March 2008

Match report Taverners versus Bharat..(Winnipeg) -- Posted Monday, March 31 2008
Match report Taverners versus Bharat..(Winnipeg)
Mar 26 2008

Due to some of us having to work for a living I apologise for the tardiness of the report, as you will see from the letters to the editor the match result is already well known but here is a description of events anyway. Much whining from the Plunderer and the Doc at Ducky’s pre-match over the fact that there was actually a match and no practice as advertised, their innate sense of perceived grievance being further compounded by the selection of a newbie called Chomo, (oh now I remember him he played last year didn’t he) risen from the grave.

We batted first, toss winner who knows or cares, Sid and Stumps opened up against what looked like a good bowling attack, they looked good for about 3 balls whereafter Sid twatted them to all corners for about 65 despite the Dan Maharaj (Karl J) umpiring stand in managing to block a ferocious straight driven Sid special with his leg, whereupon he was soundly (rightly so) abused by the batsmen, something along the lines of and I quote “for f**** sake umpire get out of the f*******g way will ya”.
The next pairing of Batman and Chomo (AKA Robin remember him) accompanied by various vocal renditions of the Batman show theme tune carried on the good work for around 50, now we are down to the Senior partners Daibee and Toulson, combined age of some high number, must have a lot of experience right? Well much hilarity ensued when the Skipper was cracked fairly and squarely in the nuts by a rising Bharat ball and guess what, no box, oh how we laughed!!! The sight of the Skipper hopping around the gym like a demented frog on steroids was a joy to behold, (evidently his wife now reads this website so hopefully no long term damage was done, and transplants of the wedding tackle are now possible due to the miracles of modern science if required). We scored around 40 despite injuries and hitting balls that bounced 3 times to the ceiling for a team total of 164.

Stumps assured us that this team would not score more than 130 so we took to the field with a calm assuredness which was shattered after Sid’s first over which contained I believe about 5 wides and 2 well aimed beamers, (even Jon Page had to call those no balls), I think he might have been in shock after England laid a whupping on his beloved Black Caps,. All the bowlers took a bit of stick and their first pair scored over 60. Holy Smokes Batman was this the first defeat of the season coming up. As has often been witnessed with this team when the pressure comes on the fielding and bowling steps up, Stumps was excellent again, catches and stumpings abounding, the skipper took a blinding catch despite the tears in his eyes, all the bowlers excelled (okay not all the bowlers, Batman received some ‘kerpow’ and Sid was crap but got away with it), so eventually we restricted them to 126 and we WON AGAIN.

After the unedifying sight of the Skipper looking for volunteers to count em in the changing room (in the words of the joker “never rub another mans rhubarb”), we retired to the Fox for refreshments and frivolity. The Skipper announced that there was a game next Wednesday and using his tried and tested method of selection which has brought so much success recently (he went round the table and asked each person if they were available, first six to answer in the affirmative are in). So the Plunderer returns next week, worth being there just for that. Probably the most pertinent question posed during the evening was “Martin, how do you know if you have a bruise”?
NT

Article sourced from:-
www.tavermerscc.com

A reflection on meeting C.L.R. James -- Posted Saturday, March 29 2008

A third biography of the great West Indian writer C.L.R. James, with whom I shared a day at the Oval in London in the 1960s.

The Guardian Weekly this week has an interesting review of a new biography --- the third, it says --- of C.L.R. James, the wonderful Trinidadian writer, historian, political activist and cricket lover, whom I interviewed when I was a reporter for The Montreal Star in London in the 1960s. The unique flavour of James is encapsulated in the headline of the review --- A quixotic Marxist at the wicket --- and by the list of subjects chosen by James when he was invited in the 1980s to give six television lectures --- Pan-Africanism, Shakespeare, Solidarity and the Polish Revolt, American Politics, the West Indies, and Cricket. James was more or less expert in them all, but of them all, he was most expert in cricket, a game that he and I loved above all others, and about which he wrote the greatest book ever written on the game, Beyond a Boundary.

Among other things, James was the seminal influence on that school of West Indian novelists and writers who arose in the 1950s and 60s. He was a wonderful old man when I met him, honored for his brilliant history of the slave revolt in Haiti, Black Jacobins. This book was published in 1939 and was largely ignored because of the on-rush of war; but it was rediscovered after the war, and recognized for a classic.

Still one had to confess that James spent most of his life --- frittered it away, one might almost say --- as a disputatious Trotskyite, leading tiny splinter groups of leftists who claimed, as he did himself, to have the solution to the world's problems. When Eric Williams was elected Premier of Trinidad and Tobago, he summoned James home to become the editor of his party's weekly newspaper. James told me he warned Williams to get busy with transforming the nation, or James would have to leave. His followers in Chicago, he said, were calling for him to return and undertake leadership of the world revolution. After a few months, James left to go back to Chicago, and pick up the leadership of the 15 or so Marxists in his group. A few months later --- as revealed in James's now-forgotten chapbooks on politics, which I picked up on a visit to the West Indies --- his group had further fragmented, and he became leader of five or six, not fifteen. The next time he returned to Trinidad it was with the intention of reporting for the Manchester Guardian on a cricket test match: Williams placed him under house arrest, he said.

The Guardian reviewer says this of James's American experience:

"He moved to the US and, under the pseudonym J R Johnson, became the leading light of a Trotskyite splinter group of monumental obscurity until, after 15 years and at the height of McCarthyism, he was tracked down as an illegal immigrant, imprisoned on Ellis Island and deported. Much of James's writing was thus showered on an ungrateful American public in the form of pamphlet and polemic. On Ellis Island he wrote Mariners, Renegades And Castaways, an extended essay on Moby-Dick that was apparently printed out and mailed to every congressman in the hope that it would secure his release. There is something in that quixotic, naive gesture that sums up James's politics. He has had far more effect on cricket than on the wider world. His most successful agitation came when he returned to the West Indies and campaigned for the appointment of the brilliant Frank Worrell as captain in the late 1950s instead of yet another white man. When Worrell got the job, he transformed West Indian cricket and its perception of itself for ever."

My last view of James was when he appeared at the Black Writers' Conference in Montreal in 1969. It was full of fire-eating revolutionaries, such as Stokely Carmichael; but James, the most revolutionary of them all, astonished his audience by delivering his lecture in flawless French. I did not go up to greet him, since he was being lionized. But I would hope that had I done so, he would have remembered our day at the Oval, watching Bolus and Edrich, the England openers, playing for Surrey against the Australians.

In my unpublished book on sports, The Kingdom of Couch, I devoted a chapter to James, and here it is:-

The ground on which Sri Lanka has beaten England was the Kennington Oval (now, I regret to say, known as Foster's Oval), in south London, one of Britain's major cricket fields. Nowadays, that a team of Asians should take on the best of the English at the Oval is of no particular moment. But it brings back a memory to me of sitting in the sun one day in the 1960s at the Oval, with C.L.R. James, a wonderfully eccentric old Trinidadian; father-figure and inspiration to an entire generation of West Indian writers; author of Black Jacobins, one of the finest histories written in English; a man with a tempestuous political past, leader of one of the world's many tiny leftist political factions; and author of Beyond the Boundary, which I believe is incontestably regarded as the greatest book ever written on cricket.

"There was a day," said Mr. James, as we gently applauded the long partnership between the Surrey opening batsmen, Edrich and Bolus (who both played for England), "when the Indian prince Ranjitsinhji, playing for England against Australia, had to walk on to this very field alone through a separate gate, because of his colour, while the rest of the England team came out through the main gate."

In my memory of this meeting with Mr. James, he told me he actually saw Ranjitsinhji on that occasion. But my memory has betrayed me. The Indian prince played for England between 1896 and 1902, and James never saw him play.

At the time I was correspondent for The Montreal Star in London, and a long-time admirer of the old West Indian writer. I had approached Mr. James for an interview. We made an appointment to meet at the modest house in north London that he shared with his daughter; but when I turned up, he had forgotten the appointment and had gone out somewhere. Undeterred, I made another appointment, and on the second occasion he was there.

Mr. James, of course, was poor as a church mouse, in spite of his great attainments, for he had spent most of his life, between the memorable books he wrote, engaged in fringe politics that never earned him a penny. He was one of the few men I ever met who believed absolutely that the world needed his leadership. I remembered him describing the time he had returned to Trinidad to edit the party newspaper for the independent nation's first Prime Minister, Eric Williams. James was impatient, and after a few months he warned Williams that he had better get busy changing Trinidad, because he, James, could not hang around indefinitely. People in Chicago were clamouring for him to go there, and he would have to go, the world was in need of his leadership. A few months later he resigned and went to Chicago, where he was greeted by his faction of about 15 followers, who split into two even tinier factions within a few months of his disputatious arrival. (The next time he arrived in Trinidad to cover a cricket Test for an English newspaper, Williams put him under house arrest).

The London house James lived in was gloriously cluttered, the living room full of books and newspapers from all around the world scattered over every available surface. We discussed his career for an hour or so, moving on quickly to cricket, his and my greatest love, and then, eventually tiring of it, he asked me if I would like to go to the Oval to see the match.

I had never been at the Oval, although I had seen many games there on television, and had read many written accounts in the books I absorbed in my teens, of heroic games played there. In fact, the history of English cricket has been written at the Oval, as much as at the more famous Lord's.

The first-ever Test on English soil was played there in September 1880, when England beat Australia by five wickets, and W. G. Grace, the Babe Ruth of English cricket, scored a hundred runs.

It was also at the Oval that the legend of "the Ashes" was born. "The Ashes" are the imaginary symbol of supremacy that England and Australia still play for. The story derives from an Oval match in August 1882 when England, left to score only 85 to win in their second innings, were cruising along comfortably, with 5l scored for only two wickets down, and were headed for an easy win. Then the great Australian bowler, F.R. Spofforth (called 'the Demon' because of his saturnine face and fierce piercing eyes) struck like a thunderbolt, taking seven wickets and plunging England to a ghastly defeat by seven runs. It was England's first loss on English soil, and the next morning, The Sporting Times published an obituary, stating that "the body of English cricket would be cremated and the Ashes taken to Australia". And ever since, it is these mythological "Ashes" that have been played for.

There are strange stories surrounding the history of these Ashes. In January the following year, five months later, England beat Australia in a Test match at Sydney Cricket Ground, and after that game a young Australian woman, Florence Rose Murphy, presented the England captain, the Hon. Ivo Bligh, with an urn containing ashes. They were the ashes, she said (according to an article this year by Tim Rice, in the Electronic Telegraph,) of a burned bail. Miss Murphy evidently had romantic designs on the Engand captain, for soon after that presentation she married Bligh, and on his elevation to the peerage became Lady Darnley. After Bligh's death in 1927 she presented the urn to Lord's Cricket Ground, in London, where it has rested ever since, the embodiment of the "Ashes" myth.

There are now suggestions, however, that all is not well with this myth: only recently Lady Darnley's daughter, the Dowager Countess of Darnley, has revealed that the urn contains, not a burned bail as her mother claimed, but the ashes of a burned veil.

In spite of this great win of 1882, the Oval has not been Australia's most successful ground over the years. In 1896, in Ranjitsinhji's Oval Test that C.L.R. James told me about, Australia made only 44 runs, one of the lowest scores ever made in a Test match in England, and lost the game.

In 1938, it was at the Oval that England piled up the highest score ever made in a Test match - 903 for seven declared - the only time in Test history that the 900-mark has been crossed, and beat Australia by an innings and 579 runs, the biggest win in any Test match. Len Hutton made 364, the highest score ever made in any Test on English soil.

Ten years later, it was at the Oval that the incomparable Australian Don Bradman played his last Test innings. He needed to score only four runs to take his total number of runs scored in first-class cricket to 7,000, with the unheard-of average of 100 per innings. He was wildly applauded all the way to the wicket, and was visibly moved by this reception from the English fans. He settled down to take his strike, survived the first ball thrown up by spinner Eric Hollies, and was then, with the second ball, clean bowled for a "duck" (earning Hollies a special place in cricket history).

With me at the Oval, Mr. James, who was too old and wise for bitterness, recalled the long history of racism and class-distinction that for so long marked the great game of cricket. I could remember from my reading that between the wars the detailed scoring cards published in The Times newspaper each day used to refer to amateurs as "Mr. A.P.F. Chapman", and to professionals as simply "Hendren", or "Hobbs". After the war they decided they must make a bow to democracy (after all, everyone took part in England's defence against the Nazis, right?) But they made a last-ditch stand for their class distinctions, now referring to amateurs as "F.R Brown", and to professionals as "Compton, D.", or "Hardstaff, J.H."

James's book is about more than just cricket, of course: it is a profound sociological study of racism and social distinctions in Trinidad society, as revealed by the cricket teams he played for, and observed as a young man. And it is a delightful account of his life, as he lived through all of this, clinging to all the tenets of sportsmanship that have always adhered to the very idea of cricket. The book is full of wonderful prose, and one cannot forebear to quote from it: "My inheritance, (you have already seen two, Puritanism and cricket) came from both sides of the family," he writes on page 17, "and a good case could be made out for predestination, including the position of the house in front of the recreation ground, and the window exactly behind the wicket."
And again, page 36: "When I got into the eleven (at school) there were matches on Saturdays.... I forged letters, I borrowed flannels, I borrowed money to pay my fare, I borrowed bicycles to ride to the matches and borrowed money to repair them when I smashed them. I was finally entangled in such a web of lies, forged letters, borrowed clothes and borrowed money that it was no wonder that the family looked on me as a sort of trial from heaven, sent to test them as Job was tested.... I was not a vicious boy. All I wanted was to play cricket and soccer, not merely to play but to live the life, and nothing could stop me. When all my tricks and plans and evasions failed I just went and played and said to hell with the consequences."

A few years later, in 1969, C.L.R. James came to Montreal to address the Black Writer's Conference, held when the Black Power movement was at its height. The conference was full of Black Panthers, and glowering activists like Stokely Carmichael, who were surrounded by glaring, threatening black bodyguards when they spoke. But James, with his unrivalled position as the father-figure, the guru, of all Black writers, gave a remarkable performance, speaking in flawless French from beginning to end of his lecture. I covered the conference, but did not approach him, as he was being lionized by the people there.

I think he might have remembered our day at the Oval, however, if I had had the nerve to remind him of it. It is certainly something I will never forget.

Article dated August 18 2001 sourced from:-
http://www.magma.ca/~brich/comment2frame3.html#anchor225509

Canada National Championship -- Posted Friday, March 28 2008
The Canadian Cricket Association will hold the 2008 National Championship from May 17 to 19 at the Maple Leaf Cricket Club near Toronto.

Held on a rotational basis, this year the Ontario Cricket Association will host teams from Alberta, British Columbia, Manitoba, Ontario, Quebec, Saskatchewan and the National Cricket Academy.

Full details in the following:-

http://www.canadiancricket.org/images/CCA%20National%20Championships%202008.pdf

Ontario university champions -- Posted Thursday, March 27 2008

Ontario university champions looking to get legit as an official team

There are 605 members in the Ryerson Student Cricket Association, making it the second largest group on campus.

Its best players were undefeated in last summer’s Provincial Inter-University Championship when they went up against 10 other Ontario teams.

But you won’t find the trophy they won anywhere on campus.

And even the head of the sports department didn’t know of the team’s existence.
That’s because there’s no official cricket league in Canadian university sports, and Ryerson’s cricketers aren’t recognized as a club.

“I didn’t know we had a cricket team,” said Jean Kennedy, director of sports and recreation. “I know other schools don’t have teams yet and you need to have enough teams to make it work.”

Abhimanyu Sharma, a recently graduated information technology student, has tried to make it work at Ryerson for years. And he won’t be quitting anytime soon. As the National Chair of the Canadian Cricket Association, Sharma has spent his entire university career organizing cricket not only at Ryerson but for universities and colleges across Canada.

The provincial tournament in July – which included teams from Western, McMaster and Brock – was the result of his efforts. It had a budget of over $25,000.
Sharma hopes this recent success will finally put cricket on the map at Ryerson.

“It’s about Ryerson, because I want them to recognize our efforts,” he said. “Ryerson needs to be proud of having this cricket team.”

Ryerson went 7-0 for the tournament and defeated McMaster in the final.

“There were some really good schools there, but we really gelled,” he said. “All the students playing for different teams at Ryerson came together.”

The cricket club includes six to eight intramural teams at Ryerson that play in the gym on Mondays from 12 to 2 p.m. and Fridays from 2 to 4 p.m. The “official” cricket team, which participated in the tournament, practises separately.

Though the university has yet to recognize it, Ryerson’s cricket club is recognized by the Canadian Cricket Association and the International Cricket Council.

While Kennedy was surprised to learn about the cricket team, she added that Ryerson isn’t opposed to a team, and would be open to talking about it.

“The first step is for them to join (the department) as a sports club,” she said. “It’s a new sport to Canada, and we should be looking at it with the number of people interested.”

Kennedy pointed out that money has been spent on cricket at Ryerson, including a $6,000 cricket mat and several hundred dollars for bats.

Sharma said David Dubois, the former director of sports and recreation, was an avid supporter of his cause.

He thinks the departmental shakeup, when Dubois was released last spring, erased much of the progress that had been made.

“He was sincere in our initiative and wanted to help us,” Sharma said.

But the issue extends far beyond Ryerson’s borders. It is only one of many Ontario universities seeking legitimacy for its cricket program.
Mudebbir Ahmed, president of the cricket association at Seneca College, says he has over 80 members. Seneca was one of the 10 teams that participated in the provincial championship.

“The tournament in the summer has come a long way,” he said. “It was very positive for the league.”

Ahmed credits Sharma for how far university cricket has come in the past year.

“He is the kind of person that will make cricket more recognized,” Ahmed said. “He’s worked very hard for this. It will happen eventually. It just needs time.”

Sharma agrees, but said he feels like he’s been waiting long enough.

“We need more people to come on board to make this a reality,” he said.” The more you keep going ahead in the process, without actually getting anywhere, you start to worry it’s just not going to happen.”

Article sourced from:-
http://www.ryersonline.ca/articles/1784/1/Cricket-making-noise-at-Ryerson-/Page1.html

Canada receives Sri Lanka's backing -- Posted Monday, March 24 2008

Arjuna Ranatunga, the CEO of Sri Lanka Cricket, has held talks with Canadian Cricket Association officials about how his board could assist the development of the sport in the country.

According to local media reports, a formal deal is about to be signed between the two boards while Ranatunga, who was in Canada on a short visit, agreed to back Canada's national side. Once the move is finalised, Sri Lanka's arrangement will be much the same as the one adopted by Australia as Bangladesh prepared for full Test status. However, concerns were raised about the level of the support given SLC's well-publicised financial problems.
During his visit, Ranatunga also attended a special net practice session with the national team.

Ranatunga's visit was dogged by protests by the local Tamil community who targeted him as he is a part of the government. Special security measures were put in place to ensure his safety.

Article sourced from:-

http://content-www.cricinfo.com/canada/content/story/343721.html

Canada and the cricket World Cup -- Posted Monday, March 24 2008

Ice hockey, baseball, skiing and skating are widely regarded as the most popular sports in Canada. And cricket - that's right cricket - is aiming to join that elite group.

It is estimated that there are 12,000 players within the Canadian Cricket Association, playing in 400 teams around 145 grounds.

Not bad for a country with a population of 30 million - just over half of England.

So how did cricket reach the northern-most areas of North America?

Many enthusiasts in Canada believe that the sport reached their shores during the mid 1700s with British soldiers following the battle at the Plains of Abraham near Quebec City.

But it was schoolmaster George A Barber, considered to be the father of Canadian cricket, who spread the word throughout Toronto during the early 19th century.

Popularity for the game grew rapidly in the country and, in 1844, Canada played the United States in New York.
The match happened 30 years before England and Australia contested a series, and historians believe the contest is the oldest international sporting fixture in the world.

A Canadian record

In 1892, the Canadian Cricket Association was formed. However popularity for the sport was on the wane as baseball's grew.

Between that time and the Second World War there were a number of cricketing highlights, including a 1932 tour by an Australia squad including Don Bradman.

In a match against Western Ontario, Bradman scored 260 runs - a Canadian record which stood for 58 years.

After the war Pakistan and the MCC visited Canada on tours, beginning a cricketing revival in the country.
But it was in 1975 and 1979 that Canada came under the sport's spotlight.

First, Eastern Canada beat the touring Australian World Cup side by five wickets.

Four years later, Canada reached the final of the first International Cricket Conference Trophy, only to be beaten by Sri Lanka.

That effort earned them a place in the 1979 World Cup, where they performed valiantly against the likes of England, Pakistan and Australia, but still failed to win a single match, and in 2001, Canada played host to the International Cricket Council Trophy tournament.

The nation finished third out of 22, to qualify for the 2003 World Cup.

Article sourced from:-
http://news.bbc.co.uk/sport3/cwc2003/hi/newsid_2300000/newsid_2307600/2307651.stm

Selection process and procedure -- Posted Sunday, March 23 2008

Ontario Cricket Association is proud to announce that Canadian Cricket Association and Ontario Cricket Association have come to agreement whereby selection of all Ontario players to Canadian National Cricket Team will be considered only from the list of players that will be provided by the Selection Panel of OCA which shall comprise of Presidents or Selection chairs of each member league to be headed by 1st Vice-President of Ontario Cricket Association as Chairman of this panel and National Selector representing province of Ontario will act as consultant to this panel.

PROCEDURE: All bonafied and active players from OCA member league players will be eligible for selection to Ontario teams which will be selected based on players? performance within the league competitions, and/or performance in Ontario Senior and Junior Competitions, Indoor practices during winter season and/or all other OCA sanctioned games. Each league selection chair will put forward the names of prospective players to Ontario Cricket Association?s Selection Panel. The OCA Selection Panel will compile a list of players in consultation with National Selector representing Ontario and that list will be forwarded to Canadian National Selection Committee for selection to Canadian National Cricket Team. Under no circumstances, any player who is not actively involved in playing in his own league?s games and those players who choose not to participate in Ontario Cricket Association?s inter-league competition and any other OCA sanctioned/selected games, will be included in the final list of players to be forwarded to CCA for selection to Canadian National Cricket team. The CCA Selection panel will be free to select any players from within the list of Ontario players to be forwarded by OCA if the players meet all other requirements and conditions as may be required and stipulated by prevailing CCA policies.

Canadian National Selection Panel will only pick Ontario players from the list of players to be provided by Ontario Selection Panel. Exception to this understanding is any erroneous omission on part of Ontario Selection Panel.

Please communicate this process and procedure to all your member players so that no one misses an opportunity to be considered for selection to Ontario Team/s and subsequently Canadian National Cricket Team.

Information sourced from:- www.cricketctar.net.tdca

ICC approves 14-team event in 2011 -- Posted Friday, March 21 2008
Associates lose out in World Cup revamp

As expected, the ICC executive board approved proposals to reduce the number of Associates participating at the 2011 World Cup from six to four.

This was done, so the ICC claimed, to reduce the length of an event which many considered to be too bloated in 2007 from 47 days to 38.

The ICC's 10 Full Members automatically qualify and they will be joined by the top four teams from next years World Cup Qualifiers in Dubai. As thing stands, this means that Ireland have to qualify for a tournament they reached the Super Sixes at last time, while Zimbabwe, who are below them in the official ICC One-Day Rankings, do not.

Alternative proposals, including one which would have involved a pre-qualifying tournament featuring the top six Associates as well as Bangladesh and Zimbabwe, were earlier rejected by the ICC's chief executives committee.

Cricinfo staff

March 19, 2008

Article sourced from:-
http://content-www.cricinfo.com/ci-icc/content/story/343133.html

Lest we forget -- Posted Thursday, March 20 2008

A year ago on St Patrick's Day, Ireland were celebrating one of the biggest upsets in cricket history when they beat Pakistan in the World Cup.

I was hoping its impact on the game back in Ireland would have been a launch pad to a bigger and brighter future. St Patrick's Day 2007 was very special in Kingston, Jamaica, and one of very few highlights in that disappointing two months of so-called 'carnival cricket'.

Sadly, since then their finances and their results on the field tell a different story.

You know how sometimes when you leave someone whose company you've enjoyed or somehow been impressed by, you either say to them or just to yourself I must arrange to meet them again soon? That's how I felt after spending time with the Irish cricket team during last year’s World Cup in the West Indies.

Of course it took nearly twelve months to 'bump' into them again.

The problem, as is often the case when you fail to make that appointment to see the friend, is that in the meantime they've hit a bit of a bad patch and life has not been plain sailing.

An important fact to point out is that as we mark the anniversary of the World Cup shock win, Ireland are now wanting to move forward and put the hassle of last Summer behind them. So to drag up the troubles again is not helpful.

While I failed to watch them play one match last season I wasn't on my own in all too quickly forgeting the pleasure they brought the game 12 months ago.

At least not one of them said "hello stranger!" when I went to Dublin to talk to a few of them before they set off on a tour of the UAE and then Bangladesh.

It's not all doom and gloom. They've reorganised the administration and the players seem happier with the reserve support.

Sponsorship has proved hard to find, which really surprised me, but work on that is in progress and, unlike 13 months ago when I travelled to Dublin, this year the taxi driver from the airport knew all about their national cricket team. So there’s plenty of reason to be optimistic that they can hit the headlines again.

They do get coverage on this very website and on their own and it appears plenty of grassroots support is available. Kevin O'Brien, one of the world cup stars, tells me his club there are still kids who arrived because of the
The captain Trent Johnston is confident they've turned a corner, admitting they were all '"cooked" when they got back last April and that didn't help get the season off to a great start. He said he's still having to point out to people just how hard it is to mix and match full time work with playing cricket.

He's right of course and every time they play any county team it's a bit like a non-league football club taking on a football league side every week and somehow expecting them to win because they beat a Premier league club once (Pakistan).

Kyle McCallan is still going on about St Patrick's Day in Jamaica to the kids at his school and after thinking that would be his swansong he's hungry for a bit more. As he says, "you get a bit greedy".

I don't like to think that those who moaned about Ireland and Bangladesh making progress at the expense of Pakistan and India were right to do so. But they have more of a point if some of us just offer our support every four years. No use at all.

They don't need or want our pity but just like a decent friend to be a bit more reliable.

Time is tight and, who knows, maybe another summer will pass with far too little coverage but I hope at least they and Scotland get some exposure when they take part in the qualifying event for next year's Twenty20 World Championship.

That's at Stormont at the beginning of August.

NB - Kingston on that weekend a year ago was not all about celebration. Arriving on the island 24 hours after the famous match we were greeted with the news that Bob Woolmer had died. The feeling that covered the city that day was as cool and unpleasant as you could imagine. That will always hang over the CWC 2007 but stories such as Ireland's will also last in the memory and hopefully be repeated.

Article sourced frrom:-

http://www.bbc.co.uk/blogs/tms/2008/03/st_patricks_day_will_come_agai_1.shtml

Sri Lanka Cricket to ‘adopt’ Canada -- Posted Tuesday, March 18 2008

Sri Lanka Cricket chief Arjuna Ranatunga who made an official visit to Canada last week held talks with Canadian Cricket Association on the ways to offer Sri Lanka’s help for the development of the sport in Canada
During the discussions, Ranatunga has agreed to “adopt” the Canada’s national cricket team in an interesting move which would see Sri Lanka assuming the responsibility of nurturing the Canadian side to highest international level.

The agreement between the two Cricket Boards will be signed very soon, according to sources in Canada.
Once the move is finalized, Sri Lanka will be the first South Asian Country to adopt a western Cricket playing country and it will be done on the same lines how Australia had helped Bangladesh before test status.
Ranatunga’s visit which would break new ground in world cricket was made amidst heavy protests by the strong Tamil community in Toronto according to sources.

Groups in Toronto were protesting as minister Ranatunga is part of the present government and launched a massive campaign to sabotage his visit.

Special security arrangements had been made for Ranatunga in Toronto by the organisers of his visit, The Can-Indo-Lanka’s team headed by Romesh Angunawela, Harsha Caldera, Canadian Cricket Associations CEO Atul Ahuja and Canadian National Cricket Coach Pubudu Dassanayake with the help of Sri Lanka High Commission and the Toronto Police.

During his visit, Ranatunga also met the top members of the Canada Cricket Association (CCA) and also attended special net practice session with the national team.

Ranatunga also had talks with a prominent figure in Canadian Politics Dr. Ruby Dhalla who is the first South Asian woman to be elected to the Federal Parliament in the Western world. She is also a part of the CCA.

Dhalla also invited Ranatunga to get involved in a programme she runs in three countries supporting underprivileged kids and Ranatunga has promptly pledged his support.

Article sourced from:-
http://www.dailymirror.lk/DM_BLOG/Sections/frmNewsDetailView.aspx?ARTID=9451

Canada's Forthcoming matches in 2008 -- Posted Monday, March 17 2008

Sat 28 June
ODI - Canada v Bermuda
Venue TBC

Sun 29 Canada v Bermuda
Venue TBC

Tue July 1 3rd ODI - Canada v Bermuda
Venue TBC

Fri July 4 - Mon 7
ICC Intercontinental Cup
Canada v Bermuda
Maple Leaf South-East Ground, Toronto

Wed July 16 - Sat 19
ICC Intercontinental Cup
Canada v Scotland
Maple Leaf South-East Ground, Toronto

August 2008
Wed 6 - Sat 9 ICC Intercontinental Cup
Ireland v Canada
Venue TBC

Mon 11 Only ODI - Ireland v Canada
Venue TBC

Information sourced from:-
http://content-www.cricinfo.com/canada/content/current/team/17.html?template=schedule

The changing face of cricket -- Posted Saturday, March 15 2008

We all know about the impact Bangalore call centres can have on our lives, but the significance of this development is equally far reaching. Until India emerged as the superpower of cricket, world sports was one area where Europe reigned supreme and the United States had very little influence.

The US may affect all our lives - in politics, economics and culture - but when it comes to world sports it is almost like a third world country. The nature and structure of world sports have remained constant for more than a century and a half.

Most of the sports the world plays were either invented or codified in these islands and much of the governing structure was devised by the French. Certainly, the bodies that govern football and the Olympics were French-created, probably reflecting an English preference for muddling through.

And the men who run these bodies have nearly all been European. In 114 years of the Olympic movement, there has been only one non-European president.

World football was governed for a long time by a Brazilian of Belgian descent and his tenure did not affect the essential power structure of the game.

And while some of the best players in the world come from South America, it is Europe that controls the economic power and dictates the shape and nature of the world game.
So much so that the Uefa Champions League is a showcase for world talent watched by millions round the globe and English Premier League matches are so popular round the world that it even thought of playing some of them overseas, a move which led some Asians and Africans to call it the second European colonisation.

Cricket is very different.

On the field, it is Australia not India that dominate. Off the field, however, India's economic power is so great that even Australia has had to come to terms with it.
Australia have just refused to tour Pakistan, but they would never dare not to tour India because they need Indian money far too much. Indeed, the newly-created Indian Premier League (IPL), where 20-over matches are to be played under floodlight, is so lucrative that Australian cricketers have been tripping over themselves to rush to India to collect their rupees.

India produces 80% of world cricket's income, largely through television rights to cater for the insatiable appetite for the game in this land of over a billion, which has a fairly well-off middle-class of some 350 million.

The auctions for the IPL demonstrated India's economic clout. The franchises for the teams, many of them owned by Bollywood stars, went for millions and the cricketers themselves can earn as much as £500,000 or more for five weeks work, the sort of money top Premier League footballers get but until now cricketers have only dreamt of.

Most of England's top cricketers have kept away because the IPL matches clash with the English season. But the Indians not only say that English cricketers would love to play in India but they also want the English board to delay the start of their season from next year to adjust to the new league.

All this illustrates one fundamental problem for world cricket: its lack of a proper governing structure.
The structure is so weak that I am told the retiring chief executive of international cricket, the Australian Malcolm Speed, will tell the Dubai meeting that cricket has become dysfunctional. His paper will produce much chat this weekend but there is no sign that there is any appetite to marry India's cricketing billions to a viable world cricket structure.

The Indian money juggernaut will just go rolling on and the danger for cricket is that it is not only rabbits that will be killed on the boundary edge.

Much else of what cricket has stood for could get trampled, too.

Mihir Bose - BBC sports editor

Article sourced from:-
http://www.bbc.co.uk/blogs/thereporters/mihirbose/2008/03/the_changing_face_of_cricket.html

T20 inspires Canada to set up league on similar format -- Posted Saturday, March 15 2008

Twenty20 cricket is not only taking the Indian team places. Now this exciting new format is going places too. After the announcement by Board of Cricket Control in India (BCCI), to launch the Indian Premier League (IPL) now it’s the Canadian Cricket Association’s (CCA) turn to set up a league on the similar format.

The Canadian league will start its season from May 2008 and the country’s cricket board is looking at sponsorship deals worth $25 mn. The Canadian association is hopeful of raising this amount as it plans to attract more international players.

“We will be working out the finer points over the next few weeks and will be in a position to make a formal announcement in December,” Mr Atul Ahuja, the newly appointed CEO of CCA told SundayET in an exclusive interview.

While the structure of the new Canadian professional Twenty20 league is still being finalised, CAA will work under the ICC umbrella in organising the matches. “To kick off the league we will hold an exhibition Twenty20 match between legends teams from India, Pakistan and the West Indies.

We hope to attract top teams from around the world as we have some of the best cricket grounds, indoor stadiums and modern state-of-the-art infrastructure,” said Mr Ahuja. The Canadian association is banking upon the fact that the country scores over other destinations as it is a neutral venue and more secure.

The country has around six million cricket fans and between 50,000 to 60,000 active cricketers. “Additionally, being, a gateway to the Americas region, from a cricket standpoint, this professional league is expected to attract players, viewers and sponsors from all over the world.

We are finding a great amount of interest from Indian companies who are looking at making a foray into the North American market,” said Mr Ahuja. CCA is also hoping to work closely with BCCI in putting the league together.

“We are yet not aware of any such development. I don’t know how it will work but if it is to be done under the ICC guidelines it will be interesting to see if the Canadian league is able to attract international players,” said a BCCI official.

Apparently players from Australia, South Africa, England, Pakistan and Sri Lanka have agreed to participate in IPL, which starts in April next year and has prize money of
$3 mn on offer. The top two sides of IPL will qualify for the international Champions Twenty20 League.

Article sourced from:-
http://economictimes.indiatimes.com/articleshow/2496150.cms

Associates' World Cup plans scuppered -- Posted Saturday, March 15 2008

Cricinfo has learned that attempts to broker a compromise over plans to reduce the number of Associate countries at the 2011 World Cup were scuppered by the host countries, led by India.

India were the driving force behind the initial proposal to cut the number of Associates at the tournament from six to four and a restructuring of the competition format, a move ostensibly to counter criticism that the 2007 event was too bloated. But this was strongly opposed by leading Associates who argued that it was against the ICC policy of spreading the game globally.

At the ICC executives meeting in Kuala Lumpar last month, some Full Member countries singled out the performance of Bermuda at the 2007 World Cup as an example of how there was not, in their opinion, the strength in depth to support the inclusion of six Associates. One senior administrator countered by pointing out that there were also many poor performances by senior countries such as England and West Indies leading to many equally one-sided and meaningless matches.

Seven alternative proposals were put forward and this was narrowed down to two - the publicised 14-team format and an alternative tabled by the Associates which was a 16-team format. The latter would have meant that the six leading associates plus Bangladesh and Zimbabwe would have played in a first-round qualifier before the tournament proper, with the top four progressing into a 12-team event. That would, so they argued, have led to a more meaningful cricket for the Associates as well as a shorter and more competitive World Cup.

The plan was well received by a few Full Members, but when it came to a vote the proposal was rejected. It is believed that the Indian representatives lobbied hard to have anything other than the 14-team plan put forward by the BCCI turned down.

It is now expected that the 14-team format will be rubber stamped when the ICC board meets in Dubai next weekend.

Martin Williamson
executive editor of Cricinfo

Article sourced from:-
http://content-www.cricinfo.com/ci-icc/content/story/342463.html

A letter from Oz -- Posted Saturday, March 15 2008

Hi my name is Wayne Flemming. I live in Australia and am a big follower of Canadian cricket. (also Irish, Scotch, and Dutch to a lesser extent).

I follow Canada's progress in the ODI’s and Intercontinental Cup and love the fact that Canada are there, whether they win or lose.

I just want to say well done and keep the good work up. I will be following Canada closely through the rest of the Intercontinental Cup and World Cup qualifier.

Realy hope they finish in the top six, but also have confidence that they can cause an upset and win it, reason being I think it's great how Canada are breeding young players in preparation for that.

Best wishes,

Wayne Flemming.

Please note that all mail should be sent to:-
hennessy.harris@rogers.com

Big playing increase beyond the Test World -- Posted Thursday, March 13 2008

The number of people actively participating in cricket outside the Test-playing countries increased 17% in 2007, according to the ICC.

The research, carried out by the ICC's development program, was collated from 33 Associate and 58 Affiliate members. It showed that there were 338,051 male and female players in those countries in 2007, an increase of 49,158 on the previous year. Since 2002, when there were 144,047 participants, there has been a 135% rise.

The ICC said that there were also marked increases in the number of grounds (up 5% year-on-year and 45% since 2002), qualified coaches (5% and 143% respectively) and qualified umpires (7% and 141%). There was also an increase in the number of full or part-time staff employed in Associate and Affiliate countries to 387, a rise of 31%.

"These are impressive figures and confirm that the ICC Development Program is heading in the right direction," said ICC global development manager Matthew Kennedy. "These figures are also evidence of the dedication and commitment of cricket-lovers around the world. It is a tribute to the local workers who have shown enormous devotion - in many instances unpaid - to the development of cricket within Associate and Affiliate member countries.

"Together with our members we will now look to build upon these results to ensure that the growth and improvement of cricket outside of the ICC's Test-playing nations in sustained in the long term."

Scotland was heralded as an area which typified the increasing participation. There were 25,476 participants in 2007 compared to 9,649 in 2002. Figures from 2007 included 4,035 playing senior cricket and 21,441 involved at junior level.

Andy Tenant, Cricket Scotland's Head of Cricket, said: "Cricket Scotland is delighted that our significant investment in grass roots participation continues to bear fruit. In 2007 we had over 2,500 more boys and girls involved in our national introductory program which totalled over 16,000 participants, aged 7-9 in our schools. The number of primary schools with links to clubs also increased by 100 to 398. This also benefited our junior club membership which increased by 15% to nearly 4,500."

One of ICC's newer Affiliates, Suriname, in the Americas Region, recorded total participants of 12,750 in 2007 compared to 630 in 2006. In addition, 200 new coaches were educated at an introductory level.

ICC Americas Regional Development Manager Martin Vieira said: "Through an initiative between the Suriname Cricket Board and their National Education Ministry, some 200 teachers from 100 schools went through an ICC supported Introduction to Cricket training course last year. From this, 12,000 children have now been introduced to the game for the first time which is an outstanding achievement."

In the East-Asia Pacific region, Indonesia registered 6161 participants in 2007, a 34% increase from 2006 figures. Much of this increase can be attributed to a new development partnership with Tetra Pak, EcoBali and Ultrajaya Milk that saw the number of teams competing at junior level almost double last year.

Article sourced from:-

http://content-www.cricinfo.com/ci-icc/content/story/339780.html

High School cricket -- Posted Wednesday, March 12 2008

I am a Trinidadian, teaching high school in Aurora, Ontario. For three years I have been with a dedicated international bunch of students who have had to be relegated to the lowest priority for gym space to play indoor cricket.

I have endured slights and the subtle attitude of indifference to this sport. However, as a Trinidadian, these people are no match for me; my captain and I have won the hearts and minds of students and teachers, step by step. We played in shoebox sized spaces honeing our craft with chairs for wickets.

After years of no games, I actually was contacted by the south Asian populated Maple High, whose coach welcomed my fledgling team to play their championship side and if we were able to withstand their level of play, we could be involved in a tournament with a league of eight schools in York Region.

My man, like a movie, my team which plays indoor cricket with taped tennis balls is told when we get to Maple that they use an indoor hard ball that almost all of my team have never used.

Outcome : after three years of passion, we beat Maple HS with four overs out of fifteen to spare. On Monday GW
Williams in Aurora will no longer deny my team or my south asian community a single piece of cricket gear.

For your information students all over York Region's cricket schools are personally outfitted with bats,
pads, wickets, balls etc. At GW, we had to buy our own team shirts despite representing the school.

I urgently appeal to the cricket big wigs, and associations to step up and do something about the snail pace development of cricket in the schools. Students of wasp origin are as much enthralled by this sport as any West Indian or Aussie; it is odd that school boards
are not approached to ensure that students from cricket communities get their due to have this sport which is their identity represented by way of facilities and equipment.

Silvan Gayadeen

Newmarket, Ontario

ICC Intercontinental Cup -- Posted Tuesday, March 11 2008

Ireland overcomes Saqib's resistance in Intercontinental Cup

Summary of scoring

ICC Intercontinental Cup: UAE v Ireland, March 6th-9th, Abu Dhabi, UAE

UAE 228 runs all out (72 overs; Sameer Zia 56 runs, Naemuddin 46 runs, Ahmad Raza 46 runs) & 306 runs all out (122 overs; Saqib Ali 195 runs, A Cusack 3 wickets for 19 runs)

Ireland 474 runs all out (134.3 overs; Niall O'Brien 174 runs, Trent Johnston 69 runs, Kyle McCallan 52 runs not out, Eoin Morgan 47 runs) and 64 runs for 1 wicket (14.2 overs, William Porterfield 40 runs not out)

Ireland beat UAE by 9 wickets; Ireland 20 points, UAE 0 points

Summary Report

UAE captain Saqib Ali played the innings of his life but failed to prevent Ireland winning by 9 wickets in an ICC Intercontinental Cup group match. The UAE, batting first, made 228 runs in its first innings, a total eclipsed by Ireland as Niall O'Brien made 174 runs in a total of 474 runs. The UAE second innings became one of almost individual resistance with Saqib scoring 195 runs before being last-man out. Ireland polished off the necessary runs for victory in 14.2 overs, lead by William Porterfield's 40 runs not out.

The UAE first innings was propped up by a 7th wicket stand of 97 runs between Sameer Zia (56 runs) and Ahmad Raza (46 runs). Irish wicketkeeper-batsman Niall O' Brien provided the backbone for his side's reply. A substantial lead was attained thanks to a 7th wicket stand of 163 runs with Trent Johnston, who made 69 runs. Niall O'Brien's 174 runs came off 293 balls and included 23 fours.

The UAE second innings was in a sorry state at 127 runs for 7 wickets, but Saqib found a partner in Zahid Shah who stuck around while 159 runs were added for the 8th wicket. Saqib was out last. His 195 runs came off 358 balls with 26 fours and four sixes. Shah made 28 runs. Spinner Kyle McCallan took 3 wickets for 104 runs in 42 overs. Alex Cusack picked up 3 wickets for 19 runs towards the end of the UAE innings. Irish opening batsman, William Porterfield hit a brisk 40 runs not out to cement a 9 wicket win.

Ireland took the maximum 20 points from this match and closes to within 17 points of table-leading Kenya with one match in hand. The next match in the Intercontinental Cup sees Namibia, one point behind Ireland, host the Netherlands in Windhoek. Canada, currently in fifth place, hosts Bermuda and Scotland in July and travels to meet Ireland in August. The top two sides from round-robin play meet in the Final in the UAE in November 2008.

ICC Intercontinental Cup Standings

P W Pts
Kenya 4 3 66
Ireland 3 3 49
Namibia 3 3 48
Netherlands 3 2 34
Canada 4 1 26
Scotland 3 1 26
UAE 6 1 23
Bermuda 4 0 6

Next match: March 27-30 Namibia v the Netherlands (Windhoek, Namibia)

Eddie Norfolk

Twenty20 cricket -- Posted Monday, March 10 2008

Twenty20 cricket is not only taking the Indian team places. Now this exciting new format is going places too. After the announcement by Board of Cricket Control in India (BCCI), to launch the Indian Premier League (IPL) now it’s the Canadian Cricket Association’s (CCA) turn to set up a league on the similar format.

The Canadian league will start its season from May 2008 and the country’s cricket board is looking at sponsorship deals worth $25 mn. The Canadian association is hopeful of raising this amount as it plans to attract more international players.

“We will be working out the finer points over the next few weeks and will be in a position to make a formal announcement in December,” Mr Atul Ahuja, the newly appointed CEO of CCA told SundayET in an exclusive interview.

While the structure of the new Canadian professional Twenty20 league is still being finalised, CAA will work under the ICC umbrella in organising the matches. “To kick off the league we will hold an exhibition Twenty20 match between legends teams from India, Pakistan and the West Indies.

We hope to attract top teams from around the world as we have some of the best cricket grounds, indoor stadiums and modern state-of-the-art infrastructure,” said Mr Ahuja. The Canadian association is banking upon the fact that the country scores over other destinations as it is a neutral venue and more secure.

The country has around six million cricket fans and between 50,000 to 60,000 active cricketers . “Additionally, being, a gateway to the Americas region, from a cricket standpoint, this professional league is expected to attract players, viewers and sponsors from all over the world.

We are finding a great amount of interest from Indian companies who are looking at making a foray into the North American market,” said Mr Ahuja. CCA is also hoping to work closely with BCCI in putting the league together.

“We are yet not aware of any such development. I don’t know how it will work but if it is to be done under the ICC guidelines it will be interesting to see if the Canadian league is able to attract international players,” said a BCCI official.

Apparently players from Australia, South Africa, England, Pakistan and Sri Lanka have agreed to participate in IPL, which starts in April next year and has prize money of $3 mn on offer. The top two sides of IPL will qualify for the international Champions Twenty20 League.

Aricle sourced from:- http://economictimes.indiatimes.com/articleshow/2496150.cms

Fighting against the odds -- Posted Saturday, March 8 2008

It was a mixed year for Canada both on and off the pitch. They struggled in one-day cricket with four wins out of 16 matches while in the ICC Intercontinental Cup they lost four out of five. And as they move into 2008, the lack of money continues to blight their progress.

Their performance at the World Cup was predictably dire, only ever showing glimpses of potential and competitiveness. After losing to Kenya, they took on England and made a decent stab at chasing 280 with Ashif Mulla cracking a quickfire 58. In their final match against New Zealand, John Davison - Canada's bristling opener and only batsman with the gumption and class to take on the best - smashed 52 from 31 balls in his farewell ODI.

Things didn't improve in four-day cricket either when they were humiliated by Ireland in the Intercontinental Cup final at Leicester carried over from the previous season.

Their preparation was poor, blighted by lost baggage and missed flights, and lost a horribly one-sided contest inside five sessions. They struggled in subsequent matches from patchy availability and a lack of preparation as players, already struggling to take time off, often found themselves underprepared on unfamiliar surfaces.

The coach, Andy Pick, left in May and urged Canada's board to appoint his replacement quickly, to aid their path to qualifying for the next World Cup. Pubudu Dassanayake was finally chosen five months later, and he has a battle on his hands to squeeze what little money he can from a ring-fenced set-up.

New man on the block

A familiar name in Canada's youth squads, Trevin Bastiampillai is one of the next generation and in 2007 put together some useful scores. He made 71 in Canada's innings victory over UAE, adding 141 with Mulla.

Fading star

John Davison, Canada's standout batsman, played his last match in the Intercontinental Cup final rout, and two months earlier he bowed out of ODIs at the World Cup with a typically audacious 52 from 31 balls. He might yet return but, at 37, and with Canada's selectors looking to the future, it appears unlikely. They, and Canada's fans, will sorely miss him.

High point

Ashish Bagai shone in the World Cricket League in Nairobi. He scored 137 not out - his first hundred in senior cricket - against Scotland and added a second ton against Ireland four days later. His 345 runs at 86.25 meant he ended the tournament as the leading run scorer and was named Player of the Tournament. He was later shortlisted for the ICC Associate Player of the Year.

Low point

Canada's loss to Ireland in the Intercontinental Cup final summed up their year. Dismissed for 92 and 145, the only crumb of comfort they gained was the performance of Umar Bhatti who took a hat-trick (and very nearly four in four) as Ireland's first innings fell away. The news that Bagai had taken up a work position in London and was likely to largely unavailable in 2008 was another blow.

What the future holds

With the appointment of Atul Ahuja as Canada's first chief executive, hopes of the government funding Canadian cricket have increased. Like other Associates, they receive a payout from the ICC but, as Pick found out, access to the funds is limited - and this is one area that Ahuja might be able to help in his first year as chief executive. Similarly, Pubudu Dassanayake, Pick's replacement, has a tough task on his hands to improve consistency.

India set to restore Canada's cricketing glory -- Posted Thursday, March 6 2008

Big-time cricket action is returning to Canada after about a century.

In a country where cricket was the premier national sport till National Hockey League replaced it in 1917, an Indo-Canadian, Atul Ahuja, has joined hands with the International Cricket Council (ICC) to restore the sport to its previous glory.

Languishing at the lowest 15th rank, Canada currently enjoys the status of only an associate member with the ICC.
For young Ahuja, who has just been appointed CEO of the Canadian Cricket Association, the advent of Twenty20 has come in handy to mount a challenge to hockey and put cricket where it once was.

The ICC has spelt out that Canada is a priority nation for them. So with their financial and technical backing, we are putting in place by mid-2008 a league system and a national academy to take this sport to the grassroots,'' Ahuja told IANS, explaining his game plan.

Twenty20 is like (ice) hockey. It is a three-hour, action-packed thriller which will excite all Canadians. So like the National Hockey League where city teams from Canada and the US vie for the Stanley Cup, we are raising four city cricket teams in Toronto, Montreal, Vancouver and Calgary, to begin with. Later, we will have more teams, he said.

The inter-city league, he said, will make cricket a regular, year-round sporting feature in Canada. ``This will make it the sport of the masses who would love permanence of cricketing action here.''

Each city league team, he explained, will have three international players, four senior players, three under-19 players and one baseball player.

Why a baseball player? ``Since baseball is very popular in America and almost like cricket, we want to make T20 look like baseball and draw spectators. It is just a marketing strategy. And cricket boards of other countries will help us recruit international players.''

The year-long city league, he explained, will culminate in two semi-finals and a final to be played in a single day.

``It will be a day of two semi-finals and then a final... which will be telecast live at primetime in India, Pakistan, Sri Lanka, Europe, the Gulf, Australia and New Zealand.''

Hinting that it could be an indoor event at Rogers Centre in downtown Toronto, Ahuja said he was in talks with Ten Sports for worldwide telecast rights.

``And there is no dearth of corporate sponsors. In fact, we also plan a separate T20 professional league in July as 30 to 40 per cent staff of Microsoft, IBM, Oracle and banks here are South Asians with cricketing background. It will be played from 5 p.m. to 8 p.m.

``Then there is a huge pool of talented women players from India and the Caribbean for whom we will have a women's league under way in early 2008.''

On top of it all, he said, there will be a national cricket academy to nurture talent. ``Starting in March, it will bring the best coaches from Canada and outside to train youngsters and set the stage for cricket revolution in Canada.''

Cricket has a long history in Canada, he said, revealing that the first-ever documented match in cricket history was played in Quebec City in 1775.

Revealing another curious fact, Ahuja said, ``Most people think the first international Test match was played between England and Australia in 1877. But records show it was a three-day match between Canada and the US on Sept 25-27 in 1844 at St George's Club in New York which we (Canada) won by 23 runs.

``On Day 1, the US was all out for 64 runs and Canada 82. On Day 2, there was no play, and on Day 3, Canada scored 62 and the US 58.''

Article by Gurmukh Singh. Ontario, Canada

Sourced from:- http://www.indiaenews.com/america/20071230/88741.htm

Cricket in Canada -- Posted Wednesday, March 5 2008
Big-time cricket action is returning to Canada after about a century.

In a country where cricket was the premier national sport till National Hockey League replaced it in 1917, an Indo-Canadian, Atul Ahuja, has joined hands with the International Cricket Council (ICC) to restore the sport to its previous glory.

Languishing at the lowest 15th rank, Canada currently enjoys the status of only an associate member with the ICC.
For young Ahuja, who has just been appointed CEO of the Canadian Cricket Association, the advent of Twenty20 has come in handy to mount a challenge to hockey and put cricket where it once was.

``The ICC has spelt out that Canada is a priority nation for them. So with their financial and technical backing, we are putting in place by mid-2008 a league system and a national academy to take this sport to the grassroots,'' Ahuja told IANS, explaining his game plan.

``Twenty20 is like (ice) hockey. It is a three-hour, action-packed thriller which will excite all Canadians. So like the National Hockey League where city teams from Canada and the US vie for the Stanley Cup, we are raising four city cricket teams in Toronto, Montreal, Vancouver and Calgary, to begin with. Later, we will have more teams,'' he said.

The inter-city league, he said, will make cricket a regular, year-round sporting feature in Canada. ``This will make it the sport of the masses who would love permanence of cricketing action here.''

Each city league team, he explained, will have three international players, four senior players, three under-19 players and one baseball player.

Why a baseball player? ``Since baseball is very popular in America and almost like cricket, we want to make T20 look like baseball and draw spectators. It is just a marketing strategy. And cricket boards of other countries will help us recruit international players.''

The year-long city league, he explained, will culminate in two semi-finals and a final to be played in a single day.
``It will be a day of two semi-finals and then a final ... which will be telecast live at primetime in India, Pakistan, Sri Lanka, Europe, the Gulf, Australia and New Zealand.''

Hinting that it could be an indoor event at Rogers Centre in downtown Toronto, Ahuja said he was in talks with Ten Sports for worldwide telecast rights.

``And there is no dearth of corporate sponsors. In fact, we also plan a separate T20 professional league in July as 30 to 40 per cent staff of Microsoft, IBM, Oracle and banks here are South Asians with cricketing background. It will be played from 5 p.m. to 8 p.m.

``Then there is a huge pool of talented women players from India and the Caribbean for whom we will have a women's league under way in early 2008.''

On top of it all, he said, there will be a national cricket academy to nurture talent. ``Starting in March, it will bring the best coaches from Canada and outside to train youngsters and set the stage for cricket revolution in Canada.''

Cricket has a long history in Canada, he said, revealing that the first-ever documented match in cricket history was played in Quebec City in 1775.

Revealing another curious fact, Ahuja said, ``Most people think the first international Test match was played between England and Australia in 1877. But records show it was a three-day match between Canada and the US on Sept 25-27 in 1844 at St George's Club in New York which we (Canada) won by 23 runs.

``On Day 1, the US was all out for 64 runs and Canada 82. On Day 2, there was no play, and on Day 3, Canada scored 62 and the US 58.''

Gurmukh Singh. Ontario, Canada.

Sourced from:
http://www.indiaenews.com/america/20071230/88741.htm

Cricket in Victoria B.C. -- Posted Wednesday, March 5 2008

Cricket has a long and rich history in Victoria, and has been a favoured destination for many touring sides. We have hosted teams from all over the world, most notably the Australians, the MCC eight times, Kent C.C.C. twice and a team of former Indian test players led by Bishan Bedi. The 1990 VISAS Festival had the pleasure of hosting Sir Richard Hadlee, who treated the large crowd to an impressive exhibition of his skills in a ceremonial opening match involving players representing a number of the participating teams.

In 1863, the year after the incorporation of the City of Victoria, the local paper announced ?The first cricket match of the season will be played tomorrow at Beacon Hill?. Cricket, however, had been played as early as 1849 in Victoria, when a British Army officer, Captain Walter Colquhoun Grant, arrived with some cricket gear. In due course, matches were arranged against visiting Royal Navy ships. Cricket was so popular in the newly formed nation of Canada that in 1867 the game was declared the National Sport by the first Prime Minister, Sir John A. MacDonald and his Cabinet. In May 1876, the Victoria Cricket Club was formed and was to continue until the 1930?s.

Depression, followed by the Second World War were to cause it to discontinue. The present Oak Bay club, in existence prior to the First World War but disbanded in 1915, was re-formed in 1945 and was probably its true successor since it was sparked by several prominent members of the former Victoria Cricket Club.

In Canada: Dark Ladies and Quick Cricket

The gaily painted horse-drawn wagon slowed momentarily as it passed Beacon Hill Park in Victoria, capital of the Canadian province of British Columbia. "On your right you can see a cricket match the guide from Tally Ho Sightseeing told her dozen tourists. Their heads swiveled to take in a game in progress on an oval expanse of neatly mowed grass patrolled by a line of rustling plane trees, "It is said to be the forerunner of American baseball." the guide continued her well-rehearsed lines. "'There aw a few differences, however. A cricket game can last anything from one day to one week:'

If her inference was that cricket is always dull and drawn out, the guide and her charges might well have lingered longer as Beacon Hill Park. They would then have noticed that there were six players per side (instead of the normal eleven) and that the games, played at a fast, even frenzied pace, were completed in an hour and a half, after each side had bowled its regulation 60 balls. Six-a-side cricket may not, in the eyes of purists, really he cricket. But six-a-side, whose origins are obscure, is catching on among the game's amateurs, many of them middle-aged cricket junkies who will abandon jobs and spouses for a week to huff and puff about a playing field in some remote part of the world at their own expense.

There is a well established annual six a side tournament in Bangkok. Houston, which holds its tournament in September, boasts of being the US, capital of quick cricket. 'This year's biennial Victoria tournament attracted I8 teams from as far a field as Bangladesh. Hong Kong and the Cayman Islands. Counting air fares and accommodations, many of the 60 visitors paid between $2,000 and $3,000 for their week of cricket. Some wouldn't have missed it at twice the price. "The cricket is the real reason you travel the distances," said David Hammond, an Australian diplomat who earlier this year played in the Bangkok tourney. "But it is not just the cricket, there's a team spirit; you make new friends and you get to see places you wouldn't ordinarily get to."

The first Victoria tournament was organized two years ago by is cadre of cricket buffs under the direction of David Billingham, a local realtor. "We wanted the cricket to be sellout and competitive:' he recalled one morning as the 500-ton yacht Malibu Princess slipped out of the Sidney, B.C., harbor for a daylong cruise of the gulf islands. On board were nearly 200 cricketers and their Canadian hosts, the four-piece Dixieland express jazz band. "But we didn't want it to be so serious that people couldn't enjoy themselves," Billingham added, perhaps superfluously. In addition to the cruise, the visiting cricketers were invited to a salmon barbecue at the graceful Beacon Hill cricket pavilion, where colorful hanging baskets of' mixed petunias. lobelias, geraniums and tiny marigolds decorate the balcony.

Six-a-side cricket may not be the real thing, hut off-field traditions proved durable in Victoria. At each of the three grounds, tea was served promptly at 3:30p.m. each day. The repasts were prepared by the wives of local cricketers, "A few of us get together in the morning and crack open a bottle of champagne, and then we go on a rampage making sandwiches," said Sherry Carter, the teas organizer. "We do make some cucumber sandwiches [traditional fare at cricket tea], but we draw the line at cutting off the crusts." Throughout the week the refreshment tent at Beacon Hilt Park also dispensed a hugely successful concoction called a dark lady (rum and Jamaican ginger beer) that quickly became the tournament's unofficial drink.

As for the match itself, it was won on the final day by Young Canada; a local team whose youthful legs and lungs helped them survive seven grueling qualifying games. Needing two runs from the very last ball in the final against a team from Australia, Marshall Travis, the Young Canada batsman. swung lustily and scored a 4 through cover point. 'You couldn't get a better finish than that, could you now?" said one enthusiastic spectator, 81 year old Fred Lohmann, as the teams walked off the field to loud applause. "it has been wonderful cricket.

The statistics bore that out, During six days of games. 11,255 runs had been scored, including 229 "6s" (cricket's equivalent of the home run) and 655 "4s". Upwards of 2,000 teas had been served, and thanks to sponsorship, concession sales and food and drink sales, Billingham and his coworkers recovered most of the $50,000 they had spent on the tournament.

That night at a final dinner dance at the elegant Crystal Garden, Doc and the Doo-Wops kept the floor crowded until after midnight. Billingham made a short speech about there being no winners or losers on the field and then handed out prizes for the most promising performances off the field. One of them went to Dusty Miller of the Bahamas, at 63 the oldest player in the tournament. He had climbed out of bed one night and opened the door to the hotel corridor instead of his bathroom door. It had closed behind him and only an ice bucket taken from the vending machine saved him from the ultimate indignity as he wandered the corridor in search of help.

"No key, no trousers, no nothing," Billingham was still telling people several days later as he prepared to leave for Australia for a holiday. Why such a distant destination? A week of quick cricket in Brisbane, naturally.

page 14 rep reprinted from an article by John Borrell. Time Correspondent, Mexico Cit3. CC. TIME, October 3, 1988

Albion CC was founded in November 1891 and, having their priorities right, the first recorded expenditure of the club was $0.65 for a dozen beer glasses! Both Incogs CC and Cowichan CC were established in 1912 and since then have played continuously in the League. The Cowichan club now has the distinction of owning the only private cricket ground in Western Canada, where they have played since 1976. Incogs started on the ground at what is now St. Michaels University School, its players originally being drawn from staff, old boys and students of the school.

Cricket at Windsor Park dates from 1906. Alcos CC was founded in 1946. Originally known as Ex RAF, it was formed by ex-RAF personnel who first came to Victoria for training during the Second World War. Castaways CC played its first game in 1965, having been founded by a group of cricket enthusiasts who brought back into the game a number of cricketers who had not played for some years.

Nanaimo CC represents the resurgence of a long interest in cricket in that city. The Club is referred to in an exchange of correspondence as long ago as 1864 about the use of part of the Nanaimo Indian Reserve for a cricket ground. Cricket was certainly played in Nanaimo in the 1920?s and 1930?s but stopped during the war. Carico CC, Colts CC (players under 21) and Metchosin CC are more recently formed clubs but have already proved worthy opponents on more than one occasion, as their trophies will confirm!

Metchosin's ground in the Western Communities improves with every year and is delightfully situated with views over the Straits to the Olympic Mountain Range.

The Midweek League, playing usually on Tuesday and Wednesday evenings, was established in 1988 and has proved to be very popular, with ten teams participating, all with affiliations to pubs or clubs, together with a young team during term-time from St Michael?s University School.

The Victoria and District Cricket Association together with the Beacon Hill Park Cricket Society promote cricket on the island in association with its many teams and its up and coming youth programs.

Alcos Cricket Club

Founded as the Ex-RAF CC by former servicemen after World War II, the club changed its name in the early fifties to Alcos (short for All Comers - of course!). Mr. John Moss, an Ex-RAF member, remains active as the honorary President of the club. The Alcos have yet to repeat their successes of the seasons 1975 to 1977 when they won the League twice and went to the final of the national club competition against Toronto CC. But they look forward to being competitive in 2004 with a diverse membership of players from seven different countries, including a strong Canadian contingent

Brewsky's and Prairie Inn CC.

In March, 2001, a group of cricket enthusiasts on the Saanich Peninsula formed the Central Saanich Cricket Club, (C.S.C.C.), whose dual aim is, (1) to have fun while developing individual and team skills, and, (2) to promote the game of cricket amongst the youth on the Peninsula. The home ground and practice nets are at Stelly's School whose long-established cricket program has been the catalyst for the two teams fielded by the C.S.C.C. - Brewsky's since 2001 and Prairie Inn since 2003. Many players have made excellent progress and several have acquitted themselves well in matches in the Weekend League. Many thanks to to the above two generous sponsors who have been so instrumental to our success.

Cowichan Cricket Club

The Cowichan Cricket and Sports Club was formed in 1912. The club owned its own ground on Wharncliffe Road, Duncan until 1965. Before developing its present ground on Elford Road at Shawnigan Lake, the club used the playing fields at Shawnigan Lake Boys School for most of the period between 1966 and 1976. The"Golden Ages" were the years before the Great War, the nineteen sixties and the early seventies and perhaps, the nineteen nineties. The club last won the VDCA League in 2002. But the greatest day in the club's history: 17th of June 1932 when Cowichan hosted an Australian XI that included the young Don Bradman. The club's facilities have never been better, due to the philanthropy of Mr. and Mrs. Barney Russ coupled with the hard work of the past and present members. We can never have enough young players, but the overall membership has grown with the addition in 1985 of the Cowichan Over - 40's XI that plays midweek friendlies against Mainland and overseas touring teams.

The Albion Cricket Club

Albion CC was formed in 1896 and is the oldest surviving cricket club on Vancouver Island. In 1998 due to the increase in membership Albion formed a second team in the League. The aim was to provide a forum for aging souls and very young players. Albion II as it is known has proved at times to be competitive on the field, and never losing sight of the fact that cricket should be fun. Albion credits its success largely to its cultural diversity. On any given weekend we have 14 different nationalities on the field.

Incogs Cricket Club

Founded in 1912, the Incogs have always had a close association with St. Michael's University School whose Richmond Road campus is the home ground and whose alumni, staff, parents and students have provided most of the players. Over the years, many Incogs have represented B.C. and Canada both at the Junior and Senior levels. The Club takes pride in the fact that many of its players have learned the game here in Victoria as students at "The School". The Incogs were particularly successful in the 1980s, winning several League Championships under captain Rob Wilson, (Oxford and Canada), and representing B.C. in the Western Canada Club Championships in 1984 and were League winners in 2001 under Nick Grant.

METCHOSIN CRICKET CLUB

Founded in 1976, the Metchosin Cricket Club initially played friendlies at the Metchosin Elementary School, using a roll out mat placed on the grass. Things have since progressed; the club joined the league proper in the early 80s, and in 1988 the present pitch was opened on the grounds of the Metchosin Municipal Hall. The club has been a pioneer in both bringing in players from oversees, and developing a Schools Program to introduce local youngsters to the noble summer game. In 1992 Metchosin entered a team in the Mid Week league and the club has fielded two teams ever since.

OAK BAY CRICKET CLUB

Oak Bay Cricket Club's picturesque cricket ground is situated at Windsor Park in the leafy municipality of Oak Bay. Oak Bay C.C. was established in 1906 and has continually played cricket at Windsor Park to this day with the exception of a brief intermission during the First World War. Over the years Oak Bay C.C. has produced some wonderful cricketers who have represented both Victoria and Provincial Elevens. It has also enjoyed some memorable achievements including a mumber VDCA League Championship, winners fo the Knock Out Cup, and other annual tournaments. Other memorable club activities inclulde a cricket tour to the U.K. in 1976 , playing village cricket teams in Kent, Sussex, Yorkshire and Lincolnshire. Oak Bay is a competitive club that strives to uphold the traditions and true spirit fo the game of cricket, and provide a friendly and social atmosphere to all visiting teams.

Wicket Maidens CC

The Wicket Maidens began as a co-ed cricket team in 2000 after some of the wives and girlfriends of league cricket players decided they would like to play cricket as well as watch it. Currently the Wicket Maidens play in the Victoria and District Midweek League against the men's teams. There are approximately 30 active members. In the coming season, we hope to attract even more women to one of the leagues fastest growing teams playing in the mid week league. The Wicket Maidens range in age from early teens to a "certain" age. Our team's philosophy focuses on working together to expand each players skill sets, challenging ourselves and other teams while having a great time learning the sport of cricket. Several member of the Maidens represented Canada in clinching the first-ever ICC Americas Womens Championship after a resounding 5 wickets. Canada beat Bermuda by 5 wickets in an enthralling contest at Maple Leaf CC, and thereby won the first-ever ICC Americas Womens Championship.

Article sourced from:-
http://www.victoriacricket.ca/history.html

Caledonia Sports Club -- Posted Sunday, March 2 2008

Caledonia Sports Club is taking an U-18 team to Trinidad and Tobago for two weeks at the end of July to the first week in August.

We are looking for quality players who would like to accompany us on the tour. If anyone is interested they can reach Harry at (905) 794-4189 or (647) 234-5915.

From Caledonia Sports Club we thank you for your support in helping to grow and improve the quality of our youth in the game of cricket.

Umpires and Scorers -- Posted Sunday, March 2 2008

The Toronto Cricket Umpires and Scorers Association will soon be conducting seminars to train Umpires for the 2008 cricket season.

Those interested should contact the Secretary of the association at:- harnals@rogers.com

The TCU&SA web site can be located at:-

http://tcuandsa.homestead.com/Home.html

Canada Cricket Online

March 2008