O'Brien 3-62) by 11 runs

Article/report sourced from:-
http://content-usa.cricinfo.com/canada/content/story/257412.html

Under 15 Canadian team to tour -- Posted Friday, August 25 2006

Congratulations to Trevor Manoosingh.

Trevor is selected on the Canadian Cricket Association National Under 15 Team .Trevor will traveled to Toronto on Thursday August 24 to take part in three days of intensive coaching and training.

The Canadian Team will travel to Florida on Sunday August 27 to participate in the 2006 Americas Under 15 Regional Championship.

Item sourced from:- http://www.cricket.mb.ca/

A thorough examination of the CCA website failed to produce any mention of this Junior Tour. (JH)

A letter from Guatemala -- Posted Friday, August 25 2006

Dear Eddie:

I herewith seek your kind assistance on behalf of Guatemalan cricket which is seeking volunteers to coach Guatemalan kids for a limited time duration.

Mr Manuel Farfan - the main promoter of the game in Guatemala needs coaching assistance plus second hand junior / adult cricket equipment.

You may contact Mr Manuel Farfan - as follows: EMAIL - mfskippy51@yahoo.com TP - 502 - 53 - 08 - 72 - 01 / 24 37 70 09

While the volunteers would have to pay for their air fare to Guatemala, we would be happy to host the coach / coaches in private residences. The duration of the course could be decided in consultation with Manuel. Also see email below from Manuel.

I look forward to your kind response.

Warm regards.

Yours sincerely Mahendra Mapagunaratne
Promoter of Guatemalan Cricket

DEAR MAHENDRA AND ALL OF YOU WHO SUPPORTS CRICKET. FINALLY I GOT THE MEETING WITH PRIVATE SCHOOLS, AND THESE ARE THE RESULTS.
TWO SCHOOLS FOR SURE STARTS THE PROGRAM, THEY ARE: (1) "INTERNACIONAL MONTESSORI" WHICH IS ACCORDING TO THE GUATEMALAN EDUCATION MINISTRY THE NUMBER ONE SCHOOL".
"EVELYN ROGERS A LEADING SCHOOL WHICH PROMOTES A DINAMIC Ph.Ed. CLASS OVER THE REGULAR PROGRAM".
TWO MORE INTERESTED WAIT FOR THEIR ADMINISTRATION AUTHORIZATION "JULIO VERNE, A SCHOOL WITH FRENCH SUPPORT" AND "COLEGIO EVANGELICO LA PATRIA".
EIGHT MORE TO FOLLOW UP SINCE THEY ARE INTERESTED BUT THEIR ANNUAL CYCLE IS DIFFERENT FROM THE OFFICIAL ONE, THAT IS JANUARY-OCTOBER. THEY ARE NOW STILL ON VACATION "COLEGIO AMERICANO DE GUATEMALA" "COLEGIO ALEMAN DE GUATEMALA" "COLEGIO INTERAMERICANO LA MONTAÑA" "COLEGIO AUSTRIACO GUATEMALTECO" "COLEGIO LEHNSEN ROOSEVELT" "LICEO FRATERNIDAD CRISTIANA" "COLEGIO VALLE VERDE". "CENTRO EDUCATIVO EL ROBLE".
WE AGREED WITH THE FIRST TWO SCHOOLS:
1. STARTS WITH BOYS AND GIRLS BORN 1994 AND 1995.
2. WORK ON CRICKET FUNDAMENTALS DURING AUGUST AND SEPTEMBER, WITH AN INTERNAL TOURNAMENT EACH ONE.
3. DEVELOPING A TOURNAMENT AMONGST THE SCHOOLS WHICH FINALLY ADOPTS THE PROGRAM DURING THE 4TH WEEK OF FEBRUARY 2006.
4. ENRICHMENT OF MANUALS AND VIDEOS ABOUT CRICKET.
5. FACILITIES ON MODELS OF WICKETS AND BATS PRIMARILY.
6. COORDINATOR SUPERVISION AND SUPPORTING IN SCHOOLS.

I HAVE TO TELL YOU THAT MR. ILLINGWORTH GAVE SOME MANUALS FROM ICC AND ARGENTINA WHICH I PARTIALLY REPRODUCED FOR THE SCHOOLS AS A FREE SUPPORTING MATERIAL

I ATTACH A COPY OF THAT REPRODUCTION IN WHICH ITS ORIGINAL ARE GRAPHICS ADDED. AS SOON AS POSSIBLE I`LL ADD MORE INFO.

EXPECTING OPINION FROM ALL OF YOU.
KIND REGARDS
MANUEL FARFAN

A FEW FACTS FOR SELECTION CRITICS TO CHEW ON -- Posted Thursday, August 24 2006

Further to assertions by your correspondent Eddie Norfolk and the Toronto Star’s Norman DaCosta that the Canadian coach Andy Pick has had “no say” in the selection of the Canadian squads for this summer, the following facts may be of interest to your readers….(or at least those of them who may be interested in facts !)

Prior to the selection of the team for the tri-nation series in Trinidad in May the coach was not consulted because he had either not yet arrived in Canada when the team was selected or he had just arrived and would not be expected to be familiar with the players.

After that series in May the coach, as is normal, had “a say” when he filed a comprehensive written report on all players in that series.

Within a week of receiving that report the coach had “a say” during a two-and-a-half hour conference call with the selection committee during which every conceivable detail regarding players, selection policy etcetera was discussed.

Three weeks later, prior to the selection of the squads for the summer, the coach had yet another “say” during a conference call with the selectors.

The squads were then selected.

The CCA Executive then determined that the coach would have a further “say” in choosing the final X1 on game day from the 14-man squads given to him, without any reference whatsoever to the selection committee.

The coach is at liberty, at any time of day or night, to have “a say” by expressing his views on selection policy/players etc. to the selectors/media/public and has certainly not been bashful about doing so.

In the light of the above, any assertion that the coach has not had “a say” in the selection of the Canadian teams for this summer flies directly in the face of the facts.

With respect to the changes in the squad for the “Americas” championships, it would have been a more balanced presentation if the reports had noted that:

(a) three players who represented Canada against Kenya were injured and therefore were unavailable;
(b) players lose form from time to time or do not measure up to expectations;
(c) amateur players cannot be expected to put their jobs on the line by taking excessive time off for the amount of cricket the ICC has required Associate countries to play this summer.

It would also have been helpful to have noticed that Canada is a one-day cricket country where fast bowlers such as Umar Bhatti and Henry Osinde are lucky to bowl 10 overs in their weekend Premier Division game. They were required to bowl far more overs (Osinde 92, Bhatti 103) in the two four-day games versus Kenya and Bermuda. In addition they were selected for two of the four one-dayers versus Kenya and Bermuda.

Anyone even remotely familiar with current world cricket will have noted that fast bowlers all over the world are breaking down with a raft of injuries directly related to overwork. That is why selectors and coaches elsewhere have adopted a system of rotation specifically for fast bowlers. Canada’s selectors would no doubt have been harshly---and justifiably--- criticized if either of these two fast bowlers had broken down as a result of selecting them for every single game this summer, as some of the “experts” have suggested.

Canada’s surprising loss to the Cayman Islands will come as a huge disappointment to all. However, anyone who saw the game will have to commend the Caymans for making the right decision to insert Canada on a ‘greentop’, setting correct fields and putting the new ball in the right places. Three of our batsmen who did well in the four-day games, Abdool Samad, Ian Billcliff (century-makers) and Ashish Bagai (half-century) failed to score on this occasion.

Some armchair critics have suggested we should have picked their same “World Cup Probables”---never mind injuries, unavailability, loss of form, team balance---for every game. Others have suggested we should, by now, have a pool of 20-25 to choose from. Some have suggested giving youth a chance. Others have slagged the oldsters, although there is no consensus on which players are “too old” or what age is “too old”.

All of that is fair game, par for the course, and as long as there are selectors and critics those comments can be expected.

However, the facts are: over the course of this summer, 25 different players have been tried, so far. 11 of them just happen to be under 30 years old. These represent at least 95 per cent of the best we have in Canada. Yet coming off our third place finish in the one-day ICC Trophy last year---- in the unfamiliar pitch and weather conditions of Ireland----- we have now lost seven one-day games on the trot, as opposed to winning two four-day games.

Anyone seriously searching for the reasons why this has happened will have to make a much deeper analysis. They will need to go well beyond the “usual suspects” (Fitness, Selection choices, Umpiring decisions, Pitches and Mr.Bad Luck etc). Not to mention everyone’s favorite You-Know-Who whipping boy!

Errol Townshend
Member 5-man Selection Committee

An addendum has been received from the President of the Alberta Cricket Association.

"As per discussions with the coach, we have included the players he suggested during the summer. It is very important that everyone knows that the coach has not suggested a player that we (the selection committee) have not selected."

CANADIAN LADIES Xl TO MAKE NATIONAL CRICKET HISTORY -- Posted Thursday, August 24 2006

The ladies of Canada will make Canadian sporting history when they meet Bermuda at Beacon Hill Park in Victoria on September 2,4 and 8 to decide which country will represent the Americas region in the Women’s World Cup Qualifying tournament in 2007.

These encounters will mark the first occasion of a Canadian Ladies Xl taking the field of play on the international scene.

This was to happen in the summer of 2005 when Canada was invited to take part in the West Indies Women’s Regional Tournament, but hurricanes Dennis and Emily roared by Jamaica and the event was cancelled.

Canada will be led by well known Toronto lady cricketer Ave Mogan and the coach will be former first-class cricketer Tony Cordle of Victoria.

Between 1963 and 198O, Cord1e played a total of 312 first class matches for Glamorgan in the English County Championships.

The Canadian squad is as follows:-

Ave Mogan (Ontario) Captain
Janet Done (Ontario)
Mona Persaud (Ontario)
Yvette Singh (Ontario)
Claire Abbott (British Columbia)
Chelsea Baker (British Columbia)
Kim Coulter (British Columbia)
Meara Crawford (British Columbia)
Anne Davis (British Columbia)
Lenore Davis (British Columbia)
Julia Fathers (British Columbia)
Shelly Fathers (British Columbia)
Helene Gaffney (British Columbia)
Maree Wilson (British Columbia)

Michelle Hobby - Alternate (British Columbia)

Tony Cordle - Coach (British Columbia)

Source:- Kevin Boller - Press Release

Bermuda bowler reported for flawed action -- Posted Thursday, August 24 2006

The ICC today confirmed Bermuda left-arm spin bowler Hasan Durham has been reported for a potentially flawed bowling action following the ODI against Canada in Toronto.

The report was made by on-field umpires Ian Gould and Roger Dill, third and fourth umpires Karran Bayney and Ruban Sivanadian and the Emirates Elite Panel ICC match referee Jeff Crowe.

The officials reviewed the player’s action during the match and in the light of their assessment he has been referred to stage one of the ICC's process for assessing bowlers with potentially flawed actions.

The ICC, the Bermuda Cricket Board (BCB) and the player’s team management have been informed of the report as per the ICC regulations governing the process.

This issue now comes under those regulations and an expert in biomechanics will be appointed by the ICC in consultation with the BCB to provide an independent assessment of Mr Durham’s action within the next 21 days.

The assessment will be submitted to the ICC which will, in turn, send a copy to the BCB. Until the BCB receives the assessment the player will be able to continue to play and any subsequent report has no consequence.

If Mr Durham is found to have been bowling with an illegal action he will be suspended from bowling in international cricket with immediate effect. He would then have the option of applying to the ICC for a re-assessment of his bowling action at any time in order to return to bowling in international cricket.

The player will be allowed to play international cricket until the biomechanical report has been completed, at the discretion of the BCB.

BCB Executive Director Neil Speight said: “The ICC has made us aware of the process and we are happy to adhere to it.”

Full details of the bowling review process can be found on the official ICC website www.icc-cricket.com

Article sourced from ICC MEDIA RELEASE
Dubai, 22 August 2006

World Cricket League - Americas Division 1 -- Posted Wednesday, August 23 2006

Lionel Cann hit five sixes in the last over of the Bermuda innings at Maple Leaf CC against Argentina. He scored 32 (including one 2) off this over and ended on 139 not out.

His stand with Kwame Tucker added 202 runs unbroken for the fourth wicket. Bermuda made 371 runs for the loss of three wickets in their 50 overs.

Argentina made a spirited reply reaching 262 runs for the loss of five wickets in their 50 overs. Bermuda won by 109 runs.

Eddie Norfolk.

Cayman’s shock win over Canada -- Posted Wednesday, August 23 2006
Cricket - World Cricket League - Americas Division 1

Cayman Islands pulled off a shock victory over Canada at Maple Leaf Cricket Club in the World Cricket League – Americas Division 1 Championship. Canada was bowled out for 187 runs. The main feature of the innings was a stand of 93 for the ninth wicket between George Codrington and Steve Welsh.

Canada reached 25 before Sundeep Jyoti was out. Wickets then tumbled and half the side was out before 50 runs were on the board.

One of the Cayman Islands camp had been overheard during the morning session saying he hoped Canada would be restricted to 120 runs or less. However, Steve Gordon and Perason Best lead the way for a win by seven wickets.
Canada coach Andy Pick said that “the selectors had stressed at the start of the week that winning the Americas tournament was a secondary consideration and that they wanted to look at certain players.”

BERMUDA BEAT ARGENTINA IN RUN FEAST

There were plenty of runs in the other Americas match played at Maple Leaf CC on Tuesday. Bermuda beat Argentina by 109 runs. Bermuda scored 371 runs for the loss of 3 wickets. The major feature was an unbroken stand of 202 runs for the fourth wicket between Kwame Tucker, who scored 100 not out, and Lionel Cann, who scored 139 nor out. Cann has showed his hitting power in matches against Canada this season, but really flowered in the final over against Argentina. He hit five sixes and a two, making 32 runs off that over.

Janeiro Tucker made 79 in a stand of 128 runs for the second wicket with Kwame Tucker. Kwame Tucker hit 10x4 and 1x6. Cann scored his runs off 88 balls.

Argentina had a spirited reply of 262 runs for the loss of 5 wickets in their 50 overs. Opening batsman Lucas Pateruni was their top scorer with 70 runs.

Note: I will almost certainly provide an expanded commentary on the Canada-Cayman Islands match on either Wednesday or Thursday.

ICC Americas Office are issuing daily releases on these matches but these seem to arrive after likely deadlines for newspapers, particularly in Eastern Canada.

Eddie Norfolk

Lionel Cann hitting one of his five sixes in the last over of the Bermuda innings at Maple Leaf CC against Argentina. He scored 32 (including one 2) off this over and ended on 139 not out.

ICC affirms primacy of on-field umpires -- Posted Wednesday, August 23 2006

ICC Chief Executive Malcolm Speed today affirmed the primacy of on-field umpires in decision-making.
He also confirmed the ICC’s process for appointing umpires for international matches in the wake of correspondence from the Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB).

Reflecting on Sunday’s conclusion to the fourth Test between England and Pakistan, which occurred when the home side was awarded the match after the visitors did not take the field at the end of the tea break, Mr Speed said: “It is hugely regrettable that the match did not end with a great finish in front of a full house.

That is something that would have acted as an appropriate conclusion to a series full of exciting and absorbing cricket. However it is not the role of the ICC to overturn the decisions of on-field umpires, the people who are enshrined in the Laws of Cricket as the sole judges of fair and unfair play, the ultimate arbiters of the game.

In this instance the decision made by Billy Doctrove and Darrell Hair to award the match to England was the correct one under the Laws.

Subsequent to the end of the Test we have received a letter from the Chairman of the Pakistan Cricket Board expressing his concerns about the appointment of Darrell Hair to matches involving Pakistan.

The PCB has expressed those concerns verbally in the past but this is the first time they have put them in writing, even though they have previously been invited to do so.
However, it remains the role of the ICC and not our Members to appoint umpires to Tests and one-day internationals.

The choices are made by the ICC’s Chief Executive together with the Chairman of the Cricket Committee, Sunil Gavaskar, following recommendations from the ICC’s Cricket department.

The appointments are made without fear or favour and are based on the performances of the umpires in international matches.

This process has been approved by the ICC’s Executive Board, which includes representatives of all the Test-playing teams, and has proved successful.

It should be borne in mind that Friday’s Code of Conduct hearing is not a political, racial or religious matter but a cricketing one.

The hearing will deal with two separate charges, one of them the issue of the Pakistan team allegedly changing the condition of the ball and the other that it allegedly brought the game into disrepute by remaining in the dressing room when the match should have resumed after the tea interval.

We have no vested interests in the outcome of the hearing but what we expect is that it will be fair and will illustrate our processes are suitably robust to deal with these issues, added Mr Speed.

The venue and timings of Friday’s hearing, together with details of media access will be announced in due course.

Article sourced from ICC MEDIA RELEASE Dubai 22 August 2006

Bermuda bowler has potentially flawed action -- Posted Wednesday, August 23 2006

ICC confirms Hasan Durham of Bermuda reported for potentially flawed bowling action

The ICC today confirmed Bermuda left-arm spin bowler Hasan Durham has been reported for a potentially flawed bowling action following the ODI against Canada in Toronto on Monday.

The report was made by on-field umpires Ian Gould and Roger Dill, third and fourth umpires Karran Bayney and Ruban Sivanadian and the Emirates Elite Panel ICC match referee Jeff Crowe.

The officials reviewed the player’s action during the match and in the light of their assessment he has been referred to stage one of the ICC's process for assessing bowlers with potentially flawed actions.

The ICC, the Bermuda Cricket Board (BCB) and the player’s team management have been informed of the report as per the ICC regulations governing the process.

This issue now comes under those regulations and an expert in biomechanics will be appointed by the ICC in consultation with the BCB to provide an independent assessment of Mr Durham’s action within the next 21 days.

The assessment will be submitted to the ICC which will, in turn, send a copy to the BCB. Until the BCB receives the assessment the player will be able to continue to play and any subsequent report has no consequence.

If Mr Durham is found to have been bowling with an illegal action he will be suspended from bowling in international cricket with immediate effect. He would then have the option of applying to the ICC for a re-assessment of his bowling action at any time in order to return to bowling in international cricket.

The player will be allowed to play international cricket until the biomechanical report has been completed, at the discretion of the BCB.

BCB Executive Director Neil Speight said: “The ICC has made us aware of the process and we are happy to adhere to it.”

Full details of the bowling review process can be found on the official ICC website www.icc-cricket.com

Article sourced from ICC MEDIA RELEASE 22 August 2006

Bermuda beat Canada by 11 runs - report and photos -- Posted Tuesday, August 22 2006
Cricket One-Day International (ODI) – Summary by Eddie Norfolk

Bermuda 272 runs for 7 wickets (50 overs, Irving Romaine 101 runs, Clay Smith 38 runs, Lionel Cann 36 runs not out; Austin Codrington 3 wickets for 31 runs)

Canada 261 runs, all out (49.1 overs; Ian Billcliff 58, John Davison 55, Abdool Samad 33 runs; Hasan Durham 4 wickets for 45 runs)

Bermuda won by 11 runs.

Report

Bermuda beat Canada by 11 runs in an entertaining match on Monday at the Toronto Cricket, Skating and Curling Club. Bermuda posted a good score of 272 runs for 7 wickets in their 50 overs. Irving Romaine, the Bermuda captain, scored 101 runs. This total was much higher than Canada had achieved in any of the previous five ODI matches this summer. However, Canada batted much better in this game, buoyed by an opening stand of 50 runs but eventually was all out in the fiftieth over just short of the target.

The controversial decision by the Canadian selectors to omit their regular opening bowling combination of Henry Osinde and Umar Bhatti from this match surely had a bearing on the outcome. Austin Codrington did take the first three wickets that fell, but there was not the same control and power in the opening bowling as usual. It was almost as strange that Bermuda included one of their bowlers, George O’Brien as a pinch-hitting opening batsman. He was soon out for a duck.

Bermuda had won the toss and elected to bat. Romaine batted at number four, entering the field with the score on 31 runs for 2 wickets. He helped pull the innings around and took part in two main stands. Romaine and Saleem Mukkuddem added 52 for the 4th wicket and he later paired with Clay Smith to add 68 runs in just over 12 overs for the sixth wicket.

Romaine is a powerful striker of the ball. His innings of 101 runs took 147 minutes. He faced 111 balls, hitting 5x6 and 12x4.

The setup work by the earlier batsman gave Bermuda’s late batsmen the confidence to hit out. Lionel Cann made a typically hard- hit 36 not out. He has become a thorn in Canada’s side in this summer’s ODIs.

Canada replied with their best opening stand of the summer in one-day cricket at this level. Davison struck the ball well and had good support from Sundeep Jyoti. Jyoti scored a century in the semi-finals of the Royal Cup. He appears to have potential to play at this higher level. However, there seems to have been no direction in the selection process this summer, something identified as a problem during the 2005 Intercontinental Cup and it is hard to see how the situation is going to change.

There should have been a focus on preparing for the 2007 World Cup, realistically from the time Canada qualified in the 2005 ICC Trophy, but this has not been the case. Indeed since the 2001 ICC Trophy was played in the Greater Toronto area there has been a procession of coaches for the national side. Additionally, there have been three High Performance Managers in the past year; something which does not lend itself to a proper evaluation and selection process.

The section on Canada in the ICC Americas Annual Report for 2005-2006 indicates the new National Coach was to have a say in the selection process. This does not appear to have been put in place.

The start in this second ODI with Bermuda gave the team the prospect of challenging Bermuda’s total. Davison continued batting aggressively until he was dismissed for 55, with the total on 91 runs. Ian Billcliff entered the scene when Davison was out and played a good innings that gave Canada a ray of hope for victory. If nothing else, this match saw Canada reach a respectable total for the first time this summer. The success from the two four-day match wins seemed to be starting to rub off in a one-day game.

Billcliff and Abdool Samad added 70 runs for the 4th wicket before Samad was out for 33 runs, bowled by Hasan Durham. Durham had Billcliff caught a few overs later. George Codrington tried to keep Canada on track for a win. He hit a huge six into a nearby garden off Durham but was later caught by Mukkudem off the bowling of O’Brien for 28 runs.

The home crowd started to get into the game as Canada tried to post a seemingly elusive ODI win, but with 12 runs needed for victory, Kevin Sandher was caught going for a big hit and Bermuda ran out winners by 11 runs. In a game where the bat dominated the ball, Bermuda’s best bowling came from Hasan Durham, who took 4 wickets for 45 runa in 9 overs. Dwayne Leverock, who took 1 wicket for 37 runs in his 10 overs, and Saleem Mukkuddem who bowled 10 overs for 44 runs were the most economic bowlers for their side.

Romaine completes Canada's wretched campaign
Cricinfo staff
August 21, 2006
Bermuda 272 for 7 (Romaine 101, Codrington 3-31) beat Canada 261 (Billcliff 59, Davison 55, Durham 4-45, O'Brien 3-62) by 11 runs

Bermuda completed a 2-0 series win over Canada with an 11-run win at the Toronto Cricket, Skating and Curling Club, inflicting the fourth defeat in four ODI matches played by the Canadians in the last month. Although they had the consolation of a victories in the Intercontinental Cup, the results are a major blow to Canada's World Cup preparations.

Irvine Romaine's 101 was the anchor of Bermuda's impressive 272 for 7, and although Canada batted much better than in other games, there were always slightly behind the clock and in the end the stiff target was just out of reach. Romaine, a powerful striker of the ball, slammed his hundred off 111 balls, hitting five sixes and 12 fours.

The controversial decision by the Canadian selectors to omit their regular opening bowling combination of Henry Osinde and Umar Bhatti from this match surely had a bearing on the outcome. Austin Codrington did take the first three wickets that fell, but there was not the same control and power in the opening bowling as usual.

The selection throughout the summer has been a mess, and although this was identified as a problem after last year's failure in the Intercontinental Cup, nothing seems to have changed.

One local observer noted: "There should have been a focus on preparing for the World Cup, realistically from the time Canada qualified in the 2005 ICC Trophy, but this has not been the case. Indeed since the 2001 ICC Trophy was played in the Greater Toronto area there has been a procession of coaches for the national side. Additionally, there have been three High Performance Managers in the past year; something which does not lend itself to a proper evaluation and selection process."

The section on Canada in the ICC Americas Annual Report for 2005-2006 indicated the new national coach was to have a say in the selection process. This does not appear to have been put in place.

At least this time Canada batted with conviction. John Davison looked good for his 55, and then Ian Billcliff played a good innings that gave his side hope for victory. If nothing else, this match saw Canada reach a respectable total for the first time this summer. But it will be Bermuda who emerge from this brief series with hope for the World Cup. For Canada, time is fast running out to get out of first gear.

Report sourced from:-
http://content-usa.cricinfo.com/canada/content/story/257412.htm

Photos

ODI 1: Clay Smith	Clay Smith	Irving Romaine
Irving Romaine - 100	John Davison	ODI 2: Billcliff batting

Edmonton police hate crimes unit investigates cricket club vandalism -- Posted Monday, August 21 2006

Edmonton police are investigating alleged hate crimes targeting the city's cricket league, which includes many players of Pakistani, Indian and Bangladeshi descent.

The problem, which has been going on for four years but increased in the past month, has been limited to vandalism but some players are worried it could escalate to violence.
"People coming out doing such incidents, if they are around and they see junior kids, we really don't know what to expect. They might attack them as well," league spokesman Amit Anand said. 'Very distasteful, very hurtful'

Last week, athletes from across Canada took part in the Canada Cup cricket tournament in Edmonton. Organizers say the games were marred by vandals at Victoria Park.

"The messages on the board were some relating to 'Pakis.' Then there was an f-word, then it finished with 'Go Home.' It was very distasteful, very hurtful, very upsetting," said Bryn Whittaker, vice-president of the Edmonton and District Cricket League.

Such vandalism has been going on for four years, both at Victoria and Mill Woods parks, said Whittaker. Last year, the group's clubhouse burned down.

The league said it recently reported the incidents because there's been more vandalism over the past month.The Edmonton Police Service's hate and bias crimes unit is investigating.

"People need to realize the gravity of something like this and that police need to be aware of it," said Const. Robinder Gill.

Cricket players hope the incidents don't ruin the reputation of a sport that brings so many different cultures together.

Editorial Note:-
I was in Edmonton recently and visited the cricketers at the ground in question. The ground is on the flood plain of the Saskatchewan River and therefore has a lush flat field to match the conditions of any other ground in Canada. With some commitment from the CCA, this ground could readily become an ICC certified facility for international matches. The Edmonton cricketers should be given support, and I suggest that at the least cricket clubs across Canada should write letters of support.(JH).

Report sourced from:- http://www.cbc.ca/canada/edmonton/story/2006/08/16/cricket-crimes.html?ref=rss

STATEMENT FROM THE ONTARIO CRICKET ASSOCIATION -- Posted Monday, August 21 2006

Once again it has been brought to my attention that contributors to the Canada Cricket Online Forum continue to make utterly false and outrageous allegations against the Ontario Cricket Association and some of its officials, as well as others who are not even OCA officials.

I trust that the following will help to separate fact from fiction.

OCA Under-19 Team
I am pleased to report that Ontario’s Under-19s won the recent interprovincial tournament (the Canada Cup) in Edmonton. Just as important to the OCA were the reports received from Edmonton with respect to the exemplary conduct of our team which did Ontario proud.

The second vice president of the Canadian Cricket Association, Ramesh Jagoo, has written to the OCA on this: “The team performed very well, but what was more evident was their exemplary behaviour and discipline during their stay in Edmonton. Credit should also be given their management team of Wijay (Senathirajah) and Fazil (Sattaur) who both showed a lot of class under some tough circumstances and kept the boys well behaved and tough in the field. The junior program in Ontario continues to lead the country. Keep up the good work.”

In an earlier communication to the website I explained the process whereby the team was selected and I indicated that two of the volunteers being castigated on the Forum, Leroy Grey and John Lall, are not officials responsible for the delivery of OCA’s junior programs nor are they OCA selectors but are officials involved with the CCA Under-23 and CCA Under-15 programs.

Some of the forum contributors continue to ignore all of this and obviously do not want facts to get in the way of a good rant.

It would also appear that either some of the forum contributors do not know the difference between the various levels of cricket administration---Toronto & District, OCA and CCA---or simply do not care about the difference. No amount of clarification would therefore assist them.

Financial Matters

Far more serious are the spurious allegations with respect to unauthorized payments “of the huge expense claims Austin Ward made during the last 12 months.” One contributor alleged that he has seen evidence on a petition being circulated that these payments were made by the OCA. Another asserted that he has seen evidence on the same petition that they were made by the CCA.

I can assure you no such payments for personal expenses were made by the Ontario Cricket Association to Mr. Ward. The OCA’s expenses for the financial year ended January 31, 2006 (which are a matter of public record) were as follows:
“ CCA Fees ($8,395), Insurance ($7338.60),CCA Senior National Tournament ($5342.51). MCC Tour ($10,357.98), Meetings and Travel by Out-of-town delegates to Toronto ($1420.88), Administration ($745.74).”

That’s it.

Nor am I aware that any such payments for personal expenses have been made by the OCA since that financial statement was presented to the OCA’s AGM in February 2006.
If such payments for personal expenses were made to Mr.Ward by the CCA we at the OCA would have no way of knowing as we are an entirely separate organizations.

Govt. of Ontario Grant

The Ontario Cricket Association is thankful to the Government of Ontario for restoring our funding after it was cut off some 10 years ago. Our officials have worked hard to bring us to where we are and it is regrettable that irresponsible persons should seek to tarnish the OCA’s reputation.

The Govt. of Ontario grant of $1,000,000 has been allocated as follows:

(a) $250,000 for the refurbishing of the Maple Leaf Cricket Club at King City.

This facility is owned by the cricketers of Toronto. The hope is that it can be brought up to international standards. An official from the International Cricket Council inspected the extensively renovated venue on August 18 to determine whether it can be certified as an official venue for one day internationals. We await his verdict.

(b) $500,000 stashed away in a 5-year non- redeemable GIC providing interest of about $23,000 annually to fund our programs;

(c) $250,000 for the OCA’s 5-year development program focusing on club cricket which includes: Player-of-the-Month cash Awards for each of OCA’s five leagues; assistance to women’s and university cricket; inauguration of an Ontario Junior Championships; inauguration of an Ontario-wide Club Champions tournament; youth summer camp; enhanced OCA Senior Championships; improved infrastructure across the province (eg. sightscreens, slipcatchers, bowling machines etc); incentives for club coaches and scorers, scorers seminars, Under-30 tours.

Some of these programs are already underway and we look forward to the inaugural Ontario Club Champions tournament at the end of September when the five club champions of Ontario will meet in a knockout contest.

There is no great optimism that setting out any of these facts will have the slightest effect on the Forum’s mischief-makers and peddlers of malicious gossip who seem to have deliberately orchestrated a campaign against certain administrators. They have no interest in the truth.

However, I believe that reasonable, fair-minded persons, when provided with the facts, will at least have some basis for assessing some of the more outrageous and libelous comments that have appeared on the Forum recently.

Errol Townshend
President, Ontario Cricket Association

Fourth Test awarded to England after umpires deem Pakistan to have forfeited match -- Posted Monday, August 21 2006

The fourth Test between England and Pakistan has been awarded to England after umpires Billy Doctrove and Darrell Hair deemed Pakistan to have forfeited the match.
The umpires made their decision in accordance with Law 21.3* when the Pakistan side failed to emerge from the dressing rooms after the tea interval.

This followed the umpires’ awarding of five penalty runs to England during the second session of the fourth day after alleged interference with the match ball by the fielding side.

Subsequent to the umpires’ decision to award the match to England, a series of meetings took place to try and arrive at a situation that was in the best interests of the match and the game of cricket.

Those meetings involved match referee Mike Procter, the two captains Andrew Strauss of England and Pakistan’s Inzamam-ul-Haq, umpires Doctrove and Hair, England Head Coach Duncan Fletcher and Pakistan Team Manager Zaheer Abbas, the Chairman of the England & Wales Cricket Board (ECB) David Morgan and Shaharyar Khan, the Chairman of the Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) and ECB Chief Executive David Collier.

ICC Chief Executive Malcolm Speed also spoke to umpire Darrell Hair by ‘phone from Dubai.

Following these meetings the umpires decided that, having made the decision to award the match to England, to change that decision would not be in keeping with the Laws of Cricket. The ICC backs the decision of the umpires.

The issue of a charge or charges to be laid against Pakistan under the ICC’s Code of Conduct will now be dealt with at the earliest possible opportunity.

Pakistan has been charged under Level two of the Code of Conduct, 2.10, which relates to changing the condition of the match ball.

The ECB has undertaken to provide a 40 per cent refund to all spectators who purchased tickets for the fourth day’s play and a full refund for the 12,000 spectators who pre-purchased tickets for Monday’s scheduled fifth day.

* Law 21.3 reads:

“Umpires awarding a match
(a) A match shall be lost by a side which either
(i) concedes defeat or (ii) in the opinion of the umpires refuses to play and the umpires shall award the match to the other side.
(b) If an umpire considers that an action by any player or players might constitute a refusal by either side to play then the umpires together shall ascertain the cause of the action. If they then decide together that this action does constitute a refusal to play by one side, they shall so inform the captain of that side. If the captain persists in the action the umpires shall award the match in accordance with (a) (ii) above.”

Editorial comment:-
In a match involving the West Indies C.C. of Toronto a couple of years ago, the batting captain, Traddie Simpson entered the field of play to dispute the decision of one of the umpires. As I reall Simpson refused to continue the match. (JH)

Canada humbled by Bermuda in ODI -- Posted Sunday, August 20 2006

Scoring Summary–Result – Bermuda beat Canada by 6 wickets

Canada 145 all out (39.5 overs, Abdool Samad 28 runs, Kevin Hurdle 3 wickets for 24 runs, George O’Brien 3 wickets for 50 runs)

Bermuda 150-4 (40 overs, Saleem Mukkuddem 39 runs, not out) Bermuda won by 6 wickets

Report

The Canadian cricket coach Andy Pick labeled the One-Day International (ODI) lost to Bermuda on Saturday an ‘embarassment. Since we arrived this morning, everything has been substandard: our warm-ups, our practice and our performance.” The trend of ‘too few runs each time’ in ODI matches this summer continued, which can be hard to explain following another good win in a 4-day game earlier in the week.

Saleem Mukkudem played a solid innings of 39 runs not out and took Bermuda to victory with six runs over long-off. He said “It was a huge effort for us to put that defeat (in the 4-day game) behind us. We got off to a fantastic start It was good to get (out) the guys who had got runs (in the 4-day game) out cheaply.”

Canada lost captain John Davison for 1 in the first over. Desmond Chumney was next out for 6. Both these wickets fell to the pace bowling of Kevin Hurdle. When Ian Billcliff was out, Canada had only scored 21 runs for the loss of 3 wickets.

Ashish Bagai moved comfortably to 10 runs but was then caught at backward square leg (46 runs for 4 wickets) and Stewart Heaney soon followed. He was caught at the wicket for 12 runs.

Abdool Samad and Umar Bhatti added 29 runs for the 6th wicket before Bhatti was caught and bowled by Dwayne Leverock, diving to his left. Samad was out for what proved the top-score of 28 runs, driving Leverock into the hands of the cover fielder.

Sunil Dhaniram was cuahgt off the bowling of Hasan Durham, George Codrington was caught for 22 and the innings ended when Austin Codrington was caught by wicketkeeper Kwame Tucker for 7. Don Maxwell was left on 3 runs, not out. Canada had failed to use ten of their allotted 50 overs – a major mistake in ODI cricket.

The Canadian innings was completed so quickly that Bermuda began their innings before lunch. The Bermudan opening batsmen, Borden and Outerbridge scored 23 runs by the luncheon interval. Their partnership was broken with the score on 41 but there continued to be little success for the home bowlers. There was some feint hope for Canada when the third Bermudan wicket went at 86 runs, but Mukkudem and Janeiro Tucker played sensibly. They added 48 runs for the 4th wicket and Mukkudem remained to see his side to a deserved win.

There continues to be very little effort from the Canadian Cricket Association to promote the sport in this country, particularly these international matches. There was talk of selling off an existing inventory of merchandise at this summer’s home games but no evidence has been seen of that initiative to date. It seems hard to believe the World Cup is some 7 months away.

The two four-day matches in the Intercontintental Cup have been exciting and gone down to the wire in the last hour of available playing time. The home ODI’s have been disappointing but with plenty of cricket fever in the Toronto area it seems pitiful that a mere 30 people, including scorers and some officials, were dotted around the ground some ten minutes after play began. It cannot be much fun for the batsmen to hear louder roars for dismissals from the fielding side than the applause from home fans.

Canada and Bermuda play again on Monday at the Toronto Cricket, Skating and Curling Club. The ground is on Wilson Avenue, near the intersection with Avenue Road.

Play is scheduled to begin at 10 am. This match is an ODI but also forms part of an ICC Americas Regional Tournament that takes place next week.

All other matches in that event take place at Maple Leaf CC, King City. USA, Cayman Islands and Argentina are the three other sides in this tournament.

Scorecard
Canada
J. Davison c Durham b Hurdle 0
D. Chumney c Leverock b Hurdle 6
S. Heaney c K. Tucker b Mukkudem 12
I. Billcliff c K. Tucker b O’ Brien 1
A. Bagai c Romaine b O’Brien 10
A. Samad c Romaine b Leverock 28
U. Bhatti c and b Leverock 14
G. Codrington c K Tucker b O’Brien 22
D. Maxwell Not Out 3
A. Codrington c K. Tucker b Hurdle 7
Extras 28
Total (All Out) 144

Fall of wickets: 1, 13, 21, 46, 49, 88, 91, 112, 134, 145
Bowling O M R W
K, Hurdle 8.5 0 24 3
G. O’Brien 10 0 50 3
S. Mukkudem 8 3 23 1
J. Tucker 2 0 13 0
D. Leverock 8 3 9 2
Borden 3 0 16 1

Bermuda
Outerbridge lbw Maxwell 15
Borden c Bagai b Bhatti 24
C. Smith lbw A. Codrington 24
S. Mukkudem Not Out 39
J. Tucket c Bagai b Samad 24
K. Tucker Not Out 4
Extras 20
Total 150-4
Fall of wickets: 41, 63, 86, 134

Bowling O M R W
U. Bhatti 8 2 27 1
A. Codrington 6 0 40 0
J. Davison 5 2 11 0
D. Maxwell 6 0 33 1
S. Dhaniram 5 0 12 0
G. Codrington 6 1 36 0
A, Sanad 4 0 8 1

An oddity

Clay Smith fielded in shirt number 77 but batted in shirt number 30 with the name ‘Minors’. Dean Minors bats left-handed but Smith is a right-hander.

Eddiy Norfolk

The cricinfo report.

Canada v Bermuda, 1st ODI, Toronto
Bermuda 'embarrass' Canada in opening game
Eddie Norfolk
August 20, 2006

Bermuda 150 for 4 (Mukkuddem 39) beat Canada 145 (Samad 28, Hurdle 3-24, O'Brien 3-50) by 6 wickets with 10 overs to spare

In what will definitely rank as a big upset, and one which Andy Pick, the Canada coach termed an "embarrassment", Bermuda traipsed to a memorable six-wicket win in the opening one-dayer at Toronto. Having bowled out Canada for 145, Bermuda, thanks to a solid 39 from Saleem Mukkudem, knocked off the target in just 40 overs.

"Since we arrived this morning, everything has been substandard," said Pick in his assessment, "our warm-ups, our practice and our performance." Not for the first time this season, Canada failed to put enough runs on the board, a trend hard to explain considering their good win in the four-day game, against the same opposition, earlier in the week.

Mukkudem, who took Bermuda to victory with a six over long-off, couldn't hide his excitement after the triumph. "It was a huge effort for us to put that defeat [in the four-day game] behind us," he said. "We got off to a fantastic start. It was good to get [out] the guys who had got runs [in the four-day game] out cheaply."

Canada lost John Davison, their captain, and Desmond Chumney early. Both fell to the pace bowling of Kevin Hurdle. Ian Billcliff followed soon and Canada were in a deep hole at 21 for 3. Ashish Bagai began comfortably but he too didn't last long, caught at backward square leg after making just 10 (46 for 4). Abdool Samad and Umar Bhatti added 29 for the sixth wicket before Bhatti was caught and bowled by Dwayne Leverock, diving to his left. Samad was out for what proved to be the top-score (28), driving Leverock into the hands of Irvine Romaine at cover.

The Canadian innings was completed so quickly that Bermuda began their innings before lunch. The Bermudan opening batsmen, Borden and Outerbridge, scored 23 by the interval. Their partnership was broken with the score on 41 but there continued to be little success for the home bowlers. Canada sniffed a faint chance when Bermuda were 86 for 3 but Mukkudem and Janeiro Tucker played sensibly. They added 48 for the fourth wicket and Mukkudem stayed unbeaten till the end.

There continues to be very little effort from the Canadian Cricket Association to promote the sport in this country, particularly these international matches. There was talk of selling off an existing inventory of merchandise at this summer's home games but no evidence has been seen of that initiative to date. It seems hard to believe the World Cup is just seven months away.

The two four-day matches in the Intercontintental Cup have been exciting and went down to the wire in the last hour of available playing time. The home ODIs have been disappointing but with plenty of latent cricket interest in the Toronto area it seems pathetic that a mere 30 people, including scorers and some officials, were dotted around the ground some ten minutes after play began. It cannot be much fun for the batsmen to hear louder roars for dismissals from the fielding side than the applause from home fans.

Canada and Bermuda play again on Monday at the Toronto Cricket, Skating and Curling Club. The ground is on Wilson Avenue, near the intersection with Avenue Road. Play is scheduled to begin at 10 am. This match is an ODI but also forms part of an ICC Americas Regional Tournament that takes place next week. All other matches in that event take place at Maple Leaf CC at King City. USA, Cayman Islands and Argentina are the three other sides in this tournament.

Report sourced from:-
http://content-usa.cricinfo.com/canada/content/story/257001.html

CP (Canadian Press) report on Canada's defeat

Bermuda's bowling confounds Canada

TORONTO (CP) - Saleem Mukkudem batted a solid innings of 39 runs not out to help Bermuda to a 150 for four wickets and victory over Canada by six wickets in a one-day international (ODI) on Saturday.

Canada's batsmen did not show up on this day, totalling only 145 runs all-out, unlike last weekend in the four-day match when the batting was on the mark.

Bermuda bowler Kevin Hurdle gave Canada all kinds of problems with his pace at the outset, resulting in only 21 Canadian runs scored for the loss of three wickets.

This put Canada in a bad position that would only get worse for Canadian coach Andy Pick.

Pick labelled the ODI an embarrassment.
"Since we arrived this morning, everything has been substandard: our warm-ups, our practice and our performance."

Abdool Samad was the only batting bright spot on an otherwise dismal day for Canada, amassing a top score of 28 runs.

Canada's poor performance was compounded by the fact that it had failed to use ten of its allotted 50 overs u a major mistake in ODI cricket.

Bermuda finished off Canada's batsmen so quickly to that Bermuda's batsmen was able to begin their innings before lunch.

Bermuda's batsmen then took over control of the match with Mukkudem and Janeiro Tucker adding 48 runs for the fourth wicket and Mukkudem continuing on to ensure victory.
"It was a huge effort for us to put that defeat (in the four-day game last weekend) behind us," said Mukkudem. "We got off to a fantastic start, it was good to get (out) the guys who had got runs (in the four-day game) out cheaply."
Canada and Bermuda play the second and final ODI on Monday at the Toronto Cricket, Skating and Curling Club
at 10 a.m. ET.

The match also forms part of an ICC Americas regional tournament that takes place next week at King City. The tournament will also feature the U.S., Cayman Islands and Argentina.

Article sourced from:-
http://slam.canoe.ca/Slam/Cricket/2006/08/20/1765944-cp.html

A cricketer remembered -- Posted Sunday, August 20 2006

CAMPBELL A. SEAGRAM 1906-1982

Born in Waterloo, Onyario, in April 1906, "Cammie" became one of Waterloo County's finest athletes excelling in most sports.

In football he was outstanding for Kitchener, winner of the Ontario Intermediate Championship in 1926, 1927, 1928 and the Canadian Championship in 1927 and named quarterback to the 1927 All Star team.

In hockey he played for Kitchener when they won the Senior Championship in the OHA in 1927. In cricket he played for the Waterloo club, winning the Western Ontario Championship several times in the late 1920s. He also was on three Canadian Championship teams of the Toronto Cricket Club. He was chosen for the Canadian team which toured England in 1936.

In badminton in 1926, he was a member of the Western Ontario Doubles Championship team and was also Twin City Singles Champion.

In curling he was a member of the Kitchener Granite Club rink, which won the Ontario Championships in 1938, 1939, 1940 and the Macdonald Brier Canadian Championship in 1939.

In golf he was a close to par player and he won the Westmount Golf and Country Club Championship in 1931, 1933, 1938, 1940.

Edmonton police investigating vandalism -- Posted Sunday, August 20 2006

'Very distasteful, very hurtful'

Last week, athletes from across Canada took part in the Canada Cup cricket tournament in Edmonton. Organizers say the games were marred by vandals at Victoria Park.

"The messages on the board were some relating to 'Pakis.' Then there was an f-word, then it finished with 'Go Home.' It was very distasteful, very hurtful, very upsetting," said Bryn Whittaker, vice-president of the Edmonton and District Cricket League.

Such vandalism has been going on for four years, both at Victoria and Mill Woods parks, said Whittaker. Last year, the group's clubhouse burned down.

The league said it recently reported the incidents because there's been more vandalism over the past month. The Edmonton Police Service's hate and bias crimes unit is investigating.

"People need to realize the gravity of something like this and that police need to be aware of it," said Const. Robinder Gill.

Cricket players hope the incidents don't ruin the reputation of a sport that brings so many different cultures together.

Story sourced from:- http://www.cbc.ca/story/sports/national/2006/08/16/cricket-crimes.html

Forum Privileges and Responsibilities -- Posted Saturday, August 19 2006
There have been many recent postings on the Forum which stem from the news that the Government of Ontario would be allocating funds for cricket in Ontario.

Regretably, the elation about this news has degenerated to a personalized slagging match.

The consequences, which verge on the litigeous, have the potential to close the Forum.

The Forum is intended to provide a venue for reasoned discussion. Beyond that, the Government of Ontario may become aware of the scurrilous nature of allegations which state the misuse of funds.

Cricketers, on the field of play, are required to abide by the laws of the game. Cricketers, off the fields of play, are required by law to behave in a manner acceptable to our society.

Allegations, which demean others, are accountable in law.

The forum 'Moderator' is authorized to remove the posting of unsubstantiated allegations and delete the individual privileges of those posting the scurrilous allegations. Registering under another psuedonym will be denied by the 'Moderator'.

My information is that the Ontario Cricket Association had total administrative expennses of $750.00 for the financial year of 2005.

Jon Harris.

Ajax Cricket Club's roots lay deep -- Posted Friday, August 18 2006

Wicket keepers, bowlers part of the town of Ajax sporting landscape for 46 years.

Forty-six years after starting the Ajax Cricket Club, a group of founding fathers would be proud of how it has grown, gained in stature and become a sporting beacon in the multicultural mosaic that is today's Ajax.

In a sense, these founders continue to enjoy the whir of the leather ball as it's released by the bowler and the crack of the bat during matches on warm summer days.

That's because five of the original members have as their final resting spots a place under the turf on the playing field at the corner of Monarch Avenue and Clements Road East. There, the ashes of George Dunn, Cyril 'Squib' Thompson, Geoff Thompson, Jack Brooks and Dick Richards reside at the club they helped carve out of swampland 27 years ago, notes Bob White who, at 76, is one of the few remaining founding members.

"The grass grows beautifully where they are now," says White, president for 46 years. He added that all the burying of ashes has taken place over the past eight years, the last one for Richards two years ago, complete with a ceremony and a toast to the memories they helped create.

While the original club members were immigrants from England, White says proudly that it is now a truly multicultural club. Looking out onto the field, he mentions the native countries and areas of a number of players out for a recent practice session for the Ajax second division team that competes in the Toronto and District (T and D) Cricket League team. He points out India, West Indies, Pakistan, East Africa and Australia as some of the home countries.

In fact, White laughs while relaying that many on Ajax's T and D team had once lived in Toronto but, upon learning of the Ajax club's existence, moved their families to the area so they could continue playing cricket.

Memories are close to the surface for White, who remembers the idea of a cricket club germinating from an Anglican church picnic in 1960. Since then, the club has survived two relocations, fires and other vandalism at its clubhouse, and the ebb and flow in membership over the years before arriving at its current location in 1980.

Memories are preserved throughout the 1,700-square-foot clubhouse, with plaques and trophies from matches past adorning hallowed places within the tidy, wooden structure. Ajax over the years has hosted the best cricket teams in the world. White points to the club's hosting of 13 international matches in 2001 as part of an International Cricket Council (ICC) Trophy World Cup qualifying event as a coming of age for the Ajax club.

That year, teams from Saudi Arabia, Australia, England and India, to name a few, played in Ajax.

Of late, the Ajax club -- the only active cricket club in Durham Region -- is making new memories, attracting new members, including a large number of youths and teens, and playing at a high level in the T and D league.

According to Ajax Cricket Club captain Geoff Freshwater, the club played only 'friendlies' against either local Toronto clubs or touring sides from around the world for several years. However, a year ago, the Ajax club opted to launch a competitive program and joined the T and D league.

Fielding one team in the league's third division last year, the Ajax cricketers rose to the challenge, winning the championship in their inaugural year back in the league. That success meant promotion to the second division this year. Ajax has added another third-division squad to its T and D lineup, as well as forming a junior team (under-13) to compete in the league this year.

All this, says Freshwater, has resulted in a resurgent club over the past two years, with most weekend dates during the summer taken up by T and D matches, most of which are played in Ajax.

"The atmosphere within the club is electric," says Freshwater, an Australian ex-pat who's played the game since age eight.

All told, the new initiative toward a more competitive Ajax club has brought the membership up substantially to about 60 members, 50 of which play on the T and D teams, says Freshwater, adding that the grassroots are brought into the club through a junior program to teach cricket skills for youths between ages eight and 19.

This summer, the club will invite the world once again, as touring sides from Kenya, Bermuda, Argentina and the U.S. are expected to stop by for a friendly match.

Article sourced from:-
http://www.durhamregion.com/dr/sports/story/3565996p-4120242c.html:

Ottawa Valley Cricket Council -- Posted Friday, August 18 2006

Ottawa Valley Cricket Council
Season 2006 Standings through to Sunday, 13-August

Challenge Division

Team M W L T NR Pts
Cathedral CC 10 6 2 0 2 28
Canterbury CC 11 6 3 0 2 28
New Edinburgh 10 6 3 0 1
Bel Air CC 9 5 3 0 1 22
Defence CC 12 4 5 0 3 22
Kingston CC 11 3 6 0 2 16 Exodus SC 9 3 5 0 1 14
Ottawa CC 12 2 8 0 2 12

Citizen Division

Team M W L T NR Pts Canterbury CC 12 10 1 0 1 42
Cathedral CC 12 8 2 0 2 36
Kingston CC 12 5 6 0 1 22
New EdinburghCC 12 5 6 0 1 22
OVCC Juniors 12 4 5 0 3 22
Defence CC 10 4 5 0 1 18
Exodus SC 12 4 8 0 0 16
Ottawa CC 12 2 9 0 1 10

INTER UNIVERSITY & COLLEGE TOURNAMENT UPCOMING -- Posted Friday, August 18 2006

As the 2007 Cricket World Cup looms, and as Canadian cricket moves from strength to strength, the Canadian Cricket Association (CCA) continues to honour its commitment to the development of cricket at the post secondary level, with the hosting of the first ever Championship Tournament. Universities and Colleges, for the very first time, battle it out on a cricket pitch.

Games, and ceremony schedule

The Tournament, scheduled for August 14-18, inclusive, will start at 12:00 noon each day. Toronto’s G. Ross Lord Park will provide the setting for an event which promises to introduce the public to some of Canada’s aspiring young cricketers.

Closing Ceremony: Friday, August 18, 2006; 3.00 PM

On-site events

Canadian National Team Coach, Andy Pick has kindly consented to direct a coaching clinic for participating players, and Kookaburra, the world-renowned cricket supply company, will be providing items for this Tournament.

Sponsors include Century Cricket, an equipment retailer based in Toronto. Refreshments will be on sale at the grounds.

Park location
G. Ross Lord Park is located east of Dufferin, between Steeles Ave. W. and Finch Ave. W.

Media contact:

Abimanyu Sharma
Committee for Development of Cricket for
Universities, Colleges & High Schools

(416) 795-6487 or ryerson.cricket@gmail.com

Comments about the Bermuda match -- Posted Friday, August 18 2006

Canada’s 9 wicket win over Bermuda earlier this week has helped restore confidence in the team, after the recent 2 losses in the One Day International with Kenya.

Canada must now feel confident they can beat Bermuda in the two matches at the Toronto Cricket, Skating & Curling Club on August 19 and 21. The second match is also part of the Americas Region World Cricket League tournament.

The Canadian team blended well together in the 4-day match with Bermuda and coach Andy Pick was pleased to see his players scoring the runs he has felt they are capable of making. The batting form and shot selection now needs to be transferred to the One Day match arena.

The win put Canada firmly at the top of Group B with the maximum 40 points from 2 games.

Canada's next Intercontinental Cup match with The Netherlands in South Africa, is scheduled for December 5-8.

Scotland and Ireland began a match on Thursday in the Intercontinental Cup Group B. This meeting is felt to be pivotal to the outcome of that group. Scotland was all out for 265 runs. Ryan Watson scored 74 runs and John Blain 53. David Langford-Smith took 5 wickets for 65 runs.

Notes: 1
I will develop a full schedule for next week's America's tournament. I believe all the games, except for the Canada-Bermuda ODI, are now to be played at the Maple Leaf CC in King City.

The bus travel directions to the ground should be changed to use bus 88 which goes up Bathurst and turns into 15th Sideroad, passing the ground. This bus can be caught at Finch subway station.

Notes 2 - On Friday there is the Final of the first Canadian Universities and Colleges championship. The match will take place at G. Ross Lord Park, Toronto. At this time there has not been confirmation of the finalists. I did attend the ground yesterday for a couple of hours.

Eddie Norfolk

ICC Intercontinental Cup
Canada v Bermuda, Maple Leaf CC, 4-day match

Scoring Summary
Result – Canada (20 points) beat Bermuda by 9 wickets

Bermuda 334 (Janeiro Tucker 71 runs, Irving Romaine 68 runs, Saleem Mukkudem 56 runs, Lionel Cann 48 runs; Umar Bhatti 4 wickets for 91 runs; Henry Osinde 3 wickets for 88 runs); and 310 (Clay Smith 84 runs, Irving Romaine 65, Umar Bhatti 6 wickets for 104 runs, Henry Osinde 3 wickets for 58 runs)

Canada 588 (John Davison 165 runs, Ian Billcliff 126 runs, Abdool Samad 119, Umar Bhatti 50, Qaiser Ali 35 runs; Ryan Steede 4 wickets for 127 runs) and 58 for the of 1 wicket.

Group B Standings
P WO D L FIL Pts
Canada 2 2 0 0 2 40
Netherlands 1 0 1 0 1 6
Bermuda 1 0 0 1 0 0
Kenya 2 0 1 1 0 0

WO = outright win – 14 points
FIL = first innings lead – 6 points

Remaining Schedule in Group B

Nov 9-12 Kenya v Bermuda (Kenya)
Nov 21-24 Bermuda v Netherlands (South Africa)
Dec 5-8 Netherlands v Canada (South Africa)

Eddie Norfolk

A letter from Vineland, Ontario -- Posted Thursday, August 17 2006

We live in Vineland and have a cricket mad family visiting from the UK. One of them, our nephew Derek Randall played for England, so they are THAT mad.

We would like to see the one day match, Monday 21. We may use public transportation to get to you if it is feasible? If not, is there parking nearby? Also, what time does play begin and when are stumps drawn?

Thank you,
Raymond Ellis

A letter from Oz -- Posted Thursday, August 17 2006

Jon:

Good morning...may I have the email/postal address of the President of the CCA

Do you have a land line .... I'd like to chat?
Thanks,

Daniel Bolger,
Media officer,
Prime Minister's X1,
Canberra, Australia

A letter from Abbotsford, British Columbia. -- Posted Thursday, August 17 2006

Good afternoon, I am writing an an article for the Abbotsford Post on the trend of cricket in Canada.

I think that cricket is an a unsung sport that I would love to bring attention to. While I am very intrigued with the sport, sadly I don't know enough about it.
What are the rules of the game, the goal of the game and the championships?

Do you think that the sport of cricket is not getting the media attention that it deserves?

Do you think this is a regional problem? Why do you think that it has become so popular in Canada, especially BC, despite a lack of media attention on the sport?

Do you think the game is more popular for Indo-Canadians as opposed to Canadian-born athletes? If so, why do you think this is the case? Do you think it is a more popular sport in India, Europe or the middle east, than in North America?

What do you think of the stigma that cricket is just for rich and preppy people? Do you think this might explain the lack of public interest? Thanks for taking the time to read my email.

If you could please get back to me before the end of the weekend, that would be great!

Hope to hear from you soon,

Chelsea Whitteker, The Abbotsford Post.

-- Posted Thursday, August 17 2006

A letter from Aurora -- Posted Thursday, August 17 2006

Congratulations to the staff at Canada Cricket Online for posting the great cricket updates from Eddie Norfolk, the roving reporter and supporter of all things cricket in this great cricketing place we call Canada.The support that Canada Cricket Online does for the game does not go unnoticed as the daily news updates are awaited with much anticipation.

I was out of town last week end and just managed to catch J.D.'s century on the Sunday. The first person to be spotted was Eddie N who seems to be a tireless figure at any cricket venue going on around the city. He knows all the players and seems to be held in high regard by them.
I had to attend to business in my shop (I have to work sometimes) and couldn't attend the final two days at the King City ground. Luckily I can get my updates through the Canada cricket online web site, including photos, and all is good with the world.

Thanks, keep up the good work.
Best regards,
Mark Warburton "Zoom bats "

Mark can be reached at markw@aci.on.ca (JH)

Wickets in the West -- Posted Thursday, August 17 2006

For those interested in the history of cricket in Canada, there is an article "Wickets in the West: Cricket, Culture, and Constructed Images of Nineteenth-Century Canada", written by Greg Gillespie, a faculty member of the University of Western Ontario.

The introduction reads as follows:-

Throughout the nineteenth centruy, British travelers used their travel books to construct specific images of Canada in Great Britian. These books, also called travel naratives, became popular with the literary community in England during the 1800's, not least because they provided an opportunity for the British to learn about their North American colonies. Robert Allan Fitzgerald, Secretary of the Marylebone Cricket Club (MCC) in London, England, wrote one such narrative upon his tour of Canada with W.G. Grace and a team of English gentleman-amateurs during the summer of 1872. Published in England the following year, his travel narrative, Wickets in the West (1873), recounts the cricket tour in detail and provides Fitgerald's imperial perspective on the recently confederated Dominion of Canada.

The full article of 16 pages can be read at:-

http://www.aafla.org/SportsLibrary/JSH/JSH2000/JSH2701e.pdf

Ross Lord dropped from Americas Cup schedule -- Posted Wednesday, August 16 2006
All games in the Americas Cup tournament will be played at Maple Leaf CC, King City (apart from the Canada Bermuda match at the Toronto CSCC), as apparently Ross Lord has been demmed unsuitable for these games. The revised schedule is as follows:-

Warm Up Games
18-Aug Cayman Islands vs T&D Select Maple Leaf CC
18-Aug Argentina vs Canada U25 Maple Leaf CC
19-Aug Cayman Island vs Combined XI Maple Leaf CC
20-Aug Argentina vs Ajax Ajax CC
20-Aug Net Practice Sunnybrook/Ross Lord

TOURNAMENT
21-Aug Canada Vs. Bermuda Toronto CC
21-Aug Cayman Islands vs USA Maple Leaf CC (A)
22-Aug Bermuda vs Argentina Maple Leaf CC (A)
22-Aug Cayman Islands vs Canada Maple Leaf CC (E)
23-Aug Cayman Islands vs Bermuda Maple Leaf CC(A)
23-Aug USA vs Argentina Maple Leaf CC(E)
24-Aug REST DAY
25-Aug Canada vs Argentina Maple Leaf CC (A)
25-Aug Bermuda vs USA Maple Leaf CC (E)
26-Aug Canada vs USA Maple Leaf CC (A)
26-Aug Cayman Islands vs Argentina Maple Leaf CC (E)

Canada win ICC Intercontinental Cup match against Bermuda -- Posted Wednesday, August 16 2006

Umar Bhatti (Canada) receives his Man of the Match award from Ontario Cricket Association President, Errol Towshend. Batti took 6 wickets for 104 runs in the second Bermuda innings.

Scoring Summary – Result – Canada (20 points) beat Bermuda by 9 wickets

Bermuda 334 (Janeiro Tucker 71 runs, Irving Romaine 68 runs, Saleem Mukkudem 56 runs, Lionel Cann 48 runs; Umar Bhatti 4 wickets for 91 runs; Henry Osinde 3 wickets for 88 runs); and 310 (Clay Smith 84 runs, Irving Romaine 65, Umar Bhatti 6 wickets for 104 runs, Henry Osinde 3 wickets for 58 runs)

Canada 588 (John Davison 165 runs, Ian Billcliff 126 runs, Abdool Samad 119, Umar Bhatti 50, Qaiser Ali 35 runs; Ryan Steede 4 wickets for 127 runs) and 58-1
Bhatti leads Canada to Victory

Canadian left-arm pace bowler, Umar Bhatti, took 6 wickets for 104 runs in Bermuda’s second innings to set up victory for his side in the ICC Intercontinental Cup. Bhatti had several spells of bowling on a hot and blustery day at Maple Leaf CC, King City. His efforts set up the chance for Canada to chase a target of 58 runs for victory in their second innings. Something they completed with ease, losing only one wicket in the chase for runs.

Bhatti ended with 10 wickets in the match; a repeat of his success in the recent match with Kenya. He also scored 50 runs in the Canadian first innings to help his side to a substantial first innings lead. His partner in the opening bowling, Henry Osinde, took 3 wickets for 58 runs. He took six wickets in the match.

It was a very interesting day’s play. In the morning session, Bermuda lost only one wicket and seemed to be moving towards the draw that coach Gus Logie talked about. Captain Irving Romaine and Clay Smith are two batting veterans and took the total to 135-2 at lunch. They still needed another 119 runs to make Canada bat again. Romaine reached 50 runs just before the lunch break. Smith was on 38.

After lunch the pair played a number of good strokes, in contrast to a more defensive approach for most of the morning session. Bhatti made the breakthrough with the score on 186. Romaine tried to hook the ball and was caught on the boundary by substitute fielder Naresh Patel. Romaine made 65 runs. Patel was fielding in place of the injured Qaiser Ali.

Canadian captain John Davison made several bowling changes, trying to gain an edge on a pitch that favoured the batsmen. There was even the unusual sight of wicketkeeper Ashish Bagai taking off his pads and bowling a couple of overs of leg-breaks.

In first-class cricket, the same ball is used for many overs, but after 80 overs, Canada took the new ball. This was a crucial stage as a new ball tends to move or lift more than an old one. Osinde soon struck a key blow in dismissing Janeiro Tucker, leg-before wicket for 28. Bhatti then dismissed Saleem Mukkudem in the same fashion and the tea interval came with Bermuda on 240 runs for 5 wickets. Still needing 15 runs to force Canada to bat again, but looking to be in a good position to force a draw.

Dean Minors was bowled by Osinde soon after tea, but Lionel Cann joined Smith and the pair struck a number of blows that took Bermuda into the lead. Davison struck a key blow in having Smith caught at a silly-point by Geoff Barnett. Smith made 84 and was disappointed to be out. Cann was out next over, having earlied survived a dropped catch. Bermuda were now 291 runs for 8 wickets and the prospect of a home win started to loom larger.

Ryan Steed was caught at point by Stewart Heaney, off the bowling of Bhatti and last man Kevin Hurdle was quickly dismissed. Bermuda’s total of 310 meant Canada needed to score 58 runs to win in a maximum of 16 overs.

This target was achieved, with Geoff Barnett scoring 25 not out. Canada has an excellent chance of qualifying for the final of this event. They head their qualifying group with the maximum 40 points from 2 matches. Their final group match is with The Netherlands in South Africa in December.

Eddie Norfolk.

The only Canadian wicket to fall in their second innings was Stewart Heaney, caught at slip off this ball from Saleem Mukkuddem.

Canada v Bermuda - Day 3 report -- Posted Tuesday, August 15 2006
ICC Intercontinental Cup – Canada v Bermuda, Maple Leaf CC, 4-day match

Abdool Samad

Scoring Summary – Close of Day 3

Bermuda 334 (Janeiro Tucker 71 runs, Irving Romaine 68 runs, Saleem Mukkudem 56 runs, Lionel Cann 48 runs; Umar Bhatti 4 wickets for 91 runs; Henry Osinde 3 wickets for 88 runs); and 67-1 (Steven Outerbridge 31 not out)

Canada 588 (John Davison 165 runs, Ian Billcliff 126 runs, Abdool Samad 119, Umar Bhatti 50, Qaiser Ali 35 runs; Ryan Steede 4 wickets for 127 runs.

Report

It was a great day for Canada as Abdool Samad and Umar Bhatti added 149 runs for the eighth wicket and the home side reached the heights of 588 runs all out.

Samad made his maiden century in first-class cricket, eventually falling to the bowling of Kevin Hurdle for 119 runs.

Umar Bhatti made 50 and gave great support as Canada achieved a dominant position in the match.

“It was nice to see the batting come together. We’ve got the runs we wanted on the board,” said Canadian coach Andy Pick, as he watched the rain that ended play early.

Canada established a first-innings lead of 254 runs. Bermuda fought back, before the rains came, to reach 67 runs for the loss of one wicket, that of Deloyne Borden. Opening batsman Steven Outerbridge has made 31 not out.

The morning session saw Samad and Bhatti establish themselves and take the fight to the opposition. Samad hit 18 boundaries, combining solid defence with periods of controlled aggression. He was last in the Canadian squad at the 2003 World Cup. He was happy to get the chance to prove himself after such a long wait. “I played my own game. The ball was not doing much. There was not a lot of movement – it is a batting track.” He hoped this would be a breakthrough to becoming a regular squad member, especially with the 2007 World Cup on the horizon.

Bhatti‘s 50 included an impressive pull for 6 runs, and 6 other boundary shots. He played well and served as a thorn in Bermuda’s side, thwarting their hopes of bowling out Canada quickly. Indeed, Canada did not lose a wicket in the morning session of play.

Coach Pick said, “Hopefully we can finish them off tomorrow. We’ve had three days of very good cricket; we need to stick one more to end it. If we do, we will have come out on top from our home games.” Qualifying for the final will then depend on how the Netherlands play against Bermuda and Canada in South Africa. A Canadian win on Tuesday would give the team an important edge.”

A couple of chances to break the eighth wicket stand went begging for Bermuda, and they paid a heavy price. Veteran slow-left arm bowler Dwayne Leverock bowled a substantial 48.4 overs, taking 2 wickets for 136 runs.

Bermuda coach Gus Logie, reflected “Rain saved the day for us. It was one of those days we dreaded. (Numbers) 8 and 10 (batsmen) added so many runs. Young Samad batted very well. We didn’t stick to our line. We didn’t control the game and they got away.”

“In the end, with the rain, we appear to have saved the game. We still have nine wickets (left) and if we bat like we did on the first day, we should be able to draw the match.”

The loss of play due to rain on Monday means that play will commence half-an-hour earlier at 10 am on Tuesday, the fourth and final day at Maple Leaf CC, King City, Ontario.

Eddie Norfolk

Canada 588 all out
Abdool Samad 119 runs
Umar Bhatti 50 runs
149 runs for 8th wicket
Canada leads by 254 runs

Davison and Billcliff boost Canada -- Posted Monday, August 14 2006

ICC Intercontinental Cup – Canada v Bermuda - 4-day match

John Davison, batting

Canada ended the second day with a lead of 52 runs over Bermuda and 3 first innings wickets standing in reaching 386 runs for the loss of 7 wickets.

Pride of place goes to captain John Davison, who made 165 runs, and Ian Billcliff, who made 126 runs.

The day began with Bermuda losing their last wicket (334 all out) in the first over of the day with just one run added to their overnight total.

Canada gain 6 points for taking the first innings lead in their divisional group. The group winner advances to the semi-final.

Bermuda coach, Gus Logie, said “the day belonged 75% to Canada, and 25% to us, when we came back with 5 wickets in the last session (of play).”

The Bermudans had a tough afternoon session as Canada piled on 179 runs without losing a wicket. Davison made 105 of these runs, and Billcliff 65. Slow-left arm bowler Dwayne Leverock bowled unchanged from the Pavillion end in this two-hour session.

Canada lost two wickets to the new ball during the opening stages of their innings. Billcliff then joined skipper Davison and they shared a stand of 228 runs for the third wicket.

Davison played a fine innings, combining restraint, quality strokes and power. His 165 runs is the highest for Canada in the Intercontinental Cup, beating the 139 scored by Zubin Surkari in the 2004 semi-final with the United Arab Emirates.

Davison was out to a fine, diving catch by Stephen Outerbridge on the wide long-on boundary just after the tea interval.

Ashish Bagai was soon out, as often happens after a big partnership. Qaiser Ali joined Billcliff and the pair added 67 runs. Ali was run out, on a ball where he might have been caught at backward point.

Canada lost two more wickets as close of play drew near, including Billcliff for a fine 126. He hit one memorable six; a straight drive off Leverock, in the morning session. Davison said later, “Billy (Billcliff) batted very well. He proved he’s a class act. He’s been our most consistent player for the last few years, and showed why he should be in the team, in my opinion.”

Davison said “once you get in, it’s a good batting wicket.” He was pleased to get among the runs but was “disappointed with the way I got out.”

Scoring Summary

Bermuda 334 (Janeiro Tucker 71 runs, Irving Romaine 68 runs, Saleem Mukkudem 56 runs, Lionel Cann 48 runs; Umar Bhatti 4 wickets for 91 runs; Henry Osinde 3 wickets for 88 runs)

Canada 386-7 (John Davison 165 runs, Ian Billcliff 126 runs, Qaiser Ali 35 runs; Ryan Steede 3 wickets for 75 runs)

Play resumes on Monday August 14 at 10.30 am at the Maple Leaf CC, King City, Ontario

Eddie Norfolk

Full scorecard can be read at:-
http://content-usa.cricinfo.com/icc-cont/engine/match/247215.html

The following report is from the ECB

Canada aim for final

Canada are eyeying a place in the final of the ICC Intercontinental Cup and a win over Bermuda on Saturday would give them back-to-back wins after success against Kenya.

If John Davison’s side can win the match with maximum points it will give Canada 40 points from two matches after its 25-run success against Kenya less than two weeks ago.

That earlier result appears to have put the Africans out of contention as it is still pointless following its earlier draw with the Netherlands. And with Bermuda and the Netherlands, the other sides in Group B, still to play each other Canada has a golden opportunity to pile the pressure on its rivals.

Canad's coach Andy Pick admitted: “This match is crucial for us. If we can get another win here we will go away from home to face the Netherlands with the pressure on them to beat us rather than the other way around. If we beat Bermuda we would make that away trip possibly only needing first innings points against the Dutch while they would have to beat us and Bermuda to remain in contention.”

For now, of course, those scenarios are nothing more than wishful thinking for Pick because he knows that, starting on Saturday, his players face a tough examination.

And the coach is demanding more from his players – much more. “I was pleased to win on the last afternoon after four days of hard cricket in 40 degree temperatures and that was a credit to the players," said Pick.

"But we need more consistency from everyone, especially in the batting, as we surrendered a great position in the second innings by collapsing to allow Kenya back into the match.”

Against the Africans Canada were indebted to Qaiser Ali (91 not out) and Geoff Barnett (136) with the bat while left-armer Umar Bhatti who, like Ali, attended the ICC Winter Training Camp last year, captured 10-147 in the match.

Pick’s search for batting consistency will be helped by the return of Ian Billcliff, who missed the Kenya match because of work commitments. He replaces the veteran former Sri Lanka international Pubudu Dassanayaka.

In one other change Haninder Dhillon, sidelined with a groin injury, has been replaced by all-rounder Abdool Samad, a 27 year-old right-hander who was part of Canada’s ICC Cricket World Cup (ICC CWC) squad in 2003.

Canada come into this match off the back of two disappointing ODI defeats against Kenya although that followed a four-day triumph.

The Canadian players will also know the last time they faced Bermuda, in an ODI in Trinidad in May, they lost in a low-scoring contest.

Those facts will be sources of encouragement for Bermuda, as will the knowledge it beat Canada in the corresponding ICC Intercontinental Cup match last year, en route to a place in the semi-finals.

Since then things have not always gone according to plan for the side coached by former West Indies batsman Gus Logie.

Bermuda exited at the hands of Jamaica in the Stanford 20/20 tournament in Antigua causing some concern less than a year from next year’s ICC CWC in the Caribbean.

Bermuda will be boosted by the recovery form a knee injury of veteran former captain Clay Smith.

Smith proved his fitness for club side St George’s earlier this month in the annual two-day Cup match against local rivals Somerset but Irving Romaine has been named as captain.

Bermuda’s batting strength in recent times has been in its middle order with Smith, wicket-keeper Dean Minors and the big-hitting Lionel Cann forming an effective spine for the team; the challenge now is for the top order – players like Stephen Outerbridge and OJ Pitcher – to come to the party.

17 year-old all-rounder Malachi Jones has been included in the squad which is likely to rely on left-arm spinner Dwayne Leverock – the leading wicket-taker in last year’s competition – and fast bowler George O’Brien Junior for a cutting edge with the ball.

Group A is already shaping up as a battle of the two previous tournament winners with both the 2004 champions Scotland and last year’s winners Ireland, off to winning starts, each with a victory over Namibia in May.

The other side in that group, the United Arab Emirates, is yet to start its campaign.

The final, set to take place in the first half of 2007, will be between the two group winners.

A new format this year means sides will play a minimum of three four-day matches in this tournament, increasing to seven four-day matches in 2007 and 2008 when the event will be a full round-robin format.

That compares to a minimum of just two three-day matches per year under the previous structure which, until the semi-finals, was regionally-based rather than global.
The ICC Intercontinental Cup began in 2004 to give the leading players from Associate sides the chance to improve by exposing them to a longer form of the game.

After the ICC Intercontinental Cup match, the two sides play two ODIs against each other, on 19 and 21 August, with the second of them the opening match in this year’s World Cricket League Americas Division 1.

Report sourced from the England Cricket Board at:-
http://www.ecb.co.uk/news/europe/canada-aim-for-final,9580,EN.html

Canadians hit best first-class scores in ICC Intercontinental Cup

Canadian batsmen Jon Davison and Ian Billcliff each scored their highest individual scores in first-class cricket during Sunday's play against Bermuda. Their partnership was worth 233 runs. (* see Note)

Davison, who made 165 runs on Sunday, beat his previous best of 84, which he last recorded against the USA in Canada's first-ever ICC Intercontinental Cup match. The game was played in May 2004 at Brian Picolo Park. That match was a personal triumph for Davison as he took 17 USA wickets for 137 runs in the match. This was the best match return for a bowler in an international match since Jim Laker (England) took 19 Australian wickets in a Test Match, just over 50 years ago.

Davison's innings on Sunday lasted 232 minutes and he faced 175 balls. He hit 23 boundaries (4s) and one six, a straight drive off Dwayne Leverock in the afternoon session of play.

Davison's first-class cricket has been played for Canada, in the Intercontintental Cup, and in Australian state cricket for South Australia and Victoria. His best one-day cricket innings is his famous 111 runs versus West Indies in the 2003 World Cup. He is 36 years old and was born in Campbell River, Vancouver Island, British Columbia, Canada.

Billcliff made 126 runs, which beats his previous best of 121. This was made for Otago versus Central Districts (New Zealand) in a match played in 1994.

His innings on Sunday lasted 288 minutes, facing 246 balls. He hit 11 x 4's and one 6, also a straight drive off Leverock. This 6 came in the morning session.
Billcliff is 33 years old and was born in Williams Lake, British Columbia.

Geoff Barnett's second innings score of 136 runs for Canada in the recent Intercontinental Cup match with Kenya, was also his initial first-class century.

* Note: I previously reported this in error as 228 runs (made a transcription error in the partnership calculations). Due appologies to all. You may note this correction if you wish.

Note 2: I have seen nothing put out by the Canadian Cricket Association (CCA) at these matches or the recent One-Day Internationals with Kenya. Scoring details are checked by interested journalists or spectators with the official scorers or independently transcribed from the score-books.The 233 stand is probably a Canadian record for a first-class match but I am not able to confirm it at this time. I will await a release from the CCA. There have been various announcements at this summer's home games which is a step in the right direction.

Eddie Norfolk

Canada v Bermuda - close of play -- Posted Sunday, August 13 2006

At close of play Canada had scored 386 for the loss of 7 wickets.

Davison scored 165
Billcliffe scored 126
K Ali scored 35

R Steed took 3 wickets for 75

Five of Canada's wickets fell in the last session.

Full report to follow.

JH.

Canada v Bermuda, ICC Intercontinental Cup -- Posted Sunday, August 13 2006

ICC Intercontinental Cup, Day 1 Report

Janerio Tucker batting

Scoring summary:
Bermuda 333 runs for 9 wickets (Janeiro Tucker 71 runs, Irving Romaine 68 runs, Saleem Mukkuddem 56 runs, Lionel Cann 48 runs; Umar Bhatti 4 wickets for 91 runs).

Canada won the toss and invited Bermuda to bat first.

Report:
It was a day of changing fortunes at the Maple Leaf CC, King City, Ontario, where Canada and Bermuda met in the ICC Intercontinental Cup.

Bermuda lost some early wickets but battled back to end the day at 333 runs for the loss of 9 wickets. Canada's most successful bowler was Umar Bhatti, who took 4 wickets for 91 runs. He bowled 28 overs in the day; a substantial number for an opening bowler.

Bermuda's batting heroes began with captain Irving Romaine (who made 68 runs), Janeiro Tucker (who made 71), Saleem Mukkuddem (who made 56) and Lionel Cann (who made 48).

Bhatti had the visitors in trouble, taking their first two wickets by the time the total reached 21. Romaine and Clay Smith (who made 33) then added 99 runs for the third wicket. They batted solidly until lunch, when the score was 101 runs for 2 wickets.

Almost a quarter of the morning's runs came as Romaine played several forceful shots (including 1x6 & 4x4) in Henry Osinde's tenth over.

However, both batsmen were dismissed in quick succession after the lunch break. Both fell to catches by wicketkeeper Ashish Bagai. Dean Minors, often a thorn in Canada's side, was soon out and the game had a changing complexion at 135 runs for 5 wickets.

Tucker was joined by Mukkudem. This pair battled back and added 83 runs for the 6th wicket, before Sunil Dhaniram removed Tucker. Lionel Cann then played a forceful innings, scoring 48 runs of a partnership of 65 with Mukkudem. Cann had been a thorn in Canada's side when these teams met in May 2006 in a one day international match in Trinidad & Tobago.

Mukkudem was ninth out near the close of play, but even last batsman Kevin Hurdle showed defiance with a mighty six.

Canadian coach Andy Pick thought "On reflection it was a good day, an even day.....Umar (Bhatti) and Hehry (Osinde) showed why they are probably the best pair (of opening bowlers) in Associate nations cricket. They bowled with control, hostility at times, and speed."

Looking to the resumption of play, he continued, "We hope to get them out early. Day Two is probably the best day on which to bat. We want to make as many runs as we can in our first innings."

Gus Logie, the Bermuda coach noted "Our players showed a lot of determination and courage. It took a lot of determination to get where we are from a position of 21 runs for 2 wickets.All credit to the players."

Some of the mainstream batting came through for Bermuda, but Logie commented on the key contributions by later batsmen. "Lionel (Cann) played as only he does. He showed no fear. He took on the attack and took the score to nearly 300. Saleem's innings was one of patience, good shot selection and maturity."

Bermuda will resume their innings at Maple Leaf CC on Sunday morning at 10.30am. The match is scheduled for 4 days.

Eddie Norfolk

Cricinfo scorecard

Six-a-side tournament on Vancouver Island -- Posted Sunday, August 13 2006

Cricket playoffs starts today Friday August 11th at 10:00AM

All games today at Beacon Hill Park
Food and beverages until 6:00

Thursday results August 9th.
Match 1
Dallas County defeated Mailan by 6 wickets
Milan 61for 6 Guido Draco 15
Rick Fletcher 3 for 11
Dallas 67 Carl Thompson 56*
Ross Gower 1 for 22

Match 2
Wanderers defeated Victoria by 5 wickets
Victoria 110 for 3 Narinder Cheema 32, Jatinder Gill 42*
Mark Brier 2 for 23
Wanderers 116 for 1 Andrew Downs 60 N.O., Mark Brier 26
U. Kistan 1 for 20

Match 3
Los Angeles defeated Air New Zealand by16 runs
Los Angeles 142 for 2 Neil Lashkari 32, Raj Saini 26*, Gurmit Sandhu 24
Luke Williams 1 for 23
Air New Zealand 126 for 2 Paul Baldock 68, Cameron Alford 20
Raj Saini 1 for 13 Peter machin 1 for 30

Match 4
Wanderers defeated Sticky Wicket by 5 wickets
Sticky Wicket 70 for 6 Paul Wilson 17
Nick Grant 2 for 3, Mark Briers 2 for 9
Wanderers 71 for 1 Mark Brier 27*, Andrew Downs 22*
Stephan Fletcher 1 for 17

Match 5
Lesbos Islanders defeated Dallas County by 6 wickets
Dallas 71 for 4 Arun Vittala 19
Jeremy Cordle 1 for 8, Matt Brooks 1 for 10
Islanders 72 Darren Spier 29*, Matt Brooks 25*
After the Round Robin

Batting:
Minimum 150 runs
Total 50's 6's/4's Ducks Average High Score
Runs

Richard Marsh Dapto 368 4 9/41 92.00 83
Mark Briers Wanderers 226 2 5/13 113.00 62*
Darren Spier Islanders 217 1 7/24 43.40 73*
Andrew Downs Wanderers 203 2 10/18 -------- 74*
Cameron Alford

Air New Zealand
181 1
2/13 30.17 52*Raj Saini

Los Angeles 179 10/15 179.00 49*
Steve Jespersen Sticky Wicket 178 1
11/15 29.67 68*
Matt Brooks

Islanders 176 1 6/13 29.33 67
Paul Baldock

Air New Zealand 173 1 6/15
1 28.83 52
Ashley Browne

Los Angeles 167 1 10/15
83.50 95*
Murray Reed

Wanderers 161 1 8/11
32.20 60*
Suhas Naik Dallas 154 1 6/11
30.80 55*
Jigs Patel

Victoria 150 8/8 30.00 43

Bowling: Top economy
Wickets Runs Wides/No-balls Econ. Rate

Vikesh Dallas 1 99 1 / ---- 8.25
Simula Dapto 4 122 4 / ---- 8.71
Choudhary Victoria 1 96 3 / ---- 8.73
Reed Wanderers 6 140 4 / 1 8.75
Jespersen Sticky Wicket 6 139 1 / 4 8.78
Gill Victoria 5 142 2 / ---- 8.88
Ely Islander 3 107 1 / ---- 8.92
Saini Los Angeles 6 107 4 / 1 8.92
Patel Dallas 3 99 3 / ---- 9.00
Patrick Dallas 3 91 3 / ---- 9.10
Cordle Islanders 1 94 1 / ---- 9.40
Turko Wanderers 4 114 2 / ---- 9.50
Wilson Sticky Wicket 3 115 5 / 2 9.58
Kartik Dallas 5 116 3 / ---- 9.67
B. Brooks Islanders 1 39 2 / ---- 9.75
Briers Wanderers 7 156 4 / 4 9.75
Naik Dallas 2 87 -- / ---- 9.85 /

Ottawa Valley match reports -- Posted Sunday, August 13 2006

Hello Ottawa cricketophiles,

Eight matches last weekend would seem to be a lot – actually the maximum – for a normal weekend but being spread over the three days of a long weekend made things not quite so hectic.

Things started off on Saturday, 05-August with Defence vs. New Edinburgh in a Challenge match at Rideau Hall 1.

New Edinburgh emerged victorious by four wickets – seemingly a relatively comfortable margin, but it was achieved off the last ball of the innings: Defence – 122 [37.4 ov] (Varun Harish 29 {1 four}, Delawar Ahmedzai 31 {3 sixes}, Nakul Nayyar 2 for 11, Pankaj Shrichand 2 for 8, Suthakar Sundralingam 4 for 13); New Edinburgh – 124 for 6 [45 ov] (Suthakar Sundralingam 20 {39 bls, 3 fours}, Dravya Sharma 28 {72 bls, 1 four, 1 six}, Nakul Nayyar 26* {50 bls, 1 four}, Kaleem Hassan 2 for 28, Varun Harish 2 for 27, Kasun Perera 2 ct). Suthakar Sundralingam and Nakul Nayyar were named joint winners of the Man of the Match award – but unlike Stanford 20-20, no $25,000 came with the award.

At Lynda Lane 1, Canterbury produced a relatively easy workmanlike five wicket Citizen win over visiting Kingston: Kingston – 65 for 9 (all out) [33.2 ov] (Clinton Free 18 {1 four}, Samad Mufti 23 {1 four, 1 six}, Dinesh Sharma 2 for 7, Sharick Siddiqui 3 for 3); Canterbury – 71 for 5 [18.3 ov] (Ejaz Chaudhry 16 {16 bls, 1 six}, Zeeshan Khurshid 18 {40 bls}, Liaqat Ali 21* {14 bls, 2 sixes}, Sudarshan Manhas 5 for 29). Liaqat Ali and Sudarshan Manhas were named joint Man of the Match.

In Barrhaven, the parallels with the Lynda Lane match were remarkable. In both cases the visiting teams were all out for 65 whilst batting ten – although Ottawa got out slightly more quickly - and the home wins were by five wickets, the winning hits being sixes with the scores level – although again, Exodus won slightly more quickly. If the previous is not enough evidence of the result, Exodus beat Ottawa in a Citizen match by five wickets: Ottawa – 65 for 9 (all out) [20.3 ov] (Saad Khan 25 {33 bls, 2 fours}, Mathi Subramaniyam 4 for 16, Nabi Nawabi 2 for 33, Panch Panjalingam 3 for 9, Harrendra Gunabalasingam 2 ct); Exodus 71 for 5 [15.3 ov] (Navam Navaratnam 12* {22 bls, 1 six}, Nabi Nawabi 18* {9 bls, 2 sixes}, Saad ul Haq 3 for 25, Saad Khan 2 ct). Nabiullah Nawabi was named Man of the Match.

At Rideau Hall 1 on Sunday, Ottawa threw away a potential Challenge match win over Defence, losing by 1 run despite at one point being 4 runs short of victory with four wickets in hand: Defence – 129 [35.3 ov] (Kasun Perera 25 {34 bls, 2 fours}, Varun Harish 34 {39 bls, 3 fours}, Chaminda Weerakoon 3 for 29, Selwyn Chankersingh 3 for 17, Steve Chinnatamby 2 for 28, Joshua Georg 2 for 29, Samantha Perera 1 ct, 1 st); Ottawa – 128 [43.2 ov] (Faraz Farooq 25 {80 bls, 1 four}, Justin Robertson 33 {65 bls, 1 six}, Chaminda Weerakoon 29 {36 bls, 3 fours}, Kaleem Hassan 2 for 24, Delawar Ahmedzai 4 for 33, Varun Harish 2 ct, 1 RO). Man of the Match was jointly awarded to Varun Harish and Delawar Ahmedzai.

Canterbury – visitors at their own ground – defeated Kingston by 51 runs in a Challenge match at Lynda Lane 1: Canterbury 158 [43.2 ov] (Aayiz Abbasi 25 {73 bls}, Akber Hussain 43 {28 bls, 2 fours, 4 sixes}, Sudarshan Manhas 2 for 28, Chetan Aggarwal 2 for 37, Samad Mufti 2 ct); Kingston – 107 [33 ov] (Jiwan Sharma 28 {45 bls, 2 sixes}, Hassan Khan 18 {37 bls}, Akber Hussain 2 for 21, Sharick Siddiqui 6 for 23). Sharick Siddiqui was named Man of the Match.

In Barrhaven, OVCC Juniors were apparently victors over Exodus by a wide margin, but as yet I have no details of this match.

At Rideau Hall 1 on holiday Monday, 07-August, New Edinburgh handed Ottawa their third loss of the weekend, this time by 83 runs in a Challenge match: New Edinburgh – 184 for 9 [45 ov] (Steve Pinhey 43 {60 bls, 5 fours, 1 six}, Kamal Setia 20 {15 bls, 2 fours, 1 six}, Dravya Sharma 40 {67 bls, 4 fours, 1 six}, Lakmal Jayawardene 3 for 21, Saad ul Haq 3 for 39, Arnie Orloff 4 ct, 1 st); Ottawa – 101 [38 ov] (Arnie Orloff 30 {26 bls, 4 fours, 1 six}, Dravya Sharma 5 for 14, Nimeesh Kaushal 1 ct, 1 st). Dravya Sharma was named Man of the Match.

At Rideau Hall 2, Cathedral posted a formidable score and came out winners by 45 runs over OVCC Juniors in a Citizen game: Cathedral – 222 [43.4 ov] (Tony Forde 48 {3 fours, 3 sixes}, Tobie Edmund 29 {1 four, 2 sixes}, David Mendonca 21 {2 fours}, Reggie Ranjit 37 {5 fours, 2 sixes}, Tariq Hakimyar 2 for 35, Amit Sawh 2 for 47, Hassan Sheikh 3 for 6); Juniors – 177 [38.2 ov] (Fahad Shamim 52 {2 fours, 2 sixes}, Amit Sawh 35, Tony Forde 2 for 28, David Mendonca 2 for8). Tony Forde was named Man of the Match.

As it is now early Sunday morning and this missive is mega late, I shall close off now and wish everyone a happy what is left of the weekend.

John Lexmond OVCC Statistician

ICC commercial rights from 2007 – 2015 -- Posted Sunday, August 13 2006

ICC MEDIA RELEASE

Dubai, 13 August 2006

Sale of ICC commercial rights from 2007 – 2015 to commence shortly.

Period includes 18 Events with two Cricket World Cups, at least three Champions Trophy tournaments and inaugural Twenty20 World Championship.

The International Cricket Council (ICC) has confirmed it is preparing to commence the process of selling the media and sponsorship rights to Events scheduled to take place between the second half of 2007 and the ICC Cricket World Cup in Australia and New Zealand in 2015.

The period includes 18 ICC tournaments with two ICC Cricket World Cups, in Asia (2011) and Australasia (2015), and a minimum of three ICC Champions Trophy tournaments.

Also included are the first two ICC Twenty20 World Championships, in South Africa (2007) and England (2009), the latter taking place in the ICC’s centenary year.
And there are Cricket World Cup qualifiers, four ICC U/19 Cricket World Cups, and, for the first time, the Women’s Cricket World Cup, with two tournaments scheduled for 2009 (Australia) and 2013 (India) in the eight-year timeframe.

The ICC intends to commence the process for the sale of the audio-visual rights to its Events with the issue of tender documents to interested broadcasters, agencies and other persons qualified to bid, something expected to take place prior to October’s ICC Champions Trophy. It will also commence discussions with interest sponsors during the same time period.

Chief Executive Officer Malcolm Speed will lead the ICC in meetings with potential media partners and sponsors, with former President Ehsan Mani acting as a consultant for the ICC during negotiations.

Mr Mani, who stepped down in July after three years as ICC President, was involved in negotiations for the current agreement, with Global Cricket Corporation (GCC), which is owned by News International Limited.

That agreement, which began in 2000 and ends with the 2007 ICC Cricket World Cup in the West Indies next March and April, includes two ICC Cricket World Cups and four ICC Champions Trophy tournaments, and is worth $US550 million.
ICC Chief Executive Officer Malcolm Speed said: “The ICC’s Executive Board began this process in April when it confirmed the venues for ICC Events from the second half of 2007 to the 2015 ICC Cricket World Cup.

“With those venues and the timings for the tournaments agreed, we are now in a position to go to market to obtain the best deal for cricket."

“The sale of these rights is of huge significance for cricket throughout the world at all levels as the revenue it generates will play a pivotal role in sustaining and growing the game."

“I am delighted Ehsan has agreed to act as a consultant with us in this process as he played a significant role in securing the previous agreement and his experience and expertise in this area is certain to be invaluable.”

Further details and updates of the sales process will be announced in due course.
ICC Events 2007 – 2015
2007 Cricket World Cup March/April West Indies*
Twenty20 World Championship September South Africa
2008 U/19 Cricket World Cup February Malaysia
Champions Trophy September Pakistan
2009 Women’s Cricket World Cup March Australia
ICC Trophy April UAE
Twenty20 World Championship June England
2010 U/19 Cricket World Cup February Kenya
Champions Trophy March/April West Indies
World Cricket League TBC The Netherlands
2011 Cricket World Cup February/March Bangladesh/India/
Pakistan/Sri Lanka
2012 U/19 Cricket World Cup July Canada
Champions Trophy/ September Sri Lanka
Twenty20 World Championship
2013 Women’s Cricket World Cup February India
Champions Trophy/ TBC TBC
Twenty20 World Championship
2014 Champions Trophy/ April Bangladesh
Twenty20 World Championship
U/19 Cricket World Cup February/March UAE
World Cricket League TBC TBC
2015 Cricket World Cup February/March Australia/
New Zealand

* Commercial rights for this event owned by Global Cricket Corporation

Royal Cup Final at Sunnybrook Park, this Sunday (August 13 -- Posted Sunday, August 13 2006

The Hardball XI will meet B4U in the Royal Cup Final at Sunnybrook Park, this Sunday August 13. Play is set to commence at 10.30 am and the match comprises 50-overs per side. These teams won their semi-final games at Maple Leaf CC on Friday.

The Hardball XI made 276-5 to beat Ontario Flames by 5 wickets. Jyoti lead the way with a fine innings of 112. It included a blend of stylish and powerful shots around the wicket. He had good support from Fedee, who made 48. Opener Ishwar Marai contributed 31.

The Flames total had been spearheaded by Sumity Tharper who made 127 not out, batting at number 3. Asloob Armugham made 43 and Nadeem Sultan 44, batting at number 8.
In all this batting carnage, Arshad (Hardball XI) returned the figures of 5-49 in 9 overs.

The other semi-final featured The Popeyes (basically a team of Pakistani-heritage T&D players) and B4U (an Indian-heritage side from the T&D ranks). Historians may feel it would have been more appropriate for these sides to meet in the Final as both countries celebrate 60 years of independence in the next couple of days. I have seen adverts for a major Pakistani festival on Sunday, and the Indian consulate in Toronto has a function on, I believe, Tuesday morning.

Popeyes had batted first - I arrived bright and early around 4pm - with Javed's 65 runs being top score. Mohammad RIaz made 47 and Iqbal Shamid 39.
Mohammad Iqbal (35 runs) and Mulla Afzal (28) got the early scoring moving. Bordi Asraf made a solid 60 in taking the score to 185-6, when he fell to a catch by the wicketkeeper. This was around the 40th over. It looked like B4U were going to cruise home after reaching 241-6, just 18 runs short of the target. But there was a twist to the game when Javed returned to the attack and took two wickets in the same over. This made it 244-8. The tail held firm and the winning shot came in the 49th over.

Eddie Norfolk

Six a side tournament on Vancouver Island -- Posted Saturday, August 12 2006

VISAS 2006

Cricket finals today Saturday August 12th at 10:00AM (Pacific time)
All games today at Beacon Hill Park

Playoff results for Friday August 11th. (winners head to finals today)

Match 1
Wanderers Defeated Air New Zealand by 4 wickets
Air New Zealand 106 for 2 Cam Alford 58, Paul Baldock 35
Wanderers 107 for 2 Mark Briers 70*, Nick Grant 23

Match 2
Sticky Wicket defeated Victoria by 41 runs
Victoria 88 for 5 K Kumar 38*
Sticky Wicket 129 for 2 Steve Jespersen 73, Adam Benning 26

Match 3
Islanders defeated Dallas by 5 wickets
Dallas 91 for 4 Hitish Patel 28
Islanders 93 for 1 Matt Brooks 38*,
Darren Spier 30

Match 4
Dapto defeated Los Angeles by 5 wickets
Los Angeles 106 for 6 Gurmit Sandhu 33, Raj Saini 24
Dapto 107 for 1 Richard Marsh 58*,
Chris Georgiou 24*

Match 5
Air New Zealand defeated Milan by 6 wickets
Milan 97 for 5 Mark Goodall 48
Air New Zealand 98 for 0 Cam Alford 55*, Paul Baldock 27*

Match 6
Dallas defeated Los Angeles by 4 wickets
Los Angeles 88 for 3 Gurmit Sandhu 31
Dallas 91 for 2 Carl Thompson 45, Arun
Vittala 29

Royal Cup Final at Sunnybrook Park -- Posted Saturday, August 12 2006

The Hardball XI will meet B4U in the Royal Cup Final at Sunnybrook Park, this Sunday (August 13). Play is set to commence at 10.30 am and the match comprises 50-overs per side. These teams won their semi-final games at Maple Leaf CC on Friday.

The Hardball XI made 276-5 to beat Ontario Flames by 5 wickets. Jyoti lead the way with a fine innings of 112. It included a blend of stylish and powerful shots around the wicket. He had good support from Fedee, who made 48. Opener Ishwar Marai contributed 31.

The Flames total had been spearheaded by Sumity Tharper who made 127 not out, batting at number 3. Asloob Armugham made 43 and Nadeem Sultan 44, batting at number 8.
In all this batting carnage, Arshad (Hardball XI) returned the figures of 5-49 in 9 overs.

The other semi-final featured The Popeyes (basically a team of Pakistani-heritage T&D players) and B4U (an Indian-heritage side from the T&D ranks). Historians may feel it would have been more appropriate for these sides to meet in the Final as both countries celebrate 60 years of independence in the next couple of days. I have seen adverts for a major Pakistani festival on Sunday, and the Indian consulate in Toronto has a function on, I believe, Tuesday morning.

Popeyes had batted first - I arrived bright and early around 4pm - with Javed's 65 runs being top score. Mohammad RIaz made 47 and Iqbal Shamid 39.

Mohammad Iqbal (35 runs) and Mulla Afzal (28) got the early scoring moving. Bordi Asraf made a solid 60 in taking the score to 185-6, when he fell to a catch by the wicketkeeper. This was around the 40th over. It looked like B4U were going to cruise home after reaching 241-6, just 18 runs short of the target. But there was a twist to the game when Javed returned to the attack and took two wickets in the same over. This made it 244-8. The tail held firm and the winning shot came in the 49th over.

Eddie Norfolk

Royal Cup Final at Sunnybrook Park -- Posted Saturday, August 12 2006

The Hardball XI will meet B4U in the Royal Cup Final at Sunnybrook Park, this Sunday (August 13). Play is set to commence at 10.30 am and the match comprises 50-overs per side. These teams won their semi-final games at Maple Leaf CC on Friday.

The Hardball XI made 276-5 to beat Ontario Flames by 5 wickets. Jyoti lead the way with a fine innings of 112. It included a blend of stylish and powerful shots around the wicket. He had good support from Fedee, who made 48. Opener Ishwar Marai contributed 31.

The Flames total had been spearheaded by Sumity Tharper who made 127 not out, batting at number 3. Asloob Armugham made 43 and Nadeem Sultan 44, batting at number 8.

In all this batting carnage, Arshad (Hardball XI) returned the figures of 5-49 in 9 overs.

The other semi-final featured The Popeyes (basically a team of Pakistani-heritage T&D players) and B4U (an Indian-heritage side from the T&D ranks). Historians may feel it would have been more appropriate for these sides to meet in the Final as both countries celebrate 60 years of independence in the next couple of days. I have seen adverts for a major Pakistani festival on Sunday, and the Indian consulate in Toronto has a function on, I believe, Tuesday morning.

Popeyes had batted first - I arrived bright and early around 4pm - with Javed's 65 runs being top score. Mohammad RIaz made 47 and Iqbal Shamid 39.

Mohammad Iqbal (35 runs) and Mulla Afzal (28) got the early scoring moving. Bordi Asraf made a solid 60 in taking the score to 185-6, when he fell to a catch by the wicketkeeper. This was around the 40th over. It looked like B4U were going to cruise home after reaching 241-6, just 18 runs short of the target. But there was a twist to the game when Javed returned to the attack and took two wickets in the same over. This made it 244-8. The tail held firm and the winning shot came in the 49th over.

Eddie Norfolk

Canada v Bermuda - Intercontinental Cup - August 12-15, 2006 -- Posted Saturday, August 12 2006
Canada and Bermuda meet in the International Cricket Council's Intercontinental Cup competition starting Saturday, August 12. Play is scheduled for four days, commencing each day at 10.30 am, and the match has first-class status.

The match takes place at the Maple Leaf CC, King City . Spectators are warned to track the progress of the game through the media, just in case the match does not require the full four days. Playing hours are 10.30 am to 6pm.

Canada beat Kenya by 25 runs in this competition at Maple Leaf CC just over a week ago. A win in this game would probably set Canada on the road to the semi-final stages, although this depends on the results of other games. Canada reached the semi-final stages in the inaugural 2004 event.

Canada took 20 points from the match with Kenya; 6 points for first-innings lead, and 14 points for the overall victory.

Bermuda has previously met Canada twice in the Toronto area in the Intercontinental Cup. In 2004, the competition’s first year, Bermuda hung on for a draw in a match at Sunnybrook Park, but the visitors won the 2005 game at the Toronto Cricket Club.

Scoring highlights from previous matches with Bermuda:

2005: Bermuda won by 48 runs
Bermuda 125 (Umar Bhatti 8-40) and 311 (Janeiro Tucker 123, Dean Minors 66)
Canada 207 (Ashish Bagai 76) and 181 (Qaiser Ali 52)

2004 Match Drawn
Canada 250 (Ashish Bagai 66) and 250-4 declared (Haninder Dhillon 102 not out, John Davison 78)
Bermuda 107 (John Davison 5-19) and 221-9 (Clay Smith 63, Kevin Sandher 6-68)

One-Day Internationals at Toronto Cricket Club
Canada and Bermuda will play two one-day international matches (ODIs) on August 19 and August 21.

More details next week on those games.

Some Background to Canada v Bermuda, Intercontinental Cup Squads 2006

The Canadian squad for the ICC Intercontinental Cup match with Bermuda (Maple Leaf CC, August 12-15) includes a diverse mixture of ethnic backgrounds, which reflect the multi-cultural nature of Canadian society.

Many of the squad were born overseas and moved to Canada as immigrants. There is significant representation from the Indian sub-continent, as well as the West Indies. The team also has an Canada-Australasian quartet, including captain John Davison.

Canadian squad:
John Davison (capt) – 36 years old. Right-hand batsman (RHB) & Off-break bowler (OB). Has career-best bowling figures of 17 wickets for 137 runs in the Intercontinental Cup from the match with the USA in 2004.

Qaiser Ali – 28, RHB, OB (sometimes Right-arm medium, RM). Made his Intercontinental Cup debut v Bermuda in 2005, scoring 52 in second innings. Scored 91 not out in the recent match with Kenya.

Ashish Bagai – 24, RHB & wicketkeeper. Product of the Toronto Cricket Academy. Highest score of 76 in this competition.

Geoff Barnett – Left-hand batsman (LHB) Scored 136 v Kenya (second innings) on his debut in this competition. Plays for Central Districts in New Zealand.

Umar Bhatti - LHB, Left-arm fast-medium (LFM). Took 8 wickets for 40 runs v Bermuda in last year’s match.

Ian Billcliff, 33, RHB, RM, Highest first-class score 121

Sunil Dhaniram- 37- LHB, SLA. Highest first-class score 65 not out. Took 5-20 v Cayman Islands in 2005 Intercontinental Cup.

Stewart Heaney – RHB.

Don Maxwell – RHB, Right-arm medium (RM). Highest first-class score of 114 in 2005 Intercontinental Cup.

Henry Osinde – RHB, Right-arm fast-medium (RFM) .Best first-class bowling 7-53.

Naresh Patel – RHB, SLA – has yet to make his Canadian debut.

Puvendran Ravishankar – LHB, SLA. Took 3-66 in second innings v Kenya in recent Intercontinental Cup match.

Abdool Samad. – 27, RHB, OB, sometimes wicketkeeper.

Samad replaces the injured Haninder Dhillon, 29, RHB, who scored 102 not out versus Bermuda in the 2004

Intercontinental Cup match.
The Bermuda squad sees the return after an extended absence through injury of batsman Clay Smith.

Bermuda will select from: Irving Romaine (captain), Delyone Borden, Lionel Cann, Hasan Durham, Kevin Hurdle, Malachi Jones, Dwayne Leverock, Dean Minors (wicketkeeper), Saleem Mukuddem, George O'Brien Jnr, Stephen Outerbridge, OJ Pitcher, Clay Smith, Ryan Steede, Janeiro Tucker.

Eddie Norfolk

A LETTER FROM THE ONTARIO CRICKET ASSOCIATION -- Posted Friday, August 11 2006

It has been drawn to my attention that the selection of the Ontario Under-19 team to the Canada Cup in Edmonton has attracted a fair bit of attention----most of it misinformed---on the Forum of www.canadacricket.com.

The chair of the Ontario junior selection panel is Wijay Senathirajah of Centurions Club. The other members of the panel are drawn from the other leagues that make up the OCA.

Leroy Grey, John Lall and coach Fazil Sattaur are NOT OCA SELECTORS, although they may well be selectors for T&D or CCA or other organizations. But not OCA. Nor is the President of OCA a member of the OCA Junior Selection panel.

Prior to the selection of the team to the Canada Cup in Edmonton an intensive one-week training camp was held at Ross Lord Park. There, some 35 youngsters were put through a daily routine of physical drills, nets, classroom instruction and a daily 40-overs game.

Players were then selected for the Canada Cup not just on the basis of league batting/bowling stats (which may or may not be available to Forum contributors) but also on fielding, fitness, attendance, behaviour, judgment, knowledge of the game, ability to carry out instructions, performance versus visiting Bermuda team and in the Camp Final.

I personally attended at the camp and can vouch for the hard work and dedication of all the coaches,including former West Indies Test great Larry Gomes.

I am unable to comment on the final 13 selected as I am neither as familiar as some of your contributors about the youngsters selected nor would it be appropriate for me as President of the OCA to comment even if I were.However I am aware that it was a tough job for the selectors to reduce this large squad of 35 by two-thirds to reach the final 13.

I wish to thank all the volunteers involved for their hard work and dedication and wish them better luck in the future at the hands of your Forum contributors.

Errol Townshend
President, Ontario Cricket Association

Premier’s Remarks at The Ontario Cricket Association dinner -- Posted Friday, August 11 2006
Notes for remarks by Dalton McGuinty, Premier of Ontario, August 8, 2006

I want to recognize the commitment and the hard work of the Ontario Cricket Association.

When amateur sports organizations like the Ontario Cricket Association succeed, we all win.

I understand that the team that Canada sends to the Cricket World Cup has a roster that’s packed with Ontarians. And we’re very proud of that.

Cricket also plays a very special role in welcoming many newcomers to our province.

Each year, hard-working, highly skilled people from around the world choose Ontario. Many come from the best cricket-playing nations in the world. When they gather with you — people who love the game as much as they do — they know they’ve found a home.

Our diversity is part of Ontario’s strength.

It makes us more creative … more innovative … and ultimately more successful.

And it gives us a better understanding of our common humanity and our place in the world.

When it comes to people, what’s most important is not the colour of our skin, it’s not the language we speak, it’s not the traditions we inherit, it’s not the culture that we cherish, it’s not the power that we wield and it’s not the money that we amass.

The single most important thing when it comes to people is our common humanity.

That is why I am pleased to announce today that our government is committed to making amateur cricket even stronger.

We are providing a grant of $1 million to the Ontario Cricket Association.

It’s a wonderful sport and it’s the kind of thing that we’d like to have more and more of our young people pick up.

I want to take the opportunity to let you know that we wouldn’t be here tonight; I would not be in a position to make this announcement, without Minister Mike Colle’s leadership.

We want to help more young people discover the joy and the challenge of playing this wonderful game.
And we want to ensure that Ontario’s provincial team is the best it can be.

You know, whatever sport ignites our passion — whether it’s hockey, soccer or cricket — its real value is the way it brings people together.

Cricket teaches our young people wonderful values.

Our government is proud to support Ontario’s cricket players, coaches and supporters and to create an even brighter future for amateur cricket in our province, the great province of Ontario, in the most wonderful country in the world, Canada.

Photos shows Premier McGuinty is on the left, with Minister Colle, Minister of Citizenship and Immigration on the right.

VISAS 2006 at Beacon Hill Park, Vancouver Island -- Posted Friday, August 11 2006

Cricket starts today Thursday August 10th at 10:00AM

All games today at Beacon Hill Park
Food and beverages until 6:00

Wednesday August 9th results .
Air New Zealand 94 for 4 vs Victoria 95 for 3
Milan 116 for 2 vs Victoria 120 for 0
Los Angeles 105 for 3 vs Islanders 99 for 5
Air New Zealand 99 for 6 vs Sticky Wicket 101 for 2
Islanders 107 for 4 vs Wanderers 110 for 2
Los Angeles 103 for 1 vs Dapto 104 for 1
Sticky Wicket 112 for 3 vs Dapto 105 for 6

Wins to date August 9th
Dallas 2
Dapto 5
Sticky Wicket 6
Victoria 6
Wanderers 6
Islanders 5
Milan 0
Air New Zealand 2
Los Angeles 3

Some Background to Canada v Bermuda, Intercontinental Cup Squads 2006 -- Posted Friday, August 11 2006

The Canadian squad for the ICC Intercontinental Cup match with Bermuda (Maple Leaf CC, August 12-15) includes a diverse mixture of ethnic backgrounds, that reflect the multi-cultural nature of Canadian society. Many of the squad were born overseas and moved to Canada as immigrants. There is significant representation from the Indian sub-continent, as well as the West Indies. The team also has an Canado-Australasian quartet, including captain John Davison.

Canadian squad:

John Davison (capt) – 36 years old. Right-hand batsman (RHB) & Off-break bowler (OB). Has career-best bowling figures of 17 wickets for 137 runs in the Intercontinental Cup from the match with the USA in 2004.

Qaiser Ali – 28, RHB, OB (sometimes Right-arm medium, RM). Made his Intercontinental Cup debut v Bermuda in 2005, scoring 52 in second innings. Scored 91 not out in the recent match with Kenya.

Ashish Bagai – 24, RHB & wicketkeeper. Product of the Toronto Cricket Academy. Highest score of 76 in this competition.

Geoff Barnett – , Left-hand batsman (LHB) Scored 136 v Kenya (second innings) on his debut in this competition. Plays for Central Districts in New Zealand.

Umar Bhatti - LHB, Left-arm fast-medium (LFM). Took 8 wickets for 40 runs v Bermuda in last year’s match.

Ian Billcliff, 33, RHB, RM, Highest first-class score 121

Sunil Dhaniram- 37- LHB, SLA. Highest first-class score 65 not out.
Took 5-20 v Cayman Islands in 2005 Intercontinental Cup.

Stewart Heaney – RHB.

Don Maxwell – RHB, Right-arm medium (RM). Highest first-class score of 114 in 2005 Intercontinental Cup.

Henry Osinde – RHB, Right-arm fast-medium (RFM) .Best first-class bowling 7-53.

Naresh Patel – RHB, SLA – has yet to make his Canadian debut.

Puvendran Ravishankar – LHB, SLA. Took 3-66 in second innings v Kenya in recent Intercontinental Cup match.

Abdool Samad. – 27, RHB, OB, sometimes wicketkeeper.

Samad replaces the injured Haninder Dhillon, 29, RHB, who scored 102 not out versus Bermuda in the 2004 Intercontinental Cup match.

The Bermuda squad sees the return after an extended absence through injury of batsman Clay Smith.

Bermuda will select from: Irving Romaine (captain), Delyone Borden, Lionel Cann, Hasan Durham, Kevin Hurdle, Malachi Jones, Dwayne Leverock, Dean Minors (wicketkeeper), Saleem Mukuddem, George O'Brien Jnr, Stephen Outerbridge, OJ Pitcher, Clay Smith, Ryan Steede, Janeiro Tucker.

Eddie Norfolk

University and College cricket tournament -- Posted Thursday, August 10 2006

There are 4 teams taking part in this tournament: (ordered alphabetically) 1. Centennial College 2. McMaster University 3. Ryerson University 4. York University

The schedule for the tournament at G. Ross Lord Park (Dufferin & Finch) is as follows:
14th - 18th of August 2006

ALL teams are playing on Monday, Tuesday, Thursday and Friday. - Wednesday is a Break-Day.

Mon, Tue & Thurs - Round Robin will be held and every team will play the rest of the teams.

Fri - Final matches wil be held.

Scenario Explanation:
4 Teams: A, B, C, D.
First Round Points: Win=4 Lost=0 Tie=3 No Result=2

Day-1 (Teams need to be at ground at 10:00am sharp)
A vs B - in Ground 1
C vs D - in Ground 2

Day-2 (Teams need to be at ground at 11:30am)
A vs C - in Ground 1
B vs D - in Ground-2

Day-3
Off Day

Day-4 (Teams need to be at ground at 11:30am)
A vs D - in Ground 1
B vs C - in Ground 2

End of the 4th day the 4 teams will be taken in order of - most points to least points (If Points (Wins) cannot determine a ranking, Net Run-Rate will be taken into account)

Eg:
Rank 1 : Team B
Rank 2 : Team A
Rank 3 : Team D
Rank 4 : Team C

Day 5 (Teams need to be at ground at 9:00am)

The Final will be played between B & A on Ground 1 to determine Winner and Runner up.

The match for 3rd place winner will be played between D & C on Ground 2.

Note:
- If for some reason we are unable to play the final matches on Friday, Day-4's ranking will be the Final result of the tournament.
- Wednesday, although a rest day provides the organisers with flexibility to move other days in case of bad weather.
- We will confirm the dates.
- Mr. Andy Pick (our National Coach) will be available to run coaching sessions for the participating players.

Rationale for Schedule:
The schedule takes into consideration a lot of vital points.
- Every player taking part gets to play 4 matches.
- Everyone gets to play in equal weather conditions.
- Everyone gets one rest day.
- If everything goes according to plan, no team has to play more than 2 days in a row.

If there are ANY confusions or concerns, kindly direct them to me on my cell - (416) 795-6487 or e-mail address.
This is the first time an event of this nature has been organised and held at this scale - it has been our dream for the past many years to make it happen. Let us all make it a success!

I wish every team the best of luck!
May the best team win!
Sincerely,
Abhimanyu Sharma
Committee for Development of Cricket at Universities, Colleges & High Schools - (CCA)
President - RSCA

Canada have chance to put one foot in the final with win over Bermuda -- Posted Thursday, August 10 2006

Hosts chase back-to-back wins after success against Kenya

Canada has the chance to put one foot in the final of the ICC Intercontinental Cup if it can secure victory over Bermuda in the four-day encounter that starts in Toronto on Saturday.

If John Davison’s side can win the match with maximum points it will give Canada 40 points from two matches after its 25-run success against Kenya less than two weeks ago.

That earlier result appears to have put the Africans out of contention as it is still pointless following its earlier draw with the Netherlands.

And with Bermuda and the Netherlands, the other sides in Group B, still to play each other Canada has a golden opportunity to pile the pressure on its rivals.

The home side’s coach Andy Pick refused to get carried away with the prospect of a place in the final with his side just one match into the tournament but he admitted: “This match is crucial for us.

“If we can get another win here we will go away from home to face the Netherlands with the pressure on them to beat us rather than the other way around.

“If we beat Bermuda we would make that away trip possibly only needing first innings points against the Dutch while they would have to beat us and Bermuda to remain in contention.”

For now, of course, those scenarios are nothing more than wishful thinking for Pick because he knows that, starting on Saturday, his players face a tough examination.

And the coach is demanding more from his players – much more.

“I was pleased to win on the last afternoon after four days of hard cricket in 40 degree temperatures and that was a credit to the players,” said Pick.

“But we need more consistency from everyone, especially in the batting, as we surrendered a great position in the second innings by collapsing to allow Kenya back into the match.”

Against the Africans Canada were indebted to Qaiser Ali (91 not out) and Geoff Barnett (136) with the bat while left-armer Umar Bhatti who, like Ali, attended the ICC Winter Training Camp last year, captured 10-147 in the match.

Pick’s search for batting consistency will be helped by the return of Ian Billcliff, who missed the Kenya match because of work commitments. He replaces the veteran former Sri Lanka international Pubudu Dassanayaka.

In one other change Haninder Dhillon, sidelined with a groin injury, has been replaced by all-rounder Abdool Samad, a 27 year-old right-hander who was part of Canada’s ICC Cricket World Cup (ICC CWC) squad in 2003.

Canada comes into this match off the back of two disappointing ODI defeats against Kenya that followed the four-day triumph and its players will also know the last time they faced Bermuda, in a ODI in Trinidad in May, they lost in a low-scoring contest.

Those facts will be sources of encouragement for Bermuda, as will the knowledge it beat Canada in the corresponding ICC Intercontinental Cup match last year, en route to a place in the semi-finals.

Since then things have not always gone according to plan for the side coached by former West Indies batsman Gus Logie with an embarrassing exit at the hands of Jamaica in the Stanford 20/20 tournament in Antigua causing some concern less than a year from next year’s ICC CWC in the Caribbean.

The good news for Bermuda is that veteran former captain Clay Smith, a talismanic figure with the bat, has recovered sufficiently from a long-term knee injury to take his place in the squad.

Smith proved his fitness for club side St George’s earlier this month in the annual two-day Cup match against local rivals Somerset but Irving Romaine has been named as captain.

Bermuda’s batting strength in recent times has been in its middle order with Smith, wicketkeeper Dean Minors and the big-hitting Lionel Cann forming an effective spine for the team; the challenge now is for the top order – players like Stephen Outerbridge and OJ Pitcher – to come to the party.

17 year-old all-rounder Malachi Jones has been included in the squad which is likely to rely on left-arm spinner Dwayne Leverock – the leading wicket-taker in last year’s competition – and fast bowler George O’Brien Junior for a cutting edge with the ball.

Group A is already shaping up as a battle of the two previous tournament winners with both the 2004 champions Scotland and last year’s winners Ireland, off to winning starts, each with a victory over Namibia in May. The other side in that group, the United Arab Emirates, is yet to start its campaign.

The final, set to take place in the first half of 2007, will be between the two group winners.

A new format this year means sides will play a minimum of three four-day matches in this tournament, increasing to seven four-day matches in 2007 and 2008 when the event will be a full round-robin format.

That compares to a minimum of just two three-day matches per year under the previous structure which, until the semi-finals, was regionally-based rather than global.

The ICC Intercontinental Cup began in 2004 to give the leading players from Associate sides the chance to improve by exposing them to a longer form of the game.

After the ICC Intercontinental Cup match, the two sides play two ODIs against each other, on 19 and 21 August, with the second of them the opening match in this year’s World Cricket League Americas Division 1.

Canada (from): John Davison (captain), Qaiser Ali, Ashish Bagai (wicketkeeper), Geoff Barnett, Umar Bhatti, Ian Billcliff, Sunil Dhaniram, Stewart Heaney, Don Maxwell, Henry Osinde, Naresh Patel, Puvendran Ravishankar, Abdool Samad.

Bermuda (from): Irving Romaine (captain), Delyone Borden, Lionel Cann, Hasan Durham, Kevin Hurdle, Malachi Jones, Dwayne Leverock, Dean Minors (wicketkeeper), Saleem Mukuddem, George O'Brien Jnr, Stephen Outerbridge, OJ Pitcher, Clay Smith, Ryan Steede, Janeiro Tucker.

Umpires: Hubert Smythe (Cayman Islands) & Norman Malcolm (West Indies).

Full details of this year’s ICC Intercontinental Cup can be found at:

http://www.icc-cricket.com/icc/events/intercontinental/

After the First ODI - QUOTES - NOT PREVIOUSLY RELEASED -- Posted Thursday, August 10 2006

Saturday August 5 – Kenya 237-9, Canada 129 all out:

Steve Tikolo (Kenyan Captain) “It was obviously a good game between the two teams. We did the things we had spoken about. The (Kenyan) boys showed good discipline but I thought we were 20-30 runs short (of our target total). Canada bowled pretty well but the experience of the Kenyans showed. Canada lost wickets at regular intervals which made it easier for us.”

Roger Harper:
“It was a good win and we played well in all departments – batting, bowling and fielding. As a team, we should like to improve and I hope we do that tomorrow (Sunday’s game)” He paid tribute to the batting efforts of “Kennedy (Obuya, who made 36 runs), Jimmy (Kamande, 68 runs) and Steve (Tikolo, 50 runs) was commanding. Tanmay Mishra (38 runs) and Collins (Obuya, 19 runs) helped the team get enough runs.”

“The bowlers got early wickets and that changed the game. We never let it slip away.” . He looked forward to the Sunday game. “I hope we bring the same sort of attitude and do it all over.”

Andy Pick (Canadian Coach); “The batting embarrassed us again. Something somewhere in the top five has to change. The bowling and fielding were good enough to restrict them (Kenya) to 230 but you’re not going to win many (ODI) matches if you can’t score more than 130 in 50 overs.”
“We’re in good health and the senior players have had a talk. I’m going to have to go into the darkroom somewhere to find s solution.”

Sanjay Thuraisingham (Canadian pace bowler) bowled well in the match, especially in his first spell. He ended with figures of 9 overs, 1 maiden, conceded 35 runs and took 4 wickets. He said “I bowled a good line. There was not much in the wicket but I created some difficulty for the batsmen. I think in the first six overs I conceded only 11-12 runs.” The veteran added “Our fielding and bowling were up to par. The more we play (at this level), the better we get. No matter how much we train, it all depends on how we do in actual matches.”

After the Second ODI – Sunday August 6 – Canada 94, Kenya 97-5:
Andy Pick (Canadian Coach) was asked about the batting which looked promising, and to be following the ‘sensible batting’ philosophy at 65-1 with Geoff Barnett and Desmond Chumney going well: “We made a start then - it was almost as if we wanted to self-destruct. I am at a complete loss.”

"If it was a technical problem, I could work on teaching a solution but it is not. Some players keep making the same mistakes.”
“We’ve now lost the four ODI’s (this summer – includes with Zimbabwe and Bermuda in Port of Spain). The fielding and bowling are OK.”
"Zimbabwe only made 220 against us and Bermuda struggled to make 150. But today we struggled to make 90.”

Steve Tikolo (Kenyan Captain) described the two games as quite competitive. ”Today’s wicket favoured the spinners. Seven wickets went to the spinners in the first (Canada’s) innings and five in the second (Kenya’s innings).”
“It was a good game” and he agreed it would have been interesting if Canada had made another 50 runs, or possibly even 20-30 more.

Tikolo played a very patient and solid innings to steer his side to victory after breakthroughs by John Davison and Sunil Dhaniram for Canada saw four Kenyan wickets lost for the addition of just 1 run around the lunch interval.
Dhaniram said “We need some more runs. Another 50 and we would have been there.”

Tikolo added “in the one day games we played excellently. We stuck to the basics of the game..” He then paid tribute to the Canadian effort. “Since 2003 (Cricket World Cup in South Africa), Canada have improved in leaps and bounds.”

Submitted by Eddie Norfolk

Jiminy, it's Cricket! -- Posted Thursday, August 10 2006

Hockey may rule here, but cricket is the passion to some Canadians. Next year, we are sending a team to the World Cup.

To its legion of passionate supporters, it is "the game of glorious uncertainty." Cricket's detractors -- usually those who have never played it -- call it watching grass grow.

It's a game more strategic than baseball, as cerebral as chess, but those who don't follow it consider cricket's eccentricities and archaic terms relics of a bygone era. All the same, for thousands of Canadians -- especially newcomers from places like Sri Lanka, India, Pakistan and the West Indies, cricket isn't so much a game as it is a passion.

The local cricket scene is booming. Games sprout each Saturday and Sunday on pitches across the GTA. Next year, this country will send a team to the World Cup in the West Indies.

Former professional cricketer Anderson Cummins came here 10 years ago from Barbados. Part of the reason why cricket hasn't caught on here before now is the long, cold Canadian winter, he says. Another drawback is that cricket doesn't have the immediacy sports viewers in North America demand.

"Cricket is a game that is played over a long period of time. If you tell people that a one-day game is the shortest game in cricket, they just laugh, because for TV they really need that short, compact product you can sell to people," explains Cummins, an IT professional from Oshawa. There are now shorter, 20-over games. (In baseball terms, an over is comprised of six pitches). Each side bowls only 120 balls. The game itself is much livelier and more aggressive than it once was, and some leagues have forsaken the traditional whites in favour of coloured uniforms.

Cummins, 40, who played in five Test Matches for the West Indies and county cricket in England, is captain of the Cavaliers, a local team in the premier league from which the Canadian team will be selected to play in next year's World Cup. (World Cup cricket is a series of international one-day games. Test Matches, by contrast, are five-day matches -- and the players always wear white.)

Cummins says it's important to grow the sport to build a base of homegrown players. Many newcomers from cricket-playing countries have become successful in business and are a potential source of sponsorship revenue. "It's important to market it appropriately so it doesn't remain something that is played primarily by the immigrant population," he said.

One rare homegrown cricketer is Zubin Surkari. His father came here in the '70s from India and Surkari, 26, got involved with the game through programs at the Toronto Cricket Club at an early age. He's been on the senior national team since he was 19.

"It's hard to get homegrown players to play at a level that is good enough, when there are people coming in from other countries where they play cricket all the time," he said. He scoffs at the notion that cricket is a slow or boring game.

"Cricket has a long history and it's an influential game in a lot of countries now.

"It is played with a lot of honour and rules, but in terms of it being a slow game or something that people wouldn't appreciate, that is wrong," he said. "The old colonial mentality is gone now," he said.

He'd like to see the game organized at the school level and a development officer brought in to identify young local talent.

Cricket is one of the few games where you can never tell who is winning. A team may be said to have the advantage, but games change direction within minutes. Even the weather can dictate the outcome -- with one team moving from a fast pitch to a sticky wicket overnight.

Sunil Dhaniram, 37, came here from Guyana in 1992. By day he's a forklift operator from Ajax. But on weekends he's a proud member of Canada's national team, and has played for them since 2003.

Many of his co-workers are from the West Indies and understand cricket. Even his Canadian-born bosses, who may be baffled by the finer points of a googlie vs. a Yorker, are nevertheless still fiercely proud to have an international cricket star working for them.

The national team gets no financial support from any levels of government, and while some costs are paid for by the International Cricket Council, the governing body of cricket, Dhaniram still loses money in the time he takes off work to play for Canada. He points out that cricket has a long history in this country. It was once the national sport, and the first international game was played here in 1844, when Canada beat the U.S.

With no financial aid, players of modest means are hard-pressed when they represent their country at the international level.

"I think the government should get involved and help the players, because it's very tough," he said. He'd like to see programs expanded into the schools, so that it catches on with young people. "You have to love the sport and want it to grow it in Canada," he said.

Cavaliers' president Shameer Ali grew up playing cricket in his native Guyana. Since coming to Canada, he's helped get the game started in schools. Where other sports encourage physical means of dealing with disputes, cricket's strong ethical code, its etiquette and manners all help foster respect, making it the perfect game to help get young people on the right track, he says. Cricket's rules are called "laws." There are no head butts -- and no broken teeth.

"Even if you are upset out there, you have to try and control yourself and try and calm other players instead of getting into an argument or fight, which you see happening in other sports," he said.

"It is a gentleman's sport. The thing about being involved in cricket is that it teaches respect. It teaches you good etiquette, good manners."

Ali, who has a trucking firm, has long been an ardent supporter of the local cricket scene. He started a cricket program in his sons' Etobicoke school and still volunteers each year. The players all lament the lack of facilities in the GTA. The wickets they play on are matting and canvas or artificial turf. Cricket at the international level is played on grass, and they need to practice on that to prepare for the World Cup. On their wish list also is a cricket stadium for the GTA.

Most of all, the players suggest you take in a game. Non-cricket playing spectators are encouraged and there are always experts on hand to explain the game.

Article sourced from:-
http://www.torontosun.com/News/Canada/2006/08/07/1722831-sun.html

"Cricketers Night With The Premier", -- Posted Wednesday, August 9 2006
The "Cricketers Night With The Premier", hosted by the Ontario Cricket Association, was the opportunity for Premier Dalton McGuinty to announce that his government has made a commitment of $1,000,000 for Ontario cricket.

Supported by Mike Colle, the Minister of Citizenship and Immigration, Premier McGuinty reflected on the multicultural diversity of Ontario's population, and most particularly on that segment which has a history of cricket being an essential part of their culture.

May we at www.canadacricket.com offer our congratulations to the OCA, and its President, for building a relationship with the Government of Ontario. (Jon Harris).

Victoria International Six-A-Side Cricket Festival -- Posted Wednesday, August 9 2006

The Victoria International Six-A-Side Cricket Festival is scheduled for Victoria for August 4th to 12th, 2006. The festival, known as VISAS, is held every second year and welcomes teams from around the world to compete in a shortened, fast-paced version of cricket. Traditional cricket is played by teams of 11 players and a match can take anywhere from a few hours to five days to complete.

Six-a-side cricket is a modified version of the game (similar perhaps to three-on-three basketball of seven-a-side rugby) which uses fewer players, takes less time and produces a lot of spectacular action.

The 2006 edition of VISAS is the 11th festival and marks the 20th anniversary of the inaugural VISAS festival in 1986. Over the past 20 years VISAS has had the pleasure of hosting a wide variety of teams from around the world.

The festival has welcomed teams from Australia, New Zealand, England, Italy, Singapore, Hong Kong, the West Indies, Isle of Man, Bangladesh and the Bahamas. In addition, teams from New York, San Francisco, Los Angeles, Miami, Houston and Dallas have visited from the USA, while Toronto, Edmonton and Vancouver have come from across Canada.

This year the VISAS welcomes teams from Australia, New Zealand, Italy, the USA (Dallas and Los Angeles) and Vancouver.

These teams will compete with teams from the local Victoria cricket community with five games a day being played at Beacon Hill Park in Victoria between 10:00 am and 5:30 pm and three games per day being played at Windsor Park in Oak Bay between 10:00 am and 2:30 pm. Round-robin play is scheduled for August 5, 6, 7, 9 and 10, and the playoff rounds for August 11 and 12th.

The Victoria cricket community expects to celebrate the 20th anniversary of VISAS in grand style with a fabulous cricket and social gathering.

Canada v Kenya, 2nd ODI, Toronto - Varaiya and Tikolo lead rout -- Posted Tuesday, August 8 2006

Kenya won the second of two ODI matches with Canada at the Toronto Cricket Club on Sunday by 5 wickets, thanks to seven wickets from Steve Tikolo and Hiren Varaiya. Canada looked to be heading for a solid total when poised at 65 for 1, but the wickets began to tumble - and fast - and they were soon all out for 94 runs.

Geoff Barnett top-scored with 35 and he put on 65 with Desmond Chumney before Barnett was out for 35. This proved a major turning point for the match, with Hiren Varaiya steaming in to take 4 for 25 and Tikolo grabbing 3 for 16. Ashish Bagai provided the only resistance of the latter batsmen, making 16 runs.

The early end to the Canadian innings resulted in Kenya batting before the lunch interval.

Kennedy Obuya (19) and Brijal Paterl (27) shared an opening partnership of 46 runs and, under pressure, Canada introduced the spinners to their attack. The game took an amazing twist just before lunch.

Kenya went into the break at 47-4, having lost Obuya, Patel, Jimmy Kamande and Hitesh Modi in quick succession, and an upset was on the cards. There was a palpable buzz around the ground as Canada headed to lunch.

But Tikolo stood firm to take Kenya to ultimate victory with an unbeaten 29. This proved the mainstay of the Kenyan batting as the score moved from 48 for 4 to 69 for 5, with the fall of Collins Obuya for 14. It was left to Tikolo and Tanmay Mishra to steer Kenya to victory.

The slow-left arm bowler Sunil Dhaniram took 2 wickets for 18 runs in his ten-over spell, while the offspinner John Davison took 3 for 43 in 9 overs.

Canada next face Bermuda in a 4-day game at Maple Leaf CC in King City, starting next Satuday, August 12. They then meet Bermuda in ODIs at Toronto CC on August 19 and 21.

Eddie Norfolk
August 6, 2006

Kenya 97 for 5 (Tikolo 29*) beat Canada 94 (Barnett 35, Varaiya 4-25, Tikolo 3-14) by 5 wickets

Report sourced from:-
http://content-usa.cricinfo.com/canada/content/story/255807.html

Kenya take ODI series 2-0 against Canada -- Posted Monday, August 7 2006

Dateline: Sunday August 6, 2006 - Toronto Cricket Club, Canada

Kenya beat Canada by 5 wickets

Canada 94 all out (Geoff Barnett 35, Desmond Chumney 26, Hiren Varaiya 4 wickets for 25 runs, Steve Tikolo 3 wickets for 16 runs)

Kenya 97-5 (Steve Tikolo 29 not out, Brijal Patel 23, Sunil Dhaniram 2 wickets for 18 runs in 10 overs, John Davison 3 wickets for 43 runs)

Kenya won the second of two ODI matches with Canada at the Toronto Cricket Club on Sunday by 5 wieckts. Canada looked to be heading for a solid total when poised at 65 runs for 1 wicket, but the wickets began to tumble and the home side was all out for 94 runs.

Geoff Barnett (top scorer with 35 runs) and Desmond Chumney took Canada to a total 65 runs, before Barnett was out for 35.

This proved a major turning point for the match. The pair looked to be building a solid partnership, but once Barnett went, the rest of the innings subsided against the bowling of Hiren Varaiya (4 wickets for 25 runs) and Steve Tikolo ( 3 wickets for 16 runs).

Ashish Bagai provided the line resistance of the latter batsmen, making 16 runs.

The early end to the Canadian innings resulted in Kenya batting before the lunch interval.

Kennedy Obuya (who made 19 runs) and Brijal Paterl (27 runs) shared an opening parternship of 46 runs.

Canada inroduced the spinners to their attack and the game took an amazing twist before the lunch interval.
Kenya went into the break at 47-4, having lost Obuya, Patel, Jimmy Kamande and Hitesh Modi in quick succession.

This took Canada to the lunch interval with a buzz around the ground.

Kenyan captain, Steve Tikolo, provided some solid batting that took his county to ultimate victory wth an innings of 29.

This proved the mainstay of the Kenyan batting as the score moved from 48-4 to 69-5. At this point, Collins Onuya was out (14 runs) and it was left to Tikolo and Tanmay Mishra to steer Kenya to vicotry. Tikoo ended on 29 not out.

Slow-left arm bowler Sunil Dhaniram took 2 wickets for 18 runs in his ten over spell of bowling.
Off-spinner John Davison took 3 for 43 in 9 overs.

Canada next face Bermuda in a 4-day game at Maple Leaf CC in King City, starting next Satuday (August 12).

They then meet Bermuda in ODIs at Toronto CC on August 19 and 21.

Eddie Norfolk

Scorecard and report of Kenya's second ODI win -- Posted Monday, August 7 2006
Sunday, August 06, 2006

Canada v Kenya 2nd ODI Scorecard
Canada Innings

Davison c K Obuya b Ondongo........0
Barnett st* K Obuya b Varaiya.....35
Chumney b Tikolo..................26
Ifill c K Obuya b Varaiya..........0
Bagai c & b Varaiya...............16
Ali c & b Tikolo...................0
Codrington lbw b Tikolo............4
Dhaniram run out...................2
Maxwell c (unknown) b Varaiya......0
Sanjay not out.....................0
Osinde c & b Varaiya...............0
Extras (1b, 5lb, 4w, 2nb).........11

TOTAL (all out, 33.2 overs).......94

FOW:
1-2, 2-65, 3-69, 4-71, 5-71, 6-86, 7-92, 8-93, 9-94, 10-94

Bowling:
Odoyo ........7-1-17-0
Ondongo.......5-0-22-1
Odhiambo......3-0-10-0
Varaiya.....9.2-2-25-5*
Tikolo........9-1-11-3

Kenya Innings

K Obuya lbw b Dhaniram........19
Patel c & b Davison...........23
Kamade c Ifill b Davison.......0
Tikolo not out................29
Modi c Barnett b Davison.......0
C Obuya b Dhaniram............14
Mishra not out.................6
Extras (lb3, w3)...............6
TOTAL (5 wickets, 31.2 ov)....97

FOW: 1-46, 2-46, 3-47, 4-47, 5-69

Bowling:
Dhaniram.......10-2-18-2
Osinde..........4-2- 3-0
Sanjay..........4-0-17-0
Davison.........9-0-43-3
Codrington......3-1- 2-0
Ali...........2.2-0-11-0

Kenya win by 5 wickets.
Man of the Match: Steve Tikolo

*NOTE: Barnett was given out, not sure if it is officially stumped or run out. Varaiya's wicket count is therefore either 4 or 5, case depending.

Posted by J Willy at 4:12 PM

Comments

Canada beaten again.....badly
Canada came into today's match looking to avenge yesterday's embarassing loss to the Kenyan team. Things started off well for the Canadians - they won the toss!!! That, however, was the high point of the day and the result was another disappointing result, a five wicket loss to Kenya.

Canada chose to bat and put in John Davison and Geoff Barnett to open the action. The first wicket to fall did so in the second over when Davison got a thin outside edge to a delivery from Ondongo which was easily handled by K Obuya. A duck for the captain.

From there Desmond Chumney came in and built a solid partnership with Barnett. 94 balls, 80 minutes, and 63 runs. When Barnett was finally retired things looked good for the Canadians - sitting 65-2 after 17.3 overs. Thus began a forgettable collapse.

Canada slumped from 65-2 to 71-5, Ifill and Ali both gone first ball, and things were suddenly looking grim for the home side. After a little help from Codrington and Bagai, the Canadians continued to play undisciplined and frankly, stupid shots resulting in wickets tumbling.

The last 3 wickets were lost for just 2 runs as Maxwell, Sanjay (not out), and Osinde made it a whopping SIX Canadian batsmen to leave the field with a duck as a prize.

It was a spinners paradise on the pitch as Varaiya took 4 wickets for just 25 runs and the captain Steve Tikolo an astounding 3 wickets for 11 runs in 9 overs of work!!!

The Kenyan innings began as you would expect it to - safely and cautiously. K Obuya and Patel opened and made a very stable 46 run partnership for the first wicket.

At that point Kenya staged a mini-collapse of their own going from 46-1 to 47-4 thanks to a 3 wicket over from Canadian skipper John Davison.

The saviour for Kenya was Steve Tikolo. He batted a wonderful innings playing just enough shots to keep the scoreboard ticking over and was never in danger of being given out. He was helped by C Obuya and finally by Mishra and after 31.2 overs Kenya reached their target -97 for 5.

Strong bowling from Sunil Dhaniram, taking 2-18 on 10 overs, as well as Davison who took 3 wickets. Davison, however, gave away too many runs - 43 to be exact - and Kenya won the game comfortably.

Now the debate will begin: was it the right move by selectors to bring in the more "experienced" players from Victoria Park? Or would it have been a better move to leave the Intercontinental Cup side together for these matches also.

Judging from the scorecard (Chumney 26, Ifill 0, Codrington 4) it was a bad move. Once again after a loss people will look not at the performance on the field but at that in the boardroom of the selectors.

It was another beautiful day at the Toronto CSCC and around 100 people were at the ground, mostly Canada supporters. Those who arrived late may have been shocked due to how far along the match was at that point with only 65 overs being played altogether.

We now look forward to seeing how the team regroups heading into another Intercontinental Cup tie with Bermuda next weekend.

The squad for that match will be more or less the same as the previous 4-day match, and if it performs well again it will speak volumes for keeping that team and giving up on the elder statesmen who were brought in for this weekend.

For those of you commenting, thanks a lot! This blog is already growing quite well. When I am posting live from the ground, though, I cannot see your comments. Just so you don't worry when I don't respond to them.

Also I would like to continue covering matches including the 4-day next Saturday to Tuesday. But I may not be able to make it to all the days. If there is anyone in the Toronto area who would be willing to help out, please let me know and we will see what we can do. Cheers for now.

Report and scorecard from:-
http://www.canadacricket.blogspot.com/

(Many thanks. Jon Harris).

Confederation Cup match -- Posted Monday, August 7 2006

A belated hello again to Ottawa cricket folk.

As I am constrained – yet again (poor planning) – by time, this will be another short missive with piles of attachments.

Regarding last weekend’s action, Quebec Cricket Federation came to town on Saturday, 29-June for the annual Confederation Cup match with OVCC and swept the board, winning the Senior, Masters and Junior matches.

The margins of victory were 101 runs, 31 runs and one wicket respectively.

The OVCC – QCF Senior match was recorded for posterity by Rogers Cable and will be broadcast on Saturday, 12-August at 1:00 PM. If I understood producer-director Shahid Khan rightly, it will be shown in its entirety.

The first round Knockout Cup matches were won by Ottawa over Defence by three wickets, by New Edinburgh over Kingston by 28 runs, by Canterbury over Bel Air by two wickets and by Cathedral over Exodus by one wicket. So there were no one sided runaways.

That’s all for now.

John Lexmond
OVCC Statistician

Canada- Kenya 2nd one-day international -- Posted Sunday, August 6 2006
updates on this match are available from
http://www.canadacricket.blogspot.com/ thanks to Jonathan Wilbiks

Canada v Kenya, 1st ODI, Toronto -- Posted Sunday, August 6 2006

Comprehensive win for Kenya
Eddie Norfolk
August 6, 2006
Kenya 237 for 9 (Kamande 68, Tikolo 50, Thuraisingam, 2-35) beat Canada 129 (Codrington 40, Varaiya 3-24) by 108 runs

Kenya won the first one-dayer against Canada at the Toronto Cricket Club by a comfortable 107 runs. Despite this margin, Canada bowled and fielded well in the opinions of both coaches - their own Andy Pick and also Kenya's coach Roger Harper. But once again the Canadian batting lacked discipline in the one-day format.
Yet if the result was routine, the after-match speech provided the most surprise. In a bizarre speech at the conclusion of the game, the Canadian players were clearly stunned by Canadian Cricket Association President, Ben Sennik, saying 'he was glad Kenya won.' He commented on his Kenyan heritage and how Canada could learn from the Kenyans, but his remarks neglected an understanding of Canada's fine win this week over Kenya in the Intercontinental Cup.

James Kemande top-scored for Kenya, making 68, and he received solid support from captain Steve Tikolo, who posted 50. Tanmay Mishra added 38 useful runs in the later stages and the opener Kennedy Obuya made 36. But Tikolo said later that he thought his team "were 20 to 30 runs short" of what they should have made.

Sanjay Thuraisingham was the pick of the Canadian bowlers, ending with 4 for 35 in 9 overs. He bowled a very tight line in his first spell. He bowled a good line in his first spell, conceding only 2 runs an over, despite there being nothing in the wicket.

The Canadian innings never got going and the familiar theme of shot selection proved a problem, as it had in this season's opening ODI's in Trinidad. Too many wickets were lost to careless strokes, and the total of 129 all out was a disappointment. George Codrington provided the main resistance, making 40. The slow left-arm bowler Hiren Varaiya took 3-24 for Kenya.

It was a frustrating batting performance for Pick. "The batting embarrassed us again," he said. "It did in Trinidad, and it did again today." As in Trinidad, where Canada lost to Zimbabwe and Bermuda, he was happy with the bowling and fielding.

The sides meet again today at the Toronto Cricket Club. Play begins at 10 am.

Report sourced from:- http://content-usa.cricinfo.com/canada/content/story/255726.html

Scorecard can be viewed at:-http://content-usa.cricinfo.com/canada/engine/match/251480.html

Over 40's tournament in Vancouver -- Posted Sunday, August 6 2006

Over 40's League Championship In a rain shortened season. The four semi-finalist teams to make the playoff: Ron Collins, Olkie Edema, Rai Dadiala & Rod Hesp. The semi-finals proved to be exciting high scoring affairs. The final however was on was on another level.

A guest appearance in Rai Dadialas’s team by Gogi Dhilllan produced three successive 6s in the first three balls he faced. Gogi’s play against NSCC team mates sparked an already highly competitive game. Rai Dadialas’s bunch making a swash buckling 176 runs in this 15 - 8 ball over game. Chasing 176 in the half light Ron Collins Mob would not be out done, Peter Cantelo, Shaun Miller and Chris Dunning, all retired making 30 runs (mandatory) Chris Dunning surpassing team mate Gogi’s Dhillan 6s out put. Ron Collins’ North shore team 178 beat Rai Dadiala over 40s team 176 with 2 balls to go.

Timberlea Athletic Park -- $1.7 million -- Posted Sunday, August 6 2006

The expanded Timberlea Athletic Park is Fort McMurray's showcase outdoor sports recreation area, serving the rapidly growing Regional Municipality of Wood Buffalo.

The park accommodates a wide range of organized sports, including softball, soccer, hockey and lacrosse.

The park also caters to the growing interest in cricket, reflecting the increasing multi-cultural nature of the community.

The development includes four dedicated soccer pitches, a slow pitch diamond, an outdoor hockey rink / lacrosse box, a storm pond for winter skating, a major event baseball diamond, and a trail network.

Also included in the project are passive recreation areas such as a play structure, picnic area and a sliding hill. A maintenance yard is included in this project to ensure the facility's longevity. A facility of this type will be capable of providing enough outdoor sport fields and recreation amenities to satisfy the needs of our growing community, allow for the expansion of the youth soccer program, and provide the opportunity to host provincial sporting events such as baseball and soccer tournaments.

Article sourced from:- http://2005.dev.previewmysite.com/grants/fortmcmurray.html

Western Canadian Club Cricket Championships -- Posted Sunday, August 6 2006

CLUB CHAMPIONSHIP: Former under-19 national team member and team captain Joseph Lovelace will lead Manitoba's Winnipeg Juniors Cricket Club in the Western Canadian Club Cricket Championships, this weekend at Assiniboine Park. Manitoba will play Alberta while Saskatchewan plays B.C., tomorrow at 11 a.m.

The winners play off Sunday at 11 a.m., with the Western Canadian champion moving on to play the Eastern Canadian champs for the national title next month.

Item sourced from:-
http://www.winnipegsun.com/Sports/Amateur/2006/08/04/1718374-sun.html

Cricket's a wicket game to enjoy -- Posted Sunday, August 6 2006

Gary Winter and his son Aiden sit in the shade of a maple tree at Rideau Hall, both dressed in Toronto Blue Jays paraphernalia.

The Winters, who live in Toronto but are on vacation in Ottawa, stare out at a field filled with men in white uniforms playing what looks a little like their favourite sport.

"I've never watched a game of cricket before," said Winter, 34. "But from what I can tell, it plays a lot like baseball."

Winter and his son stumbled upon the game while strolling through Rideau Hall.

OTTAWA TRADITION
Every weekend, cricket clubs from Ottawa play each other at the Rideau Hall cricket pitch -- a long-standing tradition that dates back more than 150 years.

But the Winters were in for a special treat yesterday, as the best players from Ottawa's seven clubs were playing Montreal's elite players.

"Whoa," Aiden, 6, exclaimed as the bowler -- or pitcher as they'd call him in baseball -- hurled the ball past the batter, toppling the wicket.

They're (the players) all wearing white. How can you tell who's on what team?" Gary Winter said.

Further down the field, a more dedicated fan takes in the game.

"I try to come down here most weekends to catch at least some of the games," said Thomas Hamilton, 61.
In his youth, Hamilton played cricket in England. Now, he lives near Rideau Hall.

"You never get to see matches on the television, so it's nice to be able to come down here and watch," he said, adding he doesn't always stay for the whole match.

"This game is six hours," said Malcolm Lovell, 53, who plays for the Christ Church Cathedral Club in Ottawa. "A test match can last five days."

Lovell has been playing cricket in the Ottawa area since 1979 and says the games have become more popular lately because they've been switched to limited overs where they last only six hours.

"Six hours," exclaimed Gary Winter. "That's crazy. Aiden loses attention after two innings of baseball."

Article sourced from:- http://www.ottawasun.com/News/OttawaAndRegion/2006/07/30/1710146-sun.html

Whoops!!! - Canada beaten soundly by Kenya -- Posted Saturday, August 5 2006

Any momentum Canada may have built up from the Intercontinental Cup victory over Kenya last weekend was lost today on the field at the Toronto Cricket, Skating, and Curling Club. In front of around 200 cricket fans, the Canadian top order failed to perform and were never close to threatening a reachable total posted by the Kenyans in the morning session.

Kenya won the toss and chose to bat on a pitch that was dry and quick (at a quick glance), a product of the warm weather recently here in Toronto. There was surely some tension in both the visitors' pavilion and in the hands of the opening batsmen, as they faced Henry Osinde and Umar Bhatti, the men that took them to 14-4 in the first 8.1 overs of their IC innings. However the match started positively for Kenya as Obuya and Patel took them to 24 for no loss after 5 overs. The innings continued at a resonable run rate which hovered around 4 runs per over for the majority of the morning. After 28 overs Kenya had reached 109-2. At 40 overs, 170-3. In the end, Kenya made some aggressive shots in the final ten overs and reached 237-9 after the 50 overs were completed. The total could have been a lot greater but for four catches made by Canadian fielders within a metre of the boundary rope.

Lunch was spent at the Pheasant & Firkin pub where I enjoyed wonderful bangers, beans, and mash and a pint of Creemore Lager (a fine local beer, for non-Ontarians).

The total of 237 was one which intrigued me throughout lunch. I expected it to be a very close chase, and to depend largely on the first few overs. I was correct, but not pleased with the outcome. Canada perhaps worried too much about the run rate needed, and not enough on batsmen required to reach the total. After 10 overs Canada had 44 runs.....but had lost three wickets. Several of the wickets fell on undisciplined shots, 2 line drives directly at midwicket which were caught and one (which I could have caught) lobbed gently to mid-off. There was also a free wicket given to Kenya when Qaiser Ali thought he was running one, but George Codrington remained in his crease. Two men at the same wicket is not a correct batting formation. This was the beginning of the end as the run rate went down as quick as the wickets. After 30 overs sitting at 110-8, it was all over but the crying. I will mention, however, George Codrington was by far the best batsman for Canada. He only put up 30-odd runs, but batted very well and gave Canada some semblance of a dream of an inkling of a notion of victory. The game finally ended at 129 all out after 37.4 overs. Canada was done, Kenya were jubilant, and I went home to cry.

It was a good morning for Canada, restricting the Kenyans to just 237, but it was a much worse afternoon as there was never a chance of victory. The biggest cheer of the day came as a sarcastic one when Canada passed 100 as a team. Not the century we wanted. Now we look forward to the match tomorrow. There is no precipitation expected to fall between now and tomorrow, so we can expect the pitch to remain dry. The forecast for tomorrow is once again, perfect. Sunny skies and a high temperature of 29C is expected in the fine city of Toronto. We will look for a better batting performance from Canada. Coupled with a similar fielding performance, the second ODI coudl have a very different result.

I will be there once again, providing the ONLY LIVE SCORES in the world (don't I feel special). Tomorrow I will bring further enhanced coverage, trying to give you the individual scores and how wickets fall as well. Since it is two hours since the match ended and there are still no scorecards posted, I will also bring a scoresheet with me and provide you with that as soon as I get home. Until then, thanks for watching.

Score Update
Kenya 237-9 (50 ov) Kamande 68, Tikolo 50,
Thuraisingam 4-35, Osinde 3-46)

Canada 129 all out (37.4 ov)
Kenya win by 108 runs.

Marterial sourced from:- http://www.canadacricket.blogspot.com

Canadian cricket history -- Posted Saturday, August 5 2006

The game of cricket was first played in Canada by British soldiers in Montreal, and was continued in Upper Canada in the town of York (now Toronto).

In 1825, George A. Barber arrived from England to teach at the Home District Grammar School. Considered the father of Canadian cricket, he was a founding member of the Toronto Cricket Club in 1827 and introduced the game into Upper Canada College in 1830.

On August 15, 1835, the earliest Canadian cricket match on record was played in Guelph between the Toronto Cricket Club and the Guelph Cricket Club. Guelph won by 10 wickets.

The first international cricket match between Canada and the United Stated was played in New York City in 1844. Montreal hosted the first international match in Canada in 1845. The first international match in Ontario was in 1854 between Canada and the United States.

Canada's first Prime Minister, Sir John A. MacDonald, and his cabinet, declared cricket the national sport of Canada in 1867.

In 1872 Toronto cricketer Ross Mckenzie threw a cricket ball 140 yards 9 inches to set a world record. The throw still stands as the second longest of all time.

On May 27, 1873, the first Canadian University match was played between the University of Toronto and Trinity College. U of T won the match by 6 runs.

Cricket also grew in western Canada. In 1864, the North West Cricket Club was formed in Winnipeg and in 1876, the famous Victoria Cricket Club was founded on the west coast. Teams also emerged in British Columbia and Alberta.

The first official tour by a Canadian team was captained by Dr. E.R. Ogden in 1887. Touring the British Isles, the team performed well, scoring many wins. In 1892, the Canadian Cricket Association was formed. Provincial Associations also formed: Ontario in 1880, Manitoba 1895, Quebec 1902, British Columbia 1922, Nova Scotia 1967, and New Brunswick 1980.

A major setback for Canadian cricket occurred with the outbreak of the Great War in 1914. The international series between Canada and the United Stated ceased in 1912 and was not played until 1963. There was not another major tour in Canada until the Australian tour 1932.

In 1936, under the captaincy of W.E.N. Bell, a Canadian side toured England and made sporting history by defeating Marylebone Cricket Club (MCC) by 76 runs. It was the first Canadian win over an English XI.

In 1963, when the Canada vs USA series resumed, Ray Nascimento set the Canadian individual batting record with 176 runs.

The best bowling performance by a Canadian belongs to C.A. Forbes who captured 10 wickets for 4 runs while playing for Trinity College against Upper Canada College in 1940.
In 1947 the Canadian cricket playing provinces met for the first time in a national championship. Ontario was victorious and has since captured a record 10 Bracht Trophy's.

Throughout the 1950's and 60's cricket tours regained popularity. Canada toured England in 1954 and teams from Pakistan, New Zealand, and the MCC came to Canada during these two decades.

In 1975, Eastern Canada defeated a touring Australian World Cup team on Toronto by five wickets. Batsman Franklyn Dennis emerged as the hero, scoring 57 not out, to lead the Canadian side to this historic victory.
In 1979 Canada gained a birth in the World Cup and established itself as a leading amateur cricket playing nation.

On November 5, 1989 the United Way Cricket Match was held in Toronto's SkyDome between the West Indies and the Rest of the World XI setting a North American attendance record at 40,570. The match also raised $550,000 for United Way of Greater Toronto.

As of 1989 there were 260 cricket clubs operating in 13 leagues, within 8 provinces, across Canada.
Taken from The Manitoba Cricketer - An Annual Publication of the Manitoba Cricket Association. (1994)

Artilce sourced from:- http://www.cricket.mb.ca/History.htm

Canadian Softball Cricket Association -- Posted Saturday, August 5 2006
The Canadian Softball Cricket Association has been in operation since the start of the new millennium.

The Canadian Softball Cricket Association was formed after a group of individuals got together and decided that playing softball cricket should be an inexpensive and fun sport.

These individuals decided that in order to keep costs down they must break away from the only softball cricket league that was monopolizing the game of cricket in Ontario. This league is not only for the present generation, but a league that is striving to keep our heritage in the game of cricket so that will be passed onto future generations.

Article sourced from:-
http://www.canadiansoftballcricket.com/

Etobicoke league offers reward for information about vandalism of pitches -- Posted Saturday, August 5 2006

Damaged Facilities - Be Part Of The Solution
Let Us Know What You Know.

My dear fellow cricketers and sportsmen. The executive board of the Etobicoke District Cricket League needs your help.

As you are aware, unscrupulous persons destroyed five (5) of your wickets. (2 @ Centennial Park, 2 @ Dixie & 407 and 1 @ Summerlea Park).

These are some of our prime facilities and the action of these perpetrators has caused scheduling nightmares for all of us. Many of you felt the effects more so than others and have expressed anger and frustration at having last minute changes to your team's schedule.

Here is your chance to prevent a reoccurrence of this crime, and get professional help for those responsible for this dastardly act, (they obviously need it, for no one, in full command of all their mental faculties, would willfully destroy facilities, placed there for their enjoyment) and play for free.

You read it right--- PLAY FREE--in 2007.

The E.D.C.L executive board has approved the motion stated below.

Any team, or person from a team, who identifies those responsible for the destruction of these cricket wickets or facilities, leading to an arrest/conviction, will receive a reward in lieu of the 2007 season fees.

It has been stated that if you give someone a fish, you feed them for the day, teach them to fish and you feed them for life.

In like manner, your hard earned fees will replace/repair the damages to these wickets for today; your help to bring those responsible to justice will ensure that those facilities are always there for your enjoyment.

Those who think they know are fools. Those who know and do not know that they know are the greater fools.

Which one are you? Do you think you know or do you know and unwilling to admit that you know? In every form
of life, satisfaction comes from success. Are you satisfied that you have successfully performed your duty to honour and protect that which you love? Partial ecstasy is better than none. Do your part. Help us, help you.

Article sourced from:- http://www.edcl.net/

Edmonton cricket history -- Posted Friday, August 4 2006

References to cricket in the 1880's editions of the Edmonton Bulletin

October 29 1881
Game of cricket yesterday afternoon near the Fort. Another game will be played on Monday next and in the evening a meeting will be held in McDougall's store to organize a club for the ensuing summer. The reason for organizing this fall is that the material may be procured to be ready as soon as spring opens.

November 5 1881
Another game of cricket was played on the ground near the Fort on Monday afternoon last, and in the evening a meeting was held in Villiers and Pearson's store, at which an athletic association was organized. All necessary material will be procured this winter and sports will commence with the early spring.

April 1st 1882
Members of the cricket club are requested to meet this (Saturday) evening at 7:30 o'clock in Villiers and Pearson's store.

May 13 1882
Game of cricket on Saturday afternoon last near the Fort

May 27 1882
On Monday notice had been posted announcing that a cricket match would take place on the race track at 10 a.m. and went on to say: After the cricket match, sides will be chosen and a pig hunt organised; the side killing the greatest number of pigs will be exempted from taxes until Edmonton is incorporated as a municipality. The minor sports will then follow. By order of Donald Ross, Honarable Secretary. God save the Queen."

The cricket match, however did not take place until the afternoon as ten o'clock was found to be too early and the ground chosen was on the flat below the fort. The ground was very smooth and the players were mostly somewhat inexperienced but neither fact lessened the fun in the least. J.A. Petrie and F.Tetu chose sides and two innings each were played, Petrie's party making 73 and Tetu's 63, leaving the former victors by a majority of ten. The highest scores at one innings on Petrie's side were fourteen made by T. Stuart and thirteen by J. McKay, and on Tetu's side eight made made by Tetu himself and two sixes made by Verey and Curran. Several on both sides made nothing at all, but in consideration of their friends the publication of their names is suppressed. The bowling was on the whole better than the batting, and a number of the players are prepared to give evidence as to the force with which the ball was propelled both from bat and hand. The game was viewed by about fifty spectators, and finished up about 5 o'clock in the afternoon.

Owing to various circumstances the pig hunt did not take place, partly because it would have been contrary to law, although perfectly in accord with justice, and because the greater part of the pigs were gathered together in the forenoon and taken accross the river where they would be out of harm's way as well as out of the way of harming other people.

Saturday, June 3 1882
The Edmonton Cricket Club, wishing to contribute their share of sport for Dominion Day, challenge any eleven from Fort Saskatchewan or any other place in friendly contest for the championship of the N.W. Territories.

Saturday, June 10 1882
The Fort Saskatchewan boys say that the reason they cannot accept the challenge of the Edmonton Cricket Club is that they have been unable to practise as the Edmonton Club has their bats and wickets borrowed.

EDITOR, EDMONTON JOURNAL.

Sir:, - We, the cricket community of Fort Saskatchewan, consider the challenge of the Edmonton Cricket Club unkind. It is directly pointed at Fort Saskatchewan, when they must be aware that we are unable to practise for reasons which good taste forbids me to mention. As, however, the challenge includes the whole of the N.W.T. (why not the whole world), probably an aspiring club from Shoal Lake, or Fort McLeod may respond or possibly the Australian Eleven might be tempted.

In any case, we would not accept their challenge as our members are as yet few, and we could ill afford the loss of life which must inevitably ensue from a collision with the redoubtable E.C.C. if reports of previous matches and practice games be true.

Yours respectfully,

CRICKET

Material transcribed by JH.

The Junior Section at Inverhaugh -- Posted Friday, August 4 2006

The Junior section has been active at Inverhaugh for the last 5 years, from the age of 11 through to 19. Thanks to the efforts of Ravi Sathasivam, as well as Clive Porter, Bart Singh and Roy Singh, the Juniors have improved their fielding and general crickt skills, with coaching clinics being very popular with the squad.

As part of efforts by the club to improve facilities for the Junior Team, the inverhaugh Cricket Academy was incorporated in 2004. The Academy is a body to raise funds and provide equipment and facilities specifically for the Junior section, and has made an application to the Trillium Fund to improve pracrice facilities, which was unfortunately rejected in 2005.

The Juniors have made their own efforts to continue training by rebnting school gymnasiums in Guelph, during the winter. This training has allowed basic skills to be practiced, and new members to be brought into the team over the Winter months. I am pleased to say that this effort has been run by the Juniors themselves, which shows a high level of dedication and application. It has also taught them that there is a lot of administration and negotian needed in the running of a cricket team.

One challenge with the Junior section has been transportation to practices. Although some parents are prepared to make the effort and transport as many as possible, more drivers are needed. As a consequence of this we instigated a seperate Junior practice at Margaret Greene Park in Guelph. Margaret Greene Park in Guelph is the home of the Guelph Cricket club. The facility is owned by the City of Guelph, and as it is part of a public park there is no restiction on use by our Junior squad. The practices in Summer 2005 were held at Margaret Greene on Sunday afternoons, except for those falling a week before a Junior match, where Bart and Jan kindly allowed us to practice at Inverhaugh. This pattern of practices will be continued again this year (2006).

The hunt for new recruits continues, with our youngest having been gathered last year from a campaign at some of the Public Shcools in Guelph. The initial interest was high. Although we do have the core of a future team (7 members under 16), we need to maintain our search for new members.

If Anyone knows of youth who are interested, the best way to get in touch is through the webite www.inverhaugh.com or at e-mail to enquiries@inverhaugh.com.

A special thanbks to my predecessor, Hector Latchmansingh, who was instrumental in getting the juniot program going.

John Metcalf, Junior Manager, Inverhaugh CC

SCA President gets tough with clubs littering parks -- Posted Friday, August 4 2006

To All Clubs of the Scarborough Cricket Association (SCA)

I am hereby informing you about the two weeks suspension of SCA’s permit to play at Terry Fox Ground. This also is of concern to all cricket grounds.

Little or no respect for the property of the Parks and Recreation cricket grounds has caused a suspension of the permit at Terry Fox ground for the last two weeks.

On two separate occasions club members were accused of urinating on the field in the view of the public, although there was a Port-o-let nearby. The SCA was notified by telephone and by letter about the incidents and the SCA stand to loose the permit permanently if this continues.

I am hereby notifying the following clubs who played at Terry Fox ground when the infractions occurred:
CNCC and Cortec – May 27th, 2006 and Tadkeshwar and Teckie II – June 17th, 2006, that they are on probation for the rest of the season. If these clubs violate the probation they will be suspended indefinitely.

Gentlemen, please keep the cricket ground clean by picking up any garbage and water bottles used throughout the game. If there is a mess when you arrive for your game, please notify any SCA executive as soon as possible so that this information will be passed on to the Parks and Recreation authorities. Please take pride of the cricket fields.

There are many sports groups out there who are just waiting for us to loose these grounds so they can have them for their own use. Do not let us loose these grounds which we have been enjoying for the past 25 years.

Thank you all for your co-operation.

Bisham Singh
President, Scarborough Cricket Association

cc.: All executives
cc.: Cheryl Place
Parks & Recreation Department, City of Toronto

A match report from the Hamilton and District League -- Posted Thursday, August 3 2006
St. Catharines: Crescent Cricket Club, a returning team to Hamilton & District league, was bowled out by St. Catharines for only 94 runs last Saturday.

Crescent, after winning the toss surprisingly elected to bat first on a pitch full of moisture from the overnight rain. As it was obvious, the pitch favored St. Catharines attack bowlers. Suleman Ali with 5 wickets and Ash Jhanji with 3, literally destroyed the batting order of Crescent in only 27 overs for a low total of 94 runs on the board. Humayun Ikram and Bilal Akhtar also bowled well to keep Crescent batsmen on their tows.

In reply St. Catharines reached the desired total in 24 overs. Varna Peiris and Ash Jhanji were the major contributors for 29 and 26 respectively. St. Catharines also suffered a lower order batting collapse when 4 of its batsmen could not make into double figures. Javed Mian, hitting the winning shot of the inning, made sure that St. Catharines had a decisive win over Crescent with 3 wickets still in hand. Shoaib Mohammed bowled well for Crescent and took 5 wickets in his spell of 10 overs.

On Sunday, St. Catharines hosted Mississauga Ramblers at Ridley. After winning the toss St. Catharines opened the batting with Grupreet Singh and Tan Qureshi. The opening pair formed a solid base with 49 runs on board in the first seven over. After Singh being out with his superb knock, Protul Shrikant joined Qureshi. In the 2nd wicket partnership they brought the St. Catharines score to 102 when Qureshi was caught at the mid on while Shrikant made 33 valuable runs. Ash Jhanji, maintaining his form as a key batsman, contributed 29 while Nasir Mahmood scored 31.

When it appeared that the stage was set by the top order for a total of 250+ runs, St. Catharines suffered another middle and lower order collapse and were all out for a total of 198 runs.

In reply Mississauga played well and planned their batting order for achievable target in 50 allotted overs. However Grupreet Singh and Ash Jhanji bowled well to keep them restrained. At one point Ramblers were very much within their reach with 104 for loss of only 2 wickets. However quick bowling changes made by the skipper Qureshi kept putting pressure on Ramblers.

St.Catharines key bowlers Imran Aslam, Bilal Akhtar, Varun Seth, Grupreet Singh and Ash Jhanji were used appropriately to attack the main Ramblers batsmen which changed everything. The Ramblers were finally all out for 164.

With these 2 wins, St. Catharines is now at the 2nd spot in the H&D league standing. Cambridge CCC remains on the top with no loss this season.

St. Catharines will host Brantford this Sunday Aug 6th at Ridley

John Ross Robertson Tournament (Western) August 5-6, 2006: -- Posted Thursday, August 3 2006

The John Ross Robertson (JRR) Western Canada Club Champions Tournament, hosted by the MCA will be held on the August long weekend at Assiniboine Park in Winnipeg.

The John Ross Robertson Trophy was donated by the late John Ross Robertson of Toronto in 1911, to be competed for by amateur cricket clubs in Canada, and to be emblematic of the Club Cricket Championship of Canada.

Winnipeg Juniors Cricket Club will compete against Meralomas C.C of BC, Gujarat C.C of Alberta and the Provincial Champs from Saskatchewan. The winner will face the winner of the Eastern JRR, Centurions C.C of Toronto.

August 5th: Meralomas vs WJCC and Gujarat vs Sask.

August 6th: Final and Consolation Match.

Victoria International Six a Side August 4-12, 2006 -- Posted Thursday, August 3 2006

Victoria, the capital city of British Columbia on Canada's Pacific coast, is situated on the southern tip of Vancouver Island and is proud of its title as the "City of Gardens" and its reputation as the amateur sports capital of Canada.

David Billingham and his cast of merry followers are once again preparing to host the world in beautiful Victoria, BC, Canada for the 11th edition of this renowned cricket and social festival.

VISAS 2006 promises to follow on the success of the previous biennial VISAS festivals held since 1986. We believe the formula is simple: fast exciting cricket, a beautiful city, teams from around the world, a well-stocked refreshment tent, and a hardworking and prepared group of hosts virtually guarantees you'll have the time of your life.

Cricket has a long and rich history in Victoria, and has been a favoured destination for many touring sides. We have hosted teams from all over the world, most notably the Australians, Kent CCC twice, and the MCC, which made its tenth visit in September 2005. Victoria has also hosted many club sides, including the Golden Oldies Tournament in 1990. Both the city and broader Vancouver Island offer numerous attractions and activities suited for cricketers and non-playing partners alike, making it a first-class travel destination.

A letterr from the Ajax Cricket Club coach -- Posted Thursday, August 3 2006

Most cricket Critics around the world are stating that the Quality of Cricket is going down, it lacks quality. The Overall Health and the aura of cricket is declining, Are we creating a “full cricketer” in our juniors?

This could be because all divisions and Leagues are shifting towards one-dayers...Is this healthy, particularly at the junior levels. Undoubtedly Test Cricket is the soul of cricket but the One-day cricket is the breadwinner.

Let’s take the slam-bang cricketer out of our juniors!!

I have to agree in some aspects, the ODI world has exciting structured cricket players to be selective, Crowd appealing or face the fact of the Borring long drawn game of cricket,,But but...

For example... Negative bowling, on the leg side, the wide rule, Inner circle and so on,
what is this doing to the game of cricket... ???????

Yes Test cricket provides for all these limitations, to make the game playable in a circular or oval field, or will we be calling the cricket field a Cricket Diamond or Square soon !!!

So as Cricket coaches, we teach the kids how to play on the OFF & ON, Bowl on the OFF and ON.

But when we come to the game, anything down the leg is pretty redundant! Its a wide, free 1 run, let it go..

A spinner can’t really set his/her field because of the first 15 overs restriction, so what are we doing to the future of Spinners. The Leg spinner will be penalised depending on where they pitch the ball.

Batsman have forgotton how to play a ball on the leg side.

Games are won on the last bowl, even when the batsman is out stumped or caught. Because the ball was bowled wide/negative before caught or stumped.

So the questions are?
1 -Do we teach our Kids to be comprehensive, fully skilled, complete cricketers?
2- Learn to play all the strokes.
3 - Bowl all the potential balls, Leg side - off side?

And the next big question when playing Junior games, should the Rules allow Leg side bowling.
Do we re-bowl the Balls called Wides!! The sooner the better, or we will have the next generation of cricketers, playing in a diammond.

We are a fast growing and thriving cricket nation (Canada)
We should seriously look into this, particularly in the junior divisions !!!

Thanks & regards

Philip Navaratne (Cricket Coach – Ajax CC)

T&DCA U19 Wins Inaugural Tourney -- Posted Thursday, August 3 2006

T&DCA U19 youths defeated Etobicoke & District Cricket League U19 team to win the Ontario Cricket Association Inaugural Junior Championship finals at Maple Leaf Cricket Club grounds on Saturday July 29.

T&DCA won the toss and elected to bat scoring 222 for 6 off 45 overs. 17-year-old opener Chris Monohar scored a brilliant 62 with 8 boundaries, Captain Riyazkhan Pathan 36 and bowled 3 for 10 off 8 overs and Abershek Krishnamoorthy hit a-smashing 72 not out. Nineteen-year-old Tony Mahabir from EDCL made it a very interesting game with his entertaining knock of 94 with five 6's and ten 4's putting on 122 run 8th wicket partnership with Vinood Shah, who was runout for 33 in the 37th over. A. Lama took 3 wickets. EDCL were all out for 187 in 38.2 overs.

President of T&DCA Austin Ward, Secretary of OCA Mrs. Petra Pompey, President of EDCL Praim Persaud and Sherriff Boodhoo, T&DCA Junior Coordinator all participated in the trophy and medals presentation to both teams and the umpires after the game. The medals were generously donated by Qasras Sports. Umpires were Errol Griffith and Gwynne Giles and Ken Bhagaloo, scorer.

The T&DCA team was coached by Larry Gomes, ex-Trinidad and West Indies Test player and managed by Sherriff Boodhoo, while EDCL was coached by Mr Khan from Khan Sports and Praim Persaud, Manager

A letter from a club coach -- Posted Wednesday, August 2 2006

Most cricket Critics around the world are stating that the Quality of Cricket is going down, it lacks quality. The Overall Health and the aura of cricket is declining, Are we creating a “full cricketer” in our juniors?

This could be because all divisions and Leagues are shifting towards one-dayers...Is this healthy, particularly at the junior levels. Undoubtedly Test Cricket is the soul of cricket but the One-day cricket is the breadwinner.

Let’s take the slam-bang cricketer out of our juniors!!

I have to agree in some aspects, that the ODI world has exciting structured cricket players to be selective, crowd appealing or face the fact of the Borring long drawn game of cricket,,But but.

For example... Negative bowling, on the leg side, the wide rule, Inner circle and so on,
what is this doing to the game of cricket... ???????

Yes Test cricket provides for all these limitations, to make the game playable in a circular or oval field, or will we be calling the cricket field a Cricket Diamond or Square soon !!!

So as Cricket coaches, we teach the kids how to play on the OFF & ON, Bowl on the OFF and ON.

But when we come to the game, anything down the leg is pretty redundant!
Its a wide, free 1 run, let it go..

A spinner can’t really set his/her field because of the first 15 overs restriction, so what are we doing to the future of Spinners,

Leg spinner will be penalised depending on where they pitch the ball.

Batsman have forgotton how to play a ball on the leg side.

Games are won on the last bowl, even when the batsman is out stumped or caught. Because the ball was bowled wide/negative before caught or stumped.

So the question are?
1 -Do we teach our Kids to be comprehensive, fully skilled, complete cricketers?
2- Learn to play all the strokes.
3 - Bowl all the potential balls, Leg side off side?

And the next big question when playing Junior games, should the Rules allow:-
Leg side bowling.
Do we re-bowl the Balls called Wides!! The sooner the better, or we will have the next generation of cricketers, playing in a diammond.

We are a fast growing and thriving cricket nation (Canada)
We should seriously look into this, particularly in the junior divisions !!!

Thanks & regards

Philip Navaratne (Cricket Coach – Ajax CC)

A letter from a new cricket fan -- Posted Wednesday, August 2 2006

I spent the last four days, putting aside all the nagging jobs that were supposed to be undertaken, watching the lads play their hearts out in some very adverse conditions. I didn't see anyone, from either side, not giving it their all for the good of the game and above all the fans.

This morning, for a laugh, I read all the backdated forums on Canadacricket.com, and all the armchair critics expounding on the choices (or lack of) that put together the game. All I know is that I witnessed some great sport and sportsmanship alike, on the ground at King City.

I think everyone from the hard working grounds crew, scorekeepers, official and not so official media, the players, both coaches, umpires, the lady that made great roti and the staff that served beer with a smile, I shall never forget my first "World Class" cricket match. Good luck to everyone involved and thank you very much. I can hardly wait, bring on Bermuda.
Mark Warburton "Zoom" cricket bats.

Mark is the only cricket bat maker in North America. He can be reached at:- markw@aci.on.ca. (JH).

Canada put recent poor form behind them -- Posted Wednesday, August 2 2006
Canada put recent poor form behind them with a close-fought 25-run with over Kenya on the last day of their Intercontinental Cup clash at Maple Leaf CC in Ontario. Umar Bhatti, who took 6 for 56, was the star for the Canadians on a day which, like the whole game itself, ebbed and flowed throughout.

Kenya resume on 45 for 2 chasing a target of 291, and much, it seemed, depended on the veteran Steve Tikolo. He appeared set for a big score when, shortly after bring up his fifty, he was bowled by John Davison, and when Tony Suji followed soon after, Kenya were 114 for 4 and struggling.

Again Kenya rallied, led by Hitesh Modi and Collins Obuya, the pair adding 59 for the fifth wicket; again Canada rallied, Puvendran Ravishankar dismissing Modi and the first-innings hero Tanmay Mishra to leave Kenya on 189 for 6.

But Obuya, who has had such a wretched time since being one of the heroes of Kenya's 2003 World Cup campaign, kept battling. He found some support from Thomas Odoyo, but once he had fallen to Bhatti, Obuya was on his own and the tail failed to provide enough support.

With 25 needed and tension mounting - Andy Pick, Canada's coach was pacing round begging for the last wicket, before settling nervously on a seat near the sightscreen - Bhatti struck to have Obuya well caught at slip by Geoff Barnett for 89. It was a fitting combination that ended the match as the pair shared the Man-of-the-Match award - Bhatti for his bowling today and his match figures of 10 for 138, Barnett for his hundred yesterday.

Story from:-
http://content-usa.cricinfo.com/icc-cont/content/story/255374.html

Compehensive scorecard of match between Canada and Kenya -- Posted Wednesday, August 2 2006

Canada 1st innings
R M B 4s 6s SR
JM Davison c Tikolo b Ongondo 10 16 17 2 0 58.82
GEF Barnett c Tikolo b Odoyo 12 55 35 1 0 34.28
SP Heaney c Otieno b Ongondo 2 15 10 0 0 20.00
A Bagai lbw b Odhiambo 21 50 33 5 0 63.63
PB Dassanayake c & b Odoyo 26 73 52 0 0 50.00
HS Dhillon c Tikolo b Odhiambo 2 23 14 0 0 14.28
Qaiser Ali not out 91 166 160 13 0 56.87
DES Maxwell c Otieno b Ongondo 3 14 10 0 0 30.00
U Bhatti c Otieno b Tikolo 13 45 33 2 0 39.39
H Osinde c Otieno b Ongondo 13 25 22 1 0 59.09
P Ravishankar c Ongondo b Varaiya 13 96 73 2 0 17.80

Extras (b 7, w 4, nb 18) 29

Total (all out; 73.3 overs) 235

Fall of wickets1-16 (Davison), 2-21 (Heaney), 3-38 (Barnett), 4-60 (Bagai), 5-78 (Dhillon), 6-95 (Dassanayake), 7-102 (Maxwell), 8-147 (Bhatti), 9-186 (Osinde), 10-235 (Ravishankar)

Bowling O M R W Econ
TM Odoyo 16 1 49 2 3.06 (11nb, 2w)
PJ Ongondo 19 3 49 4 2.57 (1w)
N Odhiambo 13 0 60 2 4.61 (5nb, 2w)
AO Suji 7 1 14 0 2.00 (2nb)
HA Varaiya 5.3 1 28 1 5.09
SO Tikolo 13 2 28 1 2.15

Kenya 1st innings R M B 4s 6s SR

KO Otieno c Davison b Osinde 0 12 12 0 0 0.00
BJ Patel c Davison b Bhatti 0 15 10 0 0 0.00
AO Suji b Osinde 4 12 8 1 0 50.00
SO Tikolo c Dhillon b Bhatti 6 9 10 1 0 60.00
HS Modi c Heaney b Ravishankar 26 104 82 4 0 31.70
CO Obuya c Barnett b Osinde 43 137 108 6 0 39.81
T Mishra not out 83 225 168 10 1 49.40
TM Odoyo c Dassanayake b Bhatti 3 5 5 0 0 60.00
N Odhiambo c Barnett b Osinde 38 90 62 4 0 61.29
PJ Ongondo c Dassanayake bMaxwell 6 36 36 1 0 16.66
HA Varaiya c Dassanayake b Bhatti 8 48 27 1 0 29.62

Extras (b 4, lb 2, w 5, nb 3) 14

Total (all out; 87.2 overs) 231

Fall of wickets1-0 (Otieno), 2-0 (Patel), 3-10 (Tikolo), 4-14 (Suji), 5-65 (Modi), 6-98 (Obuya), 7-101 (Odoyo), 8-167 (Odhiambo), 9-190 (Ongondo), 10-231 (Varaiya)

Bowling O M R W Econ
H Osinde 26 13 51 4 1.96 (2w)
U Bhatti 23.2 6 82 4 3.51 (1nb)
DES Maxwell 6 2 10 1 1.66 (1nb)
P Ravishankar18 4 40 1 2.22
JM Davison 12 4 33 0 2.75
Qaiser Ali 2 0 9 0 4.50 (1nb, 1w)

Canada 2nd innings R M B 4s 6s SR
GEF Barnett b Odhiambo 136 282 212 18 3 64.15
JM Davison c Varaiya b Odoyo 22 51 37 3 1 59.45
U Bhatti c Tikolo b Ongondo 6 46 37 0 0 16.21
SP Heaney c Suji b Varaiya 12 83 45 2 0 26.66
A Bagai lbw b Odhiambo 57 183 86 9 0 66.27
PB Dassanayake c Otieno b Odhiambo
0 3 3 0 0 0.00
HS Dhillon c Otieno b Odhiambo 6 56 23 1 0 26.08
Qaiser Ali b Varaiya 4 30 23 0 0 17.39
DES Maxwell lbw b Varaiya 4 25 19 0 0 21.05
H Osinde b Odhiambo 1 15 10 0 0 10.00
P Ravishankar not out 0 5 1 0 0 0.00

Extras (b 6, lb 14, nb 18) 38

Total (all out; 79.5 overs) 286

Fall of wickets1-46 (Davison), 2-62 (Bhatti), 3-148 (Heaney), 4-260 (Barnett), 5-260 (Dassanayake), 6-276 (Bagai), 7-277 (Dhillon), 8-283 (Qaiser Ali), 9-286 (Maxwell), 10-286 (Osinde)

Bowling O M R W Econ
TM Odoyo 22 5 71 1 3.22 (11nb)
PJ Ongondo 17 6 48 1 2.82
N Odhiambo 15.5 4 54 5 3.41 (4nb)
AO Suji 3 0 18 0 6.00 (2nb)
SO Tikolo 10 2 48 0 4.80 (1nb)
HA Varaiya 12 3 27 3 2.25

Kenya 2nd innings (target: 291 runs)

R M B 4s 6s SR
KO Otieno c Maxwell b Bhatti 0 14 10 0 0 0.00
BJ Patel c Bagai b Bhatti 9 21 18 1 0 50.00
AO Suji c Qaiser Ali b Ravishankar 33 161 123 5 0 26.82
SO Tikolo b Davison 50 115 79 10 0 63.29
HS Modi c & b Ravishankar 41 80 74 5 0 55.40
CO Obuya c Barnett b Bhatti 89 236 187 11 0 47.59
T Mishra c Davison b Ravishankar 8 43 40 1 0 20.00
TM Odoyo c Barnett b Bhatti 21 45 40 4 0 52.50
N Odhiambo c Bagai b Bhatti 2 3 4 0 0 50.00
PJ Ongondo c Bagai b Bhatti 0 39 30 0 0 0.00
HA Varaiya not out 5 40 18 0 0 27.77

Extras (lb 2, w 1, nb 4) 7

Total (all out; 103.1 overs) 265

Fall of wickets1-8 (Otieno), 2-21 (Patel), 3-96 (Tikolo), 4-114 (Suji), 5-173 (Modi), 6-189 (Mishra), 7-228 (Odoyo), 8-230 (Odhiambo), 9-247 (Ongondo), 10-265 (Obuya)

Bowling O M R W Econ
H Osinde 19 6 44 0 2.31 (1w)
U Bhatti 24.1 7 65 6 2.68 (2nb)
JM Davison 30 7 76 1 2.53 (1nb)
P Ravishankar 25 5 66 3 2.64
DES Maxwell 5 2 12 0 2.40 (1nb)

Toss Canada, who chose to bat first
Points Canada 20, Kenya 0

First-class debuts SP Heaney and P Ravishankar (Canada); N Odhiambo and HA Varaiya (Kenya)

Players of the match GEF Barnett (Canada) and U Bhatti (Canada)

Umpires R Dill (Bermuda) and C Young (Cayman Islands)

Close of play
29 Jul day 1 - Kenya 1st innings 14/4 (HS Modi 4*, 8.1 ov)

30 Jul day 2 - Canada 2nd innings 52/1 (GEF Barnett 20*, U Bhatti 2*, 14 ov)

31 Jul day 3 - Kenya 2nd innings 45/2 (AO Suji 13*, SO Tikolo 22*, 22 ov)

1 Aug day 4 - Kenya 2nd innings 265 (103.1 ov) - end of match

Match notes

Reserve umpire: A Brijcoomar
12th Men: JK Kamande (Kenya) and Sunil Dhaniram (Canada)
Scorers: Petra Pompey and Lisa Boston

Day 1
Time lost to bad light 21 minutes, play stopped at 5.37 pm

HOT CANADIAN WIN FEATURED ON TORONTO'S CITY TV -- Posted Wednesday, August 2 2006

Canada's International Cricket Council (ICC) Intercontinental Cup win over Kenya (August 1st) was featured on Toronto's City TV in a feature by Kathryn Humphries. The lead-in noted how Canada's soccer team were not in the World Cup but told viewers to wait for March 2007 when Canada's cricket team will be in the West Indies, more specifically, St Lucia, for the Cricket World Cup.

Young Dillon Maxwell, who plays cricket at the Under-13 level in Toronto, was featured working the scoreboard. He told City TV that his father was playing in the match. In fact, Don Maxwell was bowling from the north end at the time of the interview.

Canada's Team Manager, Mike Henry, was featured talking about the players being amateurs and having to get time off work in the lead-up to the World Cup. Mike himself fits in his National Team duties around his work.

In the lead-up to the match with Kenya, Maxwell senior and Pubbudu Dassanayake, worked night shifts before turning out at Toronto's Ross Lord Park. Actually, Dillon came along as well to support the team's preparations.

Those on the inside of these training preparations get a different perspective on the effort that the players and unpaid support staff put into the game. There might almost be some competition for who sleeps the least.

The City TV angle also noted the current heatwave in the Toronto area. Oddly enough, the coach and players in the Canadian squad just keep working as normal. None of the players seem to being saying anything about the hear; some of the crowd have talked about it being hot. There was a nice cross-breeze at the Maple Leaf CC on the final day.

Kenyan skipper, Steve Tikolo, was featured saying that the weather made the team feel at home. He also liked the ground and the friendliness of the people his side have met in Canada.

Cricket fans can look forward to more action this weekend as Canada and Kenya meet at the Toronto Cricket, Skating and Curling Club (Wilson Avenue & Avenue Road). Non-cricket fans are most welcome to join our happy and multi-cultural set of players and supporters.

CTV took in part of the first day's play, and some journalists with no previous cricket experience attended on different days. Asian Television Network's (ATN's) Kenty Khan provided most of the announcements for the match.

Copies of the ICC's "This is cricket" (a basic guide to the game) and 'Cricket without Boundaries' were distributed to some of the crowd, as were copies of the Canadian Cricket Association's 'Cricket in Canada'. Distribution of these items arose from some cricket photographic and memorablia exhibitions in the Toronto area earlier this year.

Some brochures and maps for Antigua and Barbuda (the Toronto Consulate sponsored the original exhibition and cricket public forum) and St Lucia (where Canada is to meet Kenya, England and New Zealand - as mentioned by City TV) have also been distributed through some exhibitions, and the match with Kenya. However, stocks are now low and might not be replenished for this weekend.

Flyers for the Canadian cricket film 'Cricket and the Meaning of Life', which is now available from the National Film Board. It features cricket in Canada, heritage backgrounds from India and the West Indies, and the Toronto Cricket Academy's (TCA) tour of Trinidad in 2004. Interestingly, the TCA just completed two weeks in Barbados, playing in the 20th Sir Garfield Sobers International Schools Cricket Tournament.

The National Canadian squad has diverse backgrounds, although at present none originate from Japan. But, two people from that country, currently residing in the Toronto area, attended last Saturday. They even met and spoke with the ICC Development - America's Manager, Mr. Martin Vieira.

Pockets of fans came in from Montreal and Parry Sound during the weekend. The latter visitors saw Sunday's article in 'The Toronto Star'.

TV interest in Canada's efforts is starting to rise and it would be nice for the team to gain the broader level of support that their play merits.

Many thanks go to City TV, and CTV, for their interest.

Eddie Norfolk.

Editorial comment.
Eddie has to be given credit for his work with the TV media, and the segment of the press, which serves Canada's multicultural cricket fans. (JH)

Canada win great game with Kenya -- Posted Wednesday, August 2 2006

Canada 235 (Qaiser Ali 91 not out, Peter Ondongo 4-49) and 286 (Geoff Barnett 136, Ashish Bagai 57, Niemiah Odhiambo 5-54)

Kenya 231 (T. Mishra 83 not out, Henry Osinde 4-51, Umar Bhatti 4-82) and 265 (Collins Obuya 89, Steve Tikolo 50, Umar Bhatti 6-56)

Canada won the first 4-day cricket match staged in this country by 25 runs against Kenya, the highest ranking ICC associate country. The final day continued to see the ‘ebb and flow’ mentioned by Canada’s coach Andy Pick, the previous day. Umar Bhatti, who took 6 wickets for 56 runs, and Pavendram Ravishankar (Ravi), 3 for 63, were the bowling stars for Canada on the final day.

Bhatti and Barnett, who scored 136 runs in Canada’s second innings, were named joint men-of-the-match. Pick found it “quite appropriate’ that the two combined for the final dismissal of the match; a fine slip catch by Barnett off Bhatti’s bowling. That marked the end of Collins Obuya for 89. A major innings that gave his side a chance of victory. Kenyan coach Roger Harper paid tribute to Obuya, who also scored 43 in the first innings.

Batti took 10 wickets for 138 in this match, a noteable achievement.

One of the interesting aspects of cricket in 4-day games is that bowlers have to keep going for long spells that on some days give little reward. Captain John Davison and pace-bowler Henry Osinde put in a lot of overs for their side. Osinde was disappointed not to take a wicket. Davison took one wicket but it was a vital one. He bowled opposing captain and batting danger-man Steve Tikolo for 50.

The quality of fielding and catching, especially close catching impressed many spectators, and also Pick. Bhatti said ‘the guys showed a lot of character……the game showed how far we have come since Trinidad’ (where Canada played two one-day internationals in May – their first matches of the season).

The outfield and pitch came through this inaugural trial with flying colours. It was great to see the ball going quickly to the boundary on a Toronto-area outfield. This has set a standard to which Canadian cricket should strive in order to support the development and growth of the game.

Ravishankar, a slow left arm bowler, had a pocket of success with the dismissals of three leading batsmen, but the final acts came down to Canada taking the second new ball. Bhatti and Osinde bowled with purpose and it made for a great finale awaiting the final snick to the close-catching cordon. Andy Pick paced around begging for the last wicket, before settling down on a seat near the sightscreen. It was a major moment for him – his first win since coming here in April - and the team.

In cricket, particularly at this level, you find the players, coaches and managers will move around the outside of the boundary to watch the play. They tend to be very friendly people who embody the spirit of the game.

Canada and Kenya revert to the one-day (50 over) version of the game this weekend with matches at the Toronto Cricket Club on both Saturday and Sunday.

(Eddie Norfolk)

Current score at lunch on the fourth day -- Posted Tuesday, August 1 2006

Kenya 143 for 4 wickets

3rd day report

All eyes on Tikolo on the 3rd day - Canada v Kenya.
Kenya 231 and 45 for 2 need another 246 runs to beat Canada 235 and 286 (Barnett 136, Bagai 57, Odhiambo 5-45, Varaiya 3-27)

Steve Tikolo, who has dominated Kenyan cricket for more than a decade, will be the key figure on the final day of Kenya's Intercontinental Cup tie with Canada at Maple Leaf Cricket Club. At the close of the third day, Kenya were 45 for 2 in pursuit of 291. Crucially, Tikolo is still at the crease.

After two days which had ended with the side's all square, it was Geoff Barnett's 136 which gave Canada the edge under sunny skies and in humid conditions. His innings included three mighty drives for six and a number of flowing strokes around the ground. He had featured in an opening stand of 46 with skipper John Davison at the end of day 2. He then was involved in stands of 86 with Stewart Heaney, who made 12, for the third wicket and 112 for the fourth wicket with wicketkeeper Ashish Bagai, who played well for his 57 for the fourth wicket with wicketkeeper Ashish Bagai, who played well for his 57.
Sadly, from a Canadian perspective, the latter batsmen failed to capitalise on these major stands, and the score went from a dominant 260 for 3 to 286 all out. Roger Harper, Kenya's coach, paid tribute to Nehemiah Odhiambo who spearheaded the Kenyan fightback. Andy Pick, Canada's coach, pointed to the "ebb and flow of this game".
Barnett, who has first-class experience in New Zealand, said he "had hoped to bat all day. I was probably disappointed to be out." Pick agreed that Barnett had played "beautifully" adding that the game had been a good adverisement for Associate-Level cricket.

Kenya lost two early wickets to pace bowler Umar Bhatti. There was a confident appeal for a stumping against Tikolo off the bowling of John Davison, but this was turned down.
The final day's play begins at 10.30am at the Maple Leaf CC. The ground has been very nicely prepared for this event. Coach Andy Pick noted that, so far, "there is movement when the ball is new but nothing once the ball loses it's shine."

It will be interesting to see if the ball starts to turn on the last day or if Tikolo can produce a masterful innings.

Report source from:- http://content-usa.cricinfo.com/icc-cont/content/story/255251.html

Canada v Kenya, Maple Leaf CC, 3rd day -- Posted Tuesday, August 1 2006
Current score at lunch Kenya 143 four 4 wickets

All eyes on Tikolo

Kenya 231 and 45 for 2 need another 246 runs to beat Canada 235 and 286 (Barnett 136, Bagai 57, Odhiambo 5-45, Varaiya 3-27)

Geoff Barnett hits out on his way to 136

Steve Tikolo, who has dominated Kenyan cricket for more than a decade, will be the key figure on the final day of Kenya's Intercontinental Cup tie with Canada at Maple Leaf Cricket Club. At the close of the third day, Kenya were 45 for 2 in pursuit of 291. Crucially, Tikolo is still at the crease.

After two days which had ended with the side's all square, it was Geoff Barnett's 136 which gave Canada the edge under sunny skies and in humid conditions. His innings included three mighty drives for six and a number of flowing strokes around the ground. He had featured in an opening stand of 46 with skipper John Davison at the end of day 2. He then was involved in stands of 86 with Stewart Heaney, who made 12, for the third wicket and 112 for the fourth wicket with wicketkeeper Ashish Bagai, who played well for his 57.

Sadly, from a Canadian perspective, the latter batsmen failed to capitalise on these major stands, and the score went from a dominant 260 for 3 to 286 all out. Roger Harper, Kenya's coach, paid tribute to Nehemiah Odhiambo who spearheaded the Kenyan fightback. Andy Pick, Canada's coach, pointed to the "ebb and flow of this game".

Barnett, who has first-class experience in New Zealand, said he "had hoped to bat all day. I was probably disappointed to be out." Pick agreed that Barnett had played "beautifully" adding that the game had been a good adverisement for Associate-Level cricket.

Kenya lost two early wickets to pace bowler Umar Bhatti. There was a confident appeal for a stumping against Tikolo off the bowling of John Davison, but this was turned down.

The final day's play begins at 10.30am at the Maple Leaf CC. The ground has been very nicely prepared for this event. Coach Andy Pick noted that, so far, "there is movement when the ball is new but nothing once the ball loses it's shine."

It will be interesting to see if the ball starts to turn on the last day or if Tikolo can produce a masterful innings.

ONTARIO SENIOR CHAMPIONSHIPS FINALS -- Posted Tuesday, August 1 2006

Seniors silence the youngsters

The men were separated from the boys as Toronto & District Seniors crushed Toronto & District Under-25s by 105 runs in the long awaited final of the Ontario Senior Championships at King City July 23.

Final scores: TDCA Seniors 218-9 (50 overs); TDCA Under-25s 113 (33.5 overs).

With $1500 winner-take-all prize at stake for the first time, dominance by the Seniors was asserted from the first ball of the game when Rizwan Cheema smashed Durand Soraine’s cherry right out of the ground. Although the Seniors soon faltered at 50-4 with Cheema, Chris Vernon, Bede Anandappa and Nicholas Ifill back in the hut, Abdul Samad (44), Fiaz Nazar (41 not out) and Henry Osinde (34) posted a challenging 218-9 on a slow pitch.

Samad, who last played for Canada in the 2003 World Cup, continued his good early season form. He showed a sound defence and kept the infielders busy with dabs into the gaps and nippy running between the wicket. He found a kindred spirit in Fiaz Nazar who repeatedly found the gaps while fast bowler Osinde opted for boundaries, playing several elegant shots in the air and on the ground. However, Osinde’s sparkling knock was terminated by the oldest trick in the book when he stepped out of his crease only to find that wicketkeeper Gaspar Prospere had not disposed of the ball.

The Under-25s looked set to back up early season trash talk when they raced to 82-3 on the back of the best batting of the day, a stroke-filled 51 by Durand Soraine. But when he departed, courtesy of Ifill moving swiftly to his right at midwicket to hold on to a well struck ondrive, the innings collapsed in a heap. Only one other batsman reached double figures. The chief destroyer was Samad’s quickish offbreaks while Nazar’s steady, accurate medium pacers brought him two wickets, including the crucial ones of Soraine and player-coach Fazil Sattaur.
Samad won the Man-o-f-the-Match award for his 44 runs and 5-10 off six overs.

SCORECARD

TDCA Seniors

Rizwan Cheema c Sidhu b Sattaur 15
Chris Vernon run out 02
Bede Anandappa c Sidhu b Pathan 06
Nicholas Ifill c &b Aziz 18
Troy Gobin c Qazi b Sattaur 24
Abdul Samad c Erramilli b Sidhu 44
Surendra Seeraj c Soraine b Qazi 08
Fiaz Nazar not out 41
Austin Codrington run out 11
Henry Osinde stp Prospere (wk) b Aziz 34
Puvendran Ravishankar not out 02
Extras (4w, 7lb, 2b) 13

TOTAL (50 overs) 218-9

Bowling:

Soraine 7-1-29-0;
Aziz 9-1-45-1;
Sattaur 7-1-20-2;
Qazi 10-1-42-1;
Pathan 7-1-26-1;
Sidhu 9-0-41-1;
Bastiampillai 1-0-6-0

TDCA Under -25s

Durand Soraine c Ifill b Nazar 51
Riaz Pathan c Seeraj(wk) b Osinde 05
Trevin Bastiampillai c Seeraj(wk) b Samad 09
Mohammad Qazi c Ifill b Ravishankar 04
Ryan Lall b Samad 10
Gaspar Prospere c Codrington b Samad 06
Fazil Sattaur c Cheema b Nazar 00
Jasjet Mangat b Samad 01
Anand Erramilli lbw Samad 00
Harjat Sidhu not out 05
Hassan Aziz c Seeraj (wk) b Ravishankar 02
Extras (9nb,7w, 4lb) 20

TOTAL (33.5 overs) 113

Bowling:

Osinde 6-1-23-1;
Codrington 3-0-16-0;
Ifill 2-0-18-0;
Fiaz Nazar 10-1-28-2;
Ravishankar 6.5-0-14-2;
Samad 6-1-10-5

TDCA Seniors won by 105 runs