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Cricket, once as Canadian as maple syrup, is making an overdue comeback.

“Cricket was the national game of Canada in the past and I predict that it will be again,” said the Canadian Cricket Association’s (CCA) first vice-president Howard Petrook.

“The cricket-playing community in Canada is growing so rapidly that as demographics change Canada cricket is going to become more and more important,” he said in an interview at the Toronto Cricket, Skating and Curling Club.

“Cricket is the fastest-growing sport in Canadian schools. There are literally scores and scores of schools playing cricket,” he added.

Although this news may surprise ice hockey fans, cricket has a long history in Canada. There are references to matches being played near Montreal more than 200 years ago while the Toronto Cricket Club was established in 1827 and the Canadian Cricket Association was formed in 1892.

The next 12 months could prove the most important period in Canadian cricket’s existence. Canada, as an associate member of the sport’s governing body the ICC, has gained coveted One-day International (ODI) match status, appointed a new team coach and begun preparations for next year’s World Cup in the Caribbean.

Elevation to ODI status will mean Canada play more international games in an already busy season, explained Petrook, who added that the country had only one ODI-rated ground but was working with the ICC to certify more.

Canada hopes to improve on their first visit to the World Cup in 2003, when the team’s highlight was a 60-run victory over Bangladesh in Durban, South Africa.

Source: The News

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