Canada at the 2015 Pepsi WCL Division Two
The time has arrived for Canada’s cricketers to perform well on the international field and begin to restore Canada to a place in the higher ranks of ICC Associate and Affiliate countries. In simple terms it is time to put smiles back on Canadian faces, such as seen on Ashish Bagai and as is beginning to show on the face of Ruvindu Gunasekera in the supporting photo. Those smiles came after Canada’s only win in the 2011-2013 ICC Intercontinental Cup; a win in the last available game against The Netherlands. Canada’s first opponents in WCL Division Two on Saturday (Jan 17, 2015).

A Canadian win in the opening round of the tournament would be a great boost for the cause of the Maple Leaf squad. It would indicate the preparations in Zimbabwe had helped the squad get back into the feel of outdoor cricket, away from the cooling winds on snowy and icy days in many parts of Canada.
Nine of Canada`s squad of fourteen has played in at least one ODI for Canada. Five played for Canada in the 2011 ICC Cricket World Cup and seven have represented Canada in Under-19 Cricket World Cups between 2004 and 2014. Despite this, the Canadian squad includes several players who are reckoned to be “unknown” by some, if not many or most, international cricket followers.
Matches in the Pepsi ICC WCL Division Two are scheduled as 50-overs per side. As Canada held One-Day International status for several years between 2006 and early 2014, the most appropriate measures of international experience for the Canadian side would be the number of ODI games each has played. A count of ODI games played is also, sadly, a sign of an international status currently lost by Canada; a status that needs to be restored to support the future health and development of cricket in this country.
The Squad in Other International and Representative Cricket
Almost all the squad has played representative cricket in one or other National Cricket competition between 2008 and 2013, or against the 2012 MCC touring team. At least three of such national championships had a title sponsor, although the 2012 National Cricket League did not.
There was the 2008 Scotiabank National T20 inter-provincial tournament. In 2009 a grand franchise selection event was staged and eventually the six-team TJT National Championship took place, starting with mid-week evening games but ending on a Sunday in September. CIBC sponsored the 2013 National Cricket League and subsequent All-Star series.
Possibly the overall number of List A international games for Canada should be considered, but there is no ready source that summarizes international games played against non-ODI-ranked countries.
Some of Canada`s 2015 squad filled some gaps in the line-ups for the May 2012 All Star T20 game at the Rogers Centre. Some first played international T20 cricket for Canada in the October 2008 Al Barakah Tournament and others appeared in the August 2011 Etihad Summer Festival T20. These two T20 tournaments took place at Maple Leaf Cricket Club, King City, Ontario.
Cecil Pervez has played one first-class game for Canada in addition to some List A appearances. Satsimranjit Dhindsa has previously played for Canada in an ICC Americas Regional T20 championship but not in 50-over or first-class games. Srimantha Wijeratne, a Sri Lankan Under- 19 international, has previously played for Canada in an Auty Cup game.
Records about a couple of inter-provincial tournament played in 2010 and 2011 did not come readily to hand. I missed the final of the 2010 event but did see a few of the Canadian side preparing for the 2010 ICC Intercontinental Cup against a Zimbabwe XI on the day of the final.
Not surprisingly none of the January 2015 squad played in Canada`s first international game against the USA in September 1844 (about 170 years ago). None were in Canada`s 1979 ICC Trophy squad that qualified for and played n the 1979 ICC World Cup in England. Sri Lanka and Canada were the two qualifiers who joined the six ICC Full Member participants. South Africa was, at that time, excluded from such international competitions.
Utseya 160 ODI’s v Canada 2015 Squad 117 ODIs
In May 2006 Canada played and lost to Zimbabwe in a ODI at the Queen`s Park Oval, Port-of- Spain, Trinidad. At least one of the then Canadian Cricket Association Board seemed to think Canada would beat Zimbabwe, as well as Bermuda, in that ODI Tri-Series, although the team had no warm-up game. Caanda did quite well to restrict Zimbabwe to 218 for 8, but the lack of a warm-up game and practice time saw two early run outs before the opening bowlers each picked up an early wicket. Three middle order batsmen reached double figures but there was no grand recovery from 4 for four wickets after 4.5 overs. Canada was all out for 75 and lost by 143 runs.
Propser Utseya, who captained Zimbabwe A, played against Canada in the May 2006 game. Utseya has played in 160 ODIs and was recently named in Zimbabwe’s fifteen player 2015 ICC World Cup squad. Utseya has played the equivalent of 16 regular seasons in the top division of the Toronto and District Cricket Assocations in one-day internationals. But he has also played in test matches and T20 internationals as well as games in domestic Zimbabwean cricket
The total ODIs played by Canada’s Pepsi ICC WCL Division Two squad is 117, but most of the squad has the chance of playing in several more ODIs as long as Canada finishes in the top two and then performs well in the subsequent ICC World Cricket League series over the next few years.
Canada in senior and U19 Cricket World Cups
Jimmy Hansra, Rizwan Cheema, Ruvindu Gunasekera, Nitish Kumar and Parth Desai each played in the 2011 ICC Cricket World Cup. Gunasekera, Kumar and Desai had previously played in the 2010 ICC Under-19 Cricket World Cup, as did Usman Limbada and Hanza Tariq. Kumar and Nikhil Dutta played in the 2014 ICC Under-19 Cricket World Cup while Durand Soraine played in the 2004 ICC Under-19 Cricket World Cup.
The challenge for Canadian cricket after hosting the 2001 ICC Trophy and qualifying in that tournament for the 2003 ICC Cricket World Cup was to secure ongoing funding for operational and infrastructure maintenance and improvement. Administrative and financial support remains a problem. Some of the “magic solutions” attempted or contemplated between 2005 and the recent past produced some short-term magic that lost the shine and glow over the longer term plus some smoke and mirrors that did nothing move Canadian cricket forward.
It’s time for “les rouges” (the Reds”) to win for win for Canada and Canadian cricket in this Year of Sport in Canada. Then some may come forward and help the administration and financing of the game with feet more firmly on the ground than has been achieved since Canada won third place in the 2001 ICC Trophy and began a period in the upper layers of ICC Associate and Affiliates cricket. There’s no shortage of useful players in Canada, but allowing the players a chance to rise and shine on the international field has stumbled. .Even in home games when one considers the overall failure to fix some of the drainage issues that seem to have existed since 2009 at the Maple Leaf Cricket Club in King City.
Players need to play on quality playing areas. Realistically more grass wickets are needed across the country, but the quality of what had been established for 2001 and what was restored by 2006 needs to be maintained for the overall good of the game and the advancement of quality players.
Mukesh Narula said about three weeks ago at the Sorkkam indoor cricket centre in Scarborough, Ontario, the squad is “hungry” to play well and win for Canada. Words echoed by what captain Jimmy Hansra Preparations had included significant time devoted to the mental side of the game; which is a vitally important area.
The win to conclude the warm-up series against Zimbabwe A should have the team in good spirits. So it’s time for the Canadians to play and time to win.
Eddie Norfolk January 16, 2015