Sarath Peiris
It wasn’t until Prime Minister Stephen Harper was shown Wednesday on The National at a campaign event, awkwardly swinging a cricket bat with the demeanour of someone suddenly handed a writhing python, that I became convinced there was something to the leaked memo.
The mid-November recommendation from Immigration Minister Jason Kenney to the PM appears to be part of the Conservatives’ strategy to target ridings identified as “ethnic.” Kenney’s memo suggests that Canada consider adopting cricket as its national summer sport to replace lacrosse.
“With Canada being represented at the International Cricket Council World Cup in 2011, we should seriously consider making cricket the national sport,” Mr. Kenney urges Harper.
“In talking to ethnic groups across Canada from Vancouver to Winnipeg to Toronto and Montreal, I’m convinced this is a big winner for the Conservative party.”
As a Sri Lankan expat who’s delighted to see “my” team in the world championship final against India on Saturday, I certainly concur with Kenney’s assessment, and at what I hope will be the PM’s positive response should he be in the position to proceed on the recommendation come May 2.
However, I must admit a certain chagrin at the minister’s backhanded compliment to a sport beloved by thousands of millions across the globe:
“Cricket, particularly at the ICC level that takes up to 10 hours for a single-day contest, offers spectators greater value for their money in comparison to lacrosse, which takes but a couple of hours to play,” Kenney observes.
Next thing you know, he’ll be talking up the game as a boost to Canada’s productivity, because cricket features two batsmen at a time on the pitch, compared to lesser sports such as baseball.
He’s obviously too preoccupied with the politics of his proposal to recognize the fact, but for several million former Britons, Aussies, Kiwis, Caribbean islanders, Indians, Pakistanis, Sri Lankans, Bangladeshis, South Africans, Zimbabweans and others in Canada, the one-day tournament games are but an appetizer for “test cricket” games played over three or five days.
Ironically, lacrosse, the traditional North American aboriginal game the government is seeking to replace, at one time featured several hundred participants at a time on a two-mile long field, with the game lasting from sunrise to sundown, and taking two or three days to complete.
The modern version, however, features 10 players and, although it can be spirited at times, lacks the excitement of cricket.
Another downside, as Kenney noted when reached for comment at an East Vancouver Indian restaurant where he was watching the India-Pakistan semifinal game on Wednesday, is that: “Lacrosse players often can look like berserk butterfly catchers, running around with their nets on long sticks and bashing into each other.”
Besides, Canada has all but ceded mastery of its touted national sport to the United States, which has dominated the world lacrosse championships. The U.S. has won nine of the 11 senior men’s and all six under-19 men’s tournaments to date.
Yet, minister Kenney acknowledged cricket could prove a hard sell to most Canadians, who love the pace and the tough physical play of what has become their stand-in national sport: Hockey.
However, with the grave concerns his boss recently has expressed about the level of violence and an epidemic of concussions in hockey, Kenney thinks the prime minister is looking favourably at cricket, which would present Canada’s best face to the world, sans the missing teeth.
Of course, it’s one thing for the Conservatives to woo ethnic Canadian votes by naming cricket as the national sport. It’s another to shift the cricket allegiance of newcomers to Canada from countries such as India and Pakistan. To get there, Canada will have to dedicate more resources to its cricket program if it is to improve upon its dismal 1-5 record at the 2011 ICC World Cup, where it was ahead of only Kenya and the Netherlands, which didn’t win a single game, and lagged even the weaklings, Ireland and Zimbabwe.
So three cheers for minister Kenney for his brave proposal. Cricket appears poised to take its rightful place in Canada. I urge you all to check today’s date on your calendar right away.