Canada’s national cricketers will take on Ireland in a series of international matches taking place at the Toronto Cricket Club this week. Two One-Day Internationals (ODIs) will be contested over the weekend of September 6–7, following the 4-day Intercontinental Cup match, which runs from August 31–September 3.
The duel between the countries, who have enjoyed a healthy rivalry over the years as two of the top teams from the sport’s second tier of competition, will be the last time they meet before heading to the 2011 World Cup in India next February.
Canada, ranked 14th in the world, four places behind Ireland, will be boosted by the presence of its all-time leading run scorer and most capped player, Ashish Bagai, and the return of top-order batsman Zubin Surkari who has recovered from a hamstring injury.
Bagai, who over the last twelve months has averaged a highly impressive 52 runs per innings despite a long-standing knee injury, was recently recognized by the International Cricket Council (ICC) with a nomination for Associate Countries World Player of the Year.
By contrast, Ireland announced on Saturday that they will be travelling without several key players, including all-rounder Alex Cusack and wicketkeeper Niall O’Brian.
The biggest blow for the Irish comes from the absence of arguably their top batsman and most threatening strike bowler, William Porterfield and Boyd Rankin respectively. Both have been retained by their English county championship sides, Gloucestershire and Warwickshire. Gary Wilson, who plays for English county side Surrey, will also miss the Intercontinental Cup match, but has been released for the ODI matches. Trent Johnston will captain the side.
The Canada–Ireland series sees the return of international cricket to the picturesque Toronto Cricket Club, located close to the Avenue Rd and Wilson Blvd intersection, for the first time in over a year. Entry to the matches is free, and supporters of both sides will be welcome.
TEAMS
CANADA
One Day Internationals (Sept. 6–7, 2010), Toronto Cricket Skating & Curling Club:
Ashish Bagai (Capt.); Rizwan Cheema (VC); Harvir Baidwan; Umar Bhatti; Hemanarine Chattergoon; Khurram Chohan; Parth Desai; Ruvindu Gunasekera; Jimmy Hansra; Nitish Kumar; Hiral Patel; Balaji Rao; Zubin Surkari; Hamza Tariq
Intercontinental Cup (Aug. 31–Sept. 3, 2010), Toronto Cricket Skating & Curling Club:
Ashish Bagai (Capt.); Rizwan Cheema (VC); Umar Bhatti; Hemnarine Chattergoon; Khurram Chohan; Abzal Dean; Parth Desai; Ruvindu Gunasekara; Jimmy Hansra; Nitish Kumar; Henry Osinde; Hiral Patel; Zubin Surkari; Hamza Tariq
IRELAND
Trent Johnston (Capt.); Andre Botha; George Dockrell; Phil Eaglestone; Allan Eastwood; Nigel Jones; Rory McCann; John Mooney; Kevin O’Brian; Andrew Poynter; Paul Stirling; Albert van der Merwe; Andrew White; Gary Wilson (ODI only)