Dave Liverman for Canada Cricket
Although the World Cup has weeks yet to run, Canada’s cup is over, and they return to their homes this weekend, before the first round is even complete. Although we heard some optimistic noises about qualifying for the second round, anyone with a solid understanding of international cricket knew that Canada’s expectations were somewhat lower – mainly to avoid embarrassment and to represent associates cricket well.
So how did they do? I would argue that this was perhaps Canada’s most successful World Cup of the four they have played.

In 1979, Canada played just three times – the highlight was Glenroy Sealey’s four consecutive boundaries from Rodney Hogg, but 45 all out against England emphasized the gulf between the top teams and Canada.

2003 had some wonderful moments – Davison’s hundred, the win over Bangladesh- but also included the embarrassment of 36 all out against Sri Lanka. In 2007, Canada barely registered on the radar, losing to Kenya, but performing respectably against New Zealand and England.

Those teams by and large differed very much from the 2011 version. They tended to be among the older of the squads competing, and relied heavily on those who had learned their cricket elsewhere. The 1979 squad perhaps had the strongest Canadian content with Martin Stead, Chris Chappell and John Valentine all being very much home grown.

The 2011 squad was the youngest in the competition. The majority of players might have been born elsewhere, but Canada played an integral part in their development. Before the tournament I had suggested Canada’s best hopes lay with Cheema and Davison riding their luck long enough to put enough runs on the board to manage a win. In fact the two big hitters had poor tournaments, and Canada’s good performances came from somewhat surprising sources. Jimmy Hansra, Balaji Rao, Harvir Baidwan, and excitingly Hiral Patel all showed they could play on the world stage. The captain, Aasish Bagai handled himself well, and showed he was as good, if not better than any other keeper at the tournament.

It was always going to be challenging playing the best teams in the world, in the Canadian off season, and in unfamiliar conditions. Canada, however showed a steady improvement through the tournament, with a win over Kenya, and decent performances against Pakistan, NZ and the world champions in their last four matches. They were never embarrassed, and with a bit of luck could have beaten Pakistan, after a fantastic performance in the field. The consistency however was not quite there, the fitness perhaps not up to par at times, and the fielding not holding up, at times looking sharp, and at others quite ragged.

With this young squad, it is clear though that there is potential, and with regular 50 over cricket against top quality opposition, there is room to develop. This however will not happen, and the team is now be consigned to 20-20 international oblivion, thanks to the ICC’s short sightedness. Some of the players may prosper in the slog and run version, but others clearly are better suited for 50 over cricket, or longer. Their international opportunities appear to be limited.

Report card – a personal opinion; others should feel free to provide theirs in the forum!
Bagai A-.
Excellent with the gloves, decent as a captain, and some good batting performances – Canada’s top run scorer.
Rao B-
He impressed with the ball, used conditions well, and proved capable of troubling the best bats. Not up to standard in the field, and somewhat of a figure of fun because of his fitness.
Davison D
JD was hoping for just one more flash of brilliance with the bat, but it never came – his five innings yielded 33 runs. His bowling was average, and he has slowed in the field. His run out against NZ was not the memory that should be allowed to linger of this fine servant of Canadian cricket
Kumar C-.
The youngest player at the world cup but never really convinced anyone he belonged there. The experience may help him in the long run, but there were perhaps others who could have made a more positive contribution. His three innings yielded just 10 runs.
Jimmy Hansra: B
Perhaps the surprise of the tournament – he consistently made runs, and definitely has the temperament for the big match. He paced his batting well, and made the most of his talent and opportunity. His 70 against Kenya was a match-winning innings. His bowling was useful but rarely troubled top class players.
Osinde C+
Big Henry at times looked the part particularly when he devastated the Kenyan top order. A bit of good fortune might have netted him some plum Australian wickets, when he bowled beautifully at their openers with no reward, and he was Canada’s most economical bowler At other times however, he struggled.
Cheema C-
Cheema’s batting has deteriorated into caricature at times, with his eyes wide open looking for the big hit. The highlight of the tournament for him was the 93 he made in the warm up against England but in the tournament itself, his methods could not be adapted to slow wickets, and international bowlers. One cameo of 37 constituted more than half his runs in the event. His bowling was useful, but generally expensive.
Surkari C-
Zubin played some nice shots, some brilliant stops in the field, and generally seemed to be able to take runs off good bowling – but repeatedly let a reasonable start go to naught. He still has not passed the 50 barrier in one-day internationals and in the World Cup, he made 104 runs in 6 attempts.
Baidwan B+
He has matured into a good medium pacer with considerable variety, and was Canada’s top wicket-taker. Varied his pace well, got some swing with old and new ball, and bowled with intelligence. He also made some useful runs in the lower order.
Patel B+
A pity he didn’t play more. Fearless against some of the quickest bowlers in the world, and played perhaps the shot of the tournament against Tait. All sorts of potential, and he will be well suited to 20-20.
Khurram Chohan C
Injury prevented him playing in two of Canada’s six matches, and he failed to make the impact expected from him as Canada’s best bowler over the last year or more.
Gunasekera C-
A disappointing tournament for the young man, only 53 runs in five innings. He had looked good in run-up to the World Cup, but failed to realize his potential.
Gordon D
Failed to make an impact, not reaching double figures in four innings.
Desai C
Played just once and bowled only three overs; hard to evaluate on this basis.
Karl Whatam C
Played one game, made some runs, fielded well, but we didn’t see enough of him to really know whether he’s a quality player.