The Canadian team for the upcoming T20 World Cup qualifying tournament in Dubai was announced today by Cricket Canada. For the first time ever, it was released by a video on YouTube.
Continue reading “Canadian Squad for T20 World Cup Qualifiers Announced”
I took to twitter today to try to get some perspective on what the rest of the cricketing world thinks of our main guys Rizwan Cheema and Khurram Chohan making the next IPL season.
CCHQ – What do you think of the Canadians Cheema and Chohan’s chances of being selected.
IPL Commissioner Lalit Modi
‘Some talented players but there are so many players on the list and too few spots. So depends on each teams strategy.’ Link
‘I hope they do. It will motivate others and be good for Canadian Cricket.’ Link
Bloggers Note: I think it’s absolutely amazing that the league commissioner has twitter. Imagine if Gary Bettman (NHL) or David Stern (NBA) had twitter? The IPL is really on the cutting edge for using technology and social media to engage fans. I hope they continue to offer matches via live streaming on their website this year so all of us in North America can enjoy the action. Hopefully, it will force the ICC to follow suit for international cricket.
CCHQ – Can you predict whether Pakistani Canadians Cheema and Chohan can get selected for the IPL?
Cricinfo Pakistan Cricket Blogger Kamran Abbasi
‘No, that’s beyond my powers.‘ Link
Bloggers Note: Kamran is obviously too angry with Kamran Akmal for dropping too many catches and the rest of the Pakistani team for their performance in Sydney, that he doesn’t even want to speculate.
CCHQ – IMO, Rizwan Cheema has the ability to be one of the most destructive batsmen in World Cricket, he only needs the opportunity. Your thoughts?
Cricket with Balls – Jarrod Kimber
It will be a big ask for an IPL team to sign him, but it is a promising sign. My concern is his hitting across the line at all times, but he has some eye. Link
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Basically, ‘Boom Boom’ and KC will have their work cut out for them, but they’ve already helped generate some exposure for Canadian Cricket by just being named in the initial list. They both deserve a tremendous amount of respect for their accomplishment.
The draft takes place on January 19th, 2010.
UPDATE: It was announced today that Rizwan Cheema has been added to the official draft list and is on a short list of options for 3 teams.
What do you think?
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Check out these highlights of ‘Boom-Boom’ in action and become a fan on Facebook
Do you play for or manage a Cricket Club in Canada? Do you want to tell the world about it?
It has always been difficult for Cricket in Canada to get mainstream media to give us exposure. Local print news outlets have been the only resource a community club has for media contact. As we all know, print media is slowly fading and being replaced by online news, video and blogs.
The ability to quickly update facebook and twitter statuses and advancements in ‘micro-blogging’ have changed the way that we share and generate news.
As players and administrators, we can make a difference by chronicling our clubs action in our leagues and sharing it with the rest of the Canadian Cricket community by taking advantage of online resources. Using photos or videos we can share our stories with the world until the main stream outlets take notice. Continue reading “Club Cricket Report for 2010 Season”
Canadian players Rizwan Cheema and Khurram Chohan have been added to the registration list for the next IPL auction.
The duo has been added to a list of 97 prospective draftees. The IPL will send this list to all teams and the teams will tell the league which players they want included in the auction.
It is great progress for all Cricketers in Associate countries looking to have more opportunities to play cricket professionally. Niall O’Brien from Ireland and Ryan ten Doeschate from the Netherlands have also been included.
The Cricket Canada board members, players and fans should all be proud of this accomplishment. A great way to start 2010!
Don’t forget you can pick up the new red and gold official 2010 Canadian Match Jerseys in the CC shop! Pick yours up today!
The Ontario representatives had a good practice with some of the Senior Canadian Men’s team players. It was my first chance to see the young guys in person and I was really impressed.
One thing about this bunch is that they are not lacking in confidence. Even if they don’t win, there is enough talent in the group to put up a good fight.
The fitness level was good and there is some variety in the bowling with a few left arm spin bowling options. They leave on New Years Day and play their first warm up game on the 12th.
The full squad:
Rustam Bhatti (captain), Manny Aulakh, Parth Desai, Darius D’Souza, Ruvindu Gunasekara, Hardik Kotak, Nitish Kumar, Usman Limbada, Zain Mahmood, Asif Manjra, Hiral Patel, Riyazkhan Pathan, Arsalan Qadir, Harpreet Singh, Hamza Tariq.
You can support the squad by visiting the Cricket Canada online shop. Check out the new toques.
The Emirates Cricket Board will host 7 other nations in February for a chance to qualify for the 2010 Twenty/20 World Cup to be staged in the West Indies. The tournament will run from February 9-13. The matches will be held at the Dubai Sports City and Abu Dhabi stadiums.
Group A – Ireland, Scotland, Afghanistan, USA
Group B – Netherlands, Kenya, Canada, UAE
Schedule
Feb 9th Canada vs Netherlands
Feb 10th Canada vs Kenya
Feb 11th Canada vs UAE
view the full schedule here
The top 2 teams in each group will then play in the ‘Super Four’ round. The 2 teams that reach the finals will qualify for the T20 CWC in April 2010.
Canada is the 5th ranked team in the tournament based on their finish in the 2008 event.
The National team is preparing to head to New Zealand for the U-19 World Cup. Unfortunately, being in Canada means limited coverage, but in the major cricket playing nations this tournament is big news.
Many of the best players in world cricket represented their Countries at U-19 level. Some, especially in the sub-continent, get a chance to play in the Senior team even before the U-19 team, for others, it’s a first chance to shine against other top players from around the cricket world and a chance to show the national team selectors that you have what it takes to perform at international level.
In late 2003, I was in Pakistan when Sri Lanka, Bangladesh and India were visiting with their respective U-19 squads to play in an Asia Cup ODI series taking place in Lahore. One young man on the Indian team dominated the tournament taking 18 wickets at an average of 7.38 including a match against Bangladesh when he took 9-16. Absolutely phenomenal numbers for a young Irfan Pathan. He led India to victory against Sri Lanka in the finals and after that series he was fast tracked into the senior Indian side. He was immediately, unrealistically, compared to the great Wasim Akram. Although, he has been in and out of the Indian team since then, he’s had some great performances for them in big matches. Unfortunately, he’s also had some entirely indifferent tours when he hasn’t made much of an impression at all. But, he took his chance at the U-19 level and flourished.
The kids that are participating know that this might be their only chance. It’s something they’ve been working towards for their whole cricket playing life. The teams will be watching these kids closely to determine if they have the right attitude, temperament and most of all the talent to perform at International level.
The tournament begins on January 15th. The full schedule is available here.
Canada will play Zimbabwe, Sri Lanka and hosts New Zealand. How do you think they will do?
The tournament gets underway on January 15th, 2010. I hope to speak to some of the players and management before they depart. For now, check out our interview with U-19 Canadian Fast Bowler Manny Aulakh.
Came across this video on YouTube the other day. A 1994 CBC video report.
We’ve come a long way since 1994, but there is still plenty more work to do. Especially at the grass-roots level. We need to get more players at a younger age and we need give them the facilities and guidance required to take a step up to the next level.
What do you think? How far can cricket go in Canada? Can we ever make it as a main stream sport?
Let us know in the comments below or hit us up on twitter.
The ICC has announced the fixtures for the 2009-2010 Intercontinental Cup. Canada will play three 4-day matches (2 at home, 1 in UAE).
They will travel to the UAE in February to take on Afghanistan, before playing host to Zimbabwe and Ireland in the late summer.
Canada has never won the cup, but have made it to the finals twice. First in 2004 when they lost to Scotland and again in 2007 – losing out to Ireland.
ICC INTERCONTINENTAL CUP
23-26 Jan – Afghanistan v Ireland, Sri Lanka
25-28 Jan – Kenya v Scotland, Kenya
17-20 Feb – Afghanistan v Canada, UAE
10-13 Jun – Netherlands v Scotland, Netherlands
11-14 Aug – Scotland v Afghanistan, Scotland
11-14 Aug – Ireland v Netherlands, Ireland
21-24 Aug – Canada v Zimbabwe XI, Canada
1-4 Sep – Canada v Ireland, Canada
1-4 Sep – Netherlands v Zimbabwe XI, Netherlands
2-5 Oct – Kenya v Afghanistan, Kenya
6-9 Oct – Zimbabwe XI v Ireland, Africa
13-16 Oct – Zimbabwe XI v Scotland, Africa
25-29 Nov – FINAL (five days), UAE
Can this year be different? How do you think Canada will fare?
Let us know in the comments or hit us up on twitter.
Check out this awesome video of a few of the boys (the ones that are not playing abroad at the moment) getting worked hard at the Sports Performance Centres in Toronto.
Players that are looking to make the move into the National set up – this is what you have to look forward to!
Video courtesy of the Sports Performance Centres
