By Nouman Khalil
The future of national cricket and the players are hanging in the balance and the game is likely to be played in courts, forcing the governing bodies to spend a chunk of their funding in legal fees. Reliable sources informed Focus that the matter of recognizing Cricket Council of Ontario (CCO) – a new governing body parallel to Ontario Cricket Association – is on the Cricket Canada’s scheduled for the Sept 4 semi-annual general meeting agenda and the application will be entertained and discussed at full length. The request for CCO has been submitted for consideration by Toronto and District Cricket Association (T&DCA), Canadian Commonwealth Cricket Association of Toronto (CCCAT) and Brampton-Etobicoke District Cricket League (B-EDCL), the sources said.
“Yes, we have received the application, it is on our agenda, but it’s not up to me – the membership will have to decide about it,” Ranjit Saini, President of Cricket Canada, told Focus.
He said Cricket Canada has no disputes with OCA, adding: “Disputes are within the OCA. Currently there are two bodies in Ontario, both claim to be its executives. They need to resolve their issue within themselves.”
Saini said the application was submitted by the biggest operating leagues of Ontario and therefore couldn’t be ignored.
When asked, Mike Kendal, president of OCA, said: “If they (Cricket Canada) recognize any parallel body against us, OCA will have no other option but to sue them.”
He made it clear that once the matter goes to the court, none of the bodies will be able to operate in Ontario till the final verdict of the court comes.
“Most likely there will be no cricket in Ontario,” warned Kendall.
“Ontario cricket is in its defining moment and there is a possibility that the CCO application will be entertained and OCA may be suspended.
“This has never been done in Canadian history. Entertaining the application is totally against the spirit of the constitution.
“This is not a uniting but a very dividing move on the part of Cricket Canada, whose actions are moving dangerously close to a situation that happened in the USA Cricket Association in the past when ICC pulled out following the same circumstances.”
OCA last week suspended the membership of T&DCA and CCCAT due to non-payment of dues whereas B-EDCL pulled out of OCA a few years back and is currently operating on its own.
It is pertinent to mention here that B-EDCL and T&DCA had worked together in the past for the recognition of the same parallel CCO under Praim Persaud as its president. The move then had been unsuccessful.