Cricket in Canada

Cricket match in progress in Stanley Park, Vancouver

In fact, it was so popular that it was declared the national sport by John A. Macdonald, the first Prime Minister of Canada.^[1] There are well over 40,000 cricketers in the country.^[2][3]

While Canada is not sanctioned to play Test matches, the team does take part in One Day International (ODI) matches (there are a few grounds in Canada that are sanctioned to host ODI's by the International Cricket Council or ICC) and also in first-class games (in the ICC Intercontinental Cup) against other non-Test-playing opposition, with the rivalry against the United States being as strong in cricket as it is in other team sports. The match between these two nations is in fact the oldest international fixture in cricket, having first been played in 1844. This international fixture even predates the Olympics by over 50 years.

The most famous Canadian cricketer is John Davison, who was born in Canada and participated in the Cricket World Cup in both 2003 and 2007. At the 2003 World Cup, Davison hit the fastest century in tournament history against the West Indies in what was ultimately a losing cause. In that World Cup he also smashed a half-century at a strike rate of almost 200 against New Zealand. One year later, in the ICC Intercontinental Cup against the USA, he proved the difference between the two sides, taking 17 wickets for 137 runs as well as scoring 84 runs of his own. In the 2007 Cricket World Cup in the West Indies, Davison scored the second-fastest half-century against New Zealand. Canada has participated in the 1979, 2003, 2007 and 2011 Cricket World Cups.

Canada has traditionally had a strong Women's team. Also The Canadian Under 19 team have competed in the Under 19 World Cup on two occasions. In 2002, they were eliminated in the first round, meaning they competed in the plate competition, in which they did not win a game. They repeated this performance in the 2004 competition.

Canada Senior Men's team qualified in April 2009 at the ICC World Cup qualifier held in South Africa to compete in 2011 World Cup, their third World Cup appearance in a row.^[4]

History

Main article: History of Canadian cricket

See also: Canadian cricket tours of England, United States v Canada (1844), England cricket team in North America in 1859, Australian cricket team in England and North America in 1878, 2001 ICC Trophy, Canadian cricket team in Kenya in 2007-08, Canadian cricket team in Scotland in 2009, Canadian cricket team in Sri Lanka in 2000-01, and Canadian cricket team in the Netherlands in 2009

Historical background

British and French settlers spread into Canada during the 17th century when the first permanent settlements were established. An uneasy co-existence came to a head in 1756 with the outbreak of the Seven Years War. By the terms of Treaty of Paris in 1763, which ended the war, Britain gained control of all of France's North American territory east of the Mississippi River, except for the remote islands of St. Pierre and Miquelon.

Early developments

The earliest reports of cricket in Canada date from 1785 where games seem to have taken place in Montreal.

The first reference to cricket being played on an organized basis is in 1834 when a club was founded in Toronto and there are reports of matches being played in Hamilton and Guelph.

In 1840, there was a game between the Toronto and New York clubs. Similar strength teams played each other in 1844 as Canada v United States and this has been called the first-ever cricket international.

Governing body

Main article: Cricket Canada

Cricket Canada is the governing body of the sport of cricket in Canada. It was established in 1892 and has its current headquarters in Toronto, Ontario. Cricket Canada is Canada's representative at the International Cricket Council and has been an associate member of that body since 1968. It is also a member of the Americas Cricket Association. Prior to November 2007, the organization was known as the Canadian Cricket Association.

Canada is one of the team's in Division 1 of Associate Members of International Cricket Council who has One Day International and T20 International status.

Domestic competitions

Cricket Canada organizes domestic inter-provincial cricket in Canada. In 2008, Cricket Canada has introduced two domestic competitions that are Scotia Shield U-19 and National T20 Championship. National T20 Championship is a Twenty20 format competition with eight domestic teams.^[5] Until 2006, the Under-18 National Tournament in Canada was called as Canada Cup.

In 2009, a new professional Twenty20 league was formed. Known as the TJT National Cricket League (TJT NCL), the league initially consisted of six teams - the Warriors, Titans, Gladiators, Royals, Chiefs, and Kings. About 90 professional cricket players were drafted from across Canada in the inaugural draft.^[6] The inaugural season commenced play August 7, 2009 at G. Ross Lord Park in Toronto. The six teams played each other in a round robin match over the season which lasted six weeks. The top four teams Gladiators, Warriors, Titans, and Kings played in semi-finals and the final match was played on September 27, 2009 between the Titans and the Kings. The 2009 TJT NCL championship was won by the Kings.

Cricket Canada's competitions

• Scotiabank National T20 Championship
• Scotia Shield U-19
• TJT National Cricket League

Cricket grounds

Until September 2006, Toronto Cricket, Skating and Curling Club was the only ground in Canada approved to host official One Day Internationals. It was joined at this date by the Maple Leaf Cricket Club in King City, Ontario.

National team

Main article: Canada national cricket team

While Canada is not sanctioned to play Test matches, the team does take part in One Day International matches and also in first-class games (in the ICC Intercontinental Cup) against other non-Test-playing opposition, with the rivalry against the United States cricket team being as strong in cricket as it is in other team sports. The match between these two nations is in fact the oldest international fixture in cricket, having first been played in 1844.

Canadian cricket has tended to take a lower profile than most other sports, and the team tends to be composed of expatriates from more successful cricketing nations either trying to achieve a level of international experience or having been deemed too old for their respective national teams. The 2003 World Cup squad, for example, contained players born in Sri Lanka, India, Pakistan, and the West Indies.

Women's Cricket

Main article: Canada national women's cricket team

The Canadian women's cricket team made their international debut in September 2006 in a three match series of one-day games against Bermuda to decide which team would represent the Americas region in the Women's Cricket World Cup Qualifier in Ireland in 2007. Canada started well, with a five wicket win in the first win, but Bermuda came back with 24 run win in the second. The third game went down to the wire, with Bermuda triumphing by just 3 runs.

See also

Sport in Canada portal

• Sport in Canada

References

1. ^ ricinfoCanada "Cricket in Canada", Kevin Boller
2. ^ [1]
3. ^ [2]
4. ^ ICC President congratulates four qualifiers for ICC Cricket World Cup 2011
5. ^ http://www.canadiancricket.org/index.jsp?page_id=domseason
6. ^ Khahil, Nuoman (July 22, 2009). "Six teams likely to join nascent TJT cricket league". South Asian Focus. http://www.southasianfocus.ca/sports/article/73105. Retrieved 2009-08-12. 

External links

• Official site of Cricket Canada
• CricInfo on Canadian cricket
• TJT National Cricket League website