Eddie Norfolk
There was, by recent standards, a fairly wide range of Canadian content cricket news in the selection of last week’s English-language ethnic newspapers picked up on my travels. The bulk of these newspapers were obtained from around the Dundas/Hurontario major intersection in Mississauga on Saturday August 29, 2014.
The Ontario Cricket Development Organization’s Mississauga Cricket Festival received attention in “The Weekly Voice” (August 29) and South Asian Weekender (August 29). Trying to spread the word surely helped bring in some spectators, with reasonable crowds on both nights.
Derek Perera, the event coordinator, commented in “The Weekly Voice” preview: “The event will serve as a memorial for Brandon Paltooram, a young aspiring cricketer from our organization (Ontario Cricket Academy & Club) whose life was taken in a senseless act of violence in 2010. We hope that through our year round programs, and events such as the Mississauga Cricket Festival, we can encourage more young people to become involved in sports and steer away from negative behaviour.”
Canada’s ICC Americas Under-17 championship succcess was reported in both South Asian Generation Next (August 28) and South Asian Observer (August 29). A Times of India report about Canadian Under-19 international Armaan Kapoor’s presence in the ICC Americas team in the recent West Indies Regional Under-19 One-Day championship appeared in the same issue of the South Asian Observer, alongside news about Canada’s Under-17 team. The story also appeared in the North American issue of the Indian Express, although I was not able to find a copy on my newspaper trip to Mississauga.
Ron Fanfair’s report in “Share (August 28) about Canada Under-17’s win in the ICC Americas tournament included some comments from Canadian coach Errol Barrow about that success and the experiences of the ICC Americas team in Guyana for the WICB U19 Regional One-Day tournament. Barrow was an assistant coach for the ICC Americas team. He thought the squad, drawn from Bermudian, Canadian and US players “never gelled as a unit” and, playing for the first time together in unfamiliar conditions, were up against “quality teams with good players.”
The other teams in the WICB event had warmed-up for the one-day tournament by playing in the WICB Regional U19 3-day championship. ICC Americas was not part of the longer duration series of games. In Bermuda, Barrow reckoned the Canadian youngsters “performed well. I am pleased with the overall performance, even though I know we have some work to do.”
The Mississauga Cricket Festival included a demonstration of women’s cricket between innings on Friday night by players from Ontario Cricket Academy and Club. Women’s involvement in sports gained coverage in “The Caribbean Camera” (August 21) thanks to Canada’s Magali Harvey being named the International Rugby Board’s (IRB’s) Women’s Player of the Year 2014 for after Canada’s efforts against England in the recent Final of the Women’s Rugby World Cup. Magali Harvey, a wing, scored a try and became the first Canadian to win this award. A success that reflects “the growth of women’s rugby in recent years”.
“The Caribbean Camera” (August 28) provided news about the third Trinidad & Tobago Independence Day cricket classic on August 31 at the University of Toronto’s Scarborough campus cricket ground. A photo of Darren Ganga, now T&T’s Sports Ambassador, accompanied the article. Darren Ganga made an appearance on Friday night (August 29) at the Mississauga Cricket Festival to help promote the T&T cricket classic where he was to be a special guest.
India Journal (August 29) reported the City of Brampton is to host the 2016 Canada 55+ Games, which will include some 22 sports. Wonder if cricket will be included?
ICC Americas may have struggled in the WICB U19 one-day tournament in Guyana, but some Guyanese cricketers have recently been pumping runs for Hawaiian Arctic in the Scarborough (Ontario) Cricket Association’s Premier Division 50-over games. “Caribbean Times International” (August 28) reported Krishna Arjune hit 169 against Durham Sports Club. Two weeks earlier, Harrienarine Chattergoon, a former Guyanese junior player, had plundered 268 against the same opponents.
Arjune, who has played first-class cricket for Guyana and appears for Vikings in the Toronto & District C.A., told reporter Ravendra Madholall of his experiences in the Canadian cricket scene. “The game is ‘wonderful’ and especially playing among lots of seasoned players from both Canada and back in the Caribbean. It shows the competitiveness of these competitions.”
Dalchand Bissoon also reported on the runs flowing from the bats of various members of Hawaiian Arctic’s team who have won the Scarborough Premier Premier title for the last four years in “The Caribbean Camera” (August 28). Hawaiian Arctic stood undefeated from 11 games in games completed by August 24. All-rounder Zaheer Allard had struck 414 runs, including two centuries, and picked up 19 wickets, including a hat-trick. A fifth title was potentially on the way. Chattergoon’s 268 was a record for the Scarborough CA, according to the report in “The Caribbean Camera”.
News about Mukesh Narula’s appointment as Canada’s national men’s team coach and the need for Canada to climb back into the upper echelons of the ICC Associate and Affiliate nations ranks was featured in “Desi Express” (August 28). Mention was made of Quebec’s success in the 2014 Atlantic T20 championship on Prince Edward Island plus the involvement of the ICC Americas team in the WICB Under-19 One-Day championships in Guyana and Canada Under-17’s involvement in the ICC Americas U17 championships in Bermuda.
The need for funding of the Canadian men’s team and for both senior and junior Canadian players to gain some practice in the Canadian off-season in preparation was briefly discussed when I saw Mukesh Narula at the Labour Day Toronto & District CA Junior playoffs at Sunnybrook Park. ICC Division Two in Namibia during January 2015 is the major date when the
Canadian senior team needs to perform, and it sounds like the Under-19 ICC Americas regional world cup qualifier may
arrive early in the Canadian cricket season.
Meanwhile, a report that some West Indies cricket stars had signed ownership deals to be part of the new Canadian T20 championship, now due to start August 1, 2015 appeared in both “Caribbean Times International” (August 28) and South Asian Weekender (August 29).
There may have been some other stories with Canadian cricket content, but the selection above is what I seem to have at hand for print media in the week ending August 29, 2014. With games that some think were important in local cricket taking place on Monday’s Labour Day, it may be a week or two before reports or photographs from some of the cricketing action in the Greater Toronto Area mentioned as upcoming will appear in some of these newsprint outlets.
There are, of course, cricketing events on the international stage and in some regions of the world where cricket is a major sport that attract ongoing coverage in a broader mix of print media in the GTA. There are many other sports that are similarly competing for space. But someone needs to take the initiative in order that Canadian cricket gains coverage in home market publications that are potentially “pro-cricket” and appreciate good news from the local communities. Some of the array of newspapers are printed in other major Canadian cities and some are printed in major cities of the USA.
A Mississauga News reporter turned up for Friday’s cricket at the Mavis Cricket ground. The opening day of the Atlantic T20 in Stratford, Prince Edward Island, included CBC/SRC cameras and reporters so some reports of the tournament may have appeared in both official languauges of Canada, English and French. The local version of the Guardian carried a photo on the Tuesday after the tournament had concluded, plus the basics of which province won the event.
Eddie Norfolk