I doubt there will be a full house (surely I mean I know there will not be a full house) at the Maple Leaf Cricket Club grounds in King City , Ontario, today (July 13, 2010) as a three-game ICC World Cup Qualifying series begins between Canada and the United States of America . This series involves the women’s teams and continues with matches on Wednesday and Friday.
Two T20 games between the teams are also due on Saturday. ICC Americas, as ever, has done some work behind the scenes, so the teams will be wearing pink outfits in recognition of work on cancer, particularly breast cancer. Marginal improvements have been made by Cricket Canada in its web-site ‘publicity’ for this game, which I noticed yesterday afternoon is dated July 11. There are some instructions on how to get to the ground.

There are some platitudes on the efforts Cricket Canada has put into the development of the women’s game, a list of the squad is provided but gives nothing as an easy reference on how each of the players bats or bowls, or where they live, or their club/provincial affiliations in cricket.

But it remains beyond the efforts of some in the leadership to provide such information as ‘what time do the games start.’ Business as usual. Incompetence, save from a few souls who make sure the core logistics to get teams and umpires to the ground.

I probably saw some of the Canadian squad during the Ontario Women’s early morning efforts at the recent CIMA Toronto Mayor’s Spirit of Cricket event. It was slightly damp at the time I was there, but it will have got a lot wetter soon after I took off for the Asian Community Games at York University .

I never even asked if the cricket part of those community games was going ahead – it was bad enough for track and field, as well as soccer in the downpour.

Remember the valiant athletes who battle through these adversities. And stuff some of the clown-princes (and in some spheres, clown-princesses) who claim to have organized events where public relations barely exist….except in the minds of those clown-princes.

Best wishes to the players, of both sides, the umpires, and the faithful few who do the work behind the scenes.

And to those who battle with cancer, their families, the doctors and nurses who treat them, and those involved in research for cures and better treatments.

My mum died of breast cancer in May 1973 after a long battle, and she did not smoke.

I won’t be interested in hearing what a great job some of cricket’s leaders are doing to promote and develop the game in this country. They are not. And that includes some of the provincial and league ‘leaders’ who are equally clueless, in reality.

But, to the faithful; bat on. Bat long. Bowl well. Field well. Enjoy the cricket, or indeed whatever sport and culture makes your lives have bright moments.

Eddie Norfolk

ICC Americas – Women’s World Cup Qualifier

Canadian Squad

Mona Persuad (captain); Kim Coulter; Nicole Gallagher; Helene Gaffney; Jennifer Gruno; Mahnish Khan; Monali Patel; Santhiya Rajaram; Kiran Samra; Natasha Springett; Suthershini Sivantham; Sheryl Tittlemier; Mikaela Turik; Saniyah Zia; Vindhya Varanasi.

Suthershini Sivantham previously played for Sri Lanka, while Mahnish Khan has international experience with Pakistan.

USA Squad

The USA squad is captained by Durga Das and includes former West Indies international Indomatie Goordial-John.

Lloyd Dixon and Victor Benjamin (trainer) are officials due to accompany the squad.