Guelph, Ontario-born, Dyce Saunders was a leading cricketer in latter half of the nineteenth century. He represented Canada internationally, was one of the founders of the Canadian Cricket Association (now Cricket Canada) and remained influential in the sport throughout his life. Yet, in his lifetime Saunders saw the game he loved decline greatly due to its exclusive nature in that era.
by Ed Butts
What is a googly? Or a top spinner, a beamer, a leg-break, or a flipper? What spectator sport do they belong to?
Replace those terms with slapshot, wrister, five-hole, icing, and poke-check; and most Canadians know instantly that you’re talking about hockey. But “googly” and those other terms are from the game of cricket.
While that team sport certainly does have its followers in Canada, it isn’t one with which Canadians are usually associated. And yet, a man who was hailed as a star cricketer a century ago came from Guelph.