A History of Canadian Cricket

Canada have just competed in their fourth Word Cup, but their cricketing history goes back much further. I have written a book on the history of cricket in Canada and have set up this wiki to allow anyone interested to have a sneak preview of each chapter.

 

The book is entitled "A History of Canadian Cricket: An immigrant's game?" and is available from the website Lulu.com at the very reasonable price of £6.99 + Postage and Packaging.

 

It's also available from Amazon.co.uk and Amazon.com and it has been reviewed by the websites Cricket Web and Cover Point

 

My book was nominated for the Cricket Society Book Award 2011. It reached the long-list and so was reviewed. The chances of it being short-listed were about the same as Canada's chances of reaching the knock-out stages of the World Cup. Its chances of it winning the Award were about the same as Canada's chances of winning the 2011 World Cup. But what the hey! It was an honour just to be nominated!

 

Recent news articles on Canadian cricket:

14 December 2011: Ontario Cricket Academy and Club announce Businessman Roshan Navaratnam as their new President

9 December 2011: Darpan Magazine: Interview with Canadian Cricket Captain Jimmy Hansra

8 December 2011: Yorkshire Cricket: Canadian International cricketer Khurram Chohan played club cricket for Townville CC

8 December 2011: Cricket World: Televised American College Cricket (incl. York College)

5 December 2011: ICC-Cricket: Canadian national team head to Barbados to practice for January's T20 tournament

4 December 2011: CricketCanada.com: Possibility of a T20 cricket league in 2012 in North America

4 December 2011: India Times: Atul Ahuja, former Cricket Canada CEO, to run for USA cricket president job

1 December 2011 The Star Phoenix (Saskatoon): Encourage immigrants to Saskatchewan by building cricket pitches

22 November 2011: Chilliwack Times, BC: Eastern District Cricket Club reaching out to Schools

21 November 2011: CoverPoint(Irl): Reviews my book A History of Canadian Cricket

16 November 2011 Cricket Canada.com: ICC Governance Review of Canadian Cricket

16 November 2011: Antigua Observer: Mississauga Ramblers Play in Second Annual cricket fest in Antigua

14 November 2011: Cricket Canada.com: Ryserson University of Toronto win the Amercan College Cricket North East Championship! 

14 November 2011: Aussie X gets Dragon's Den cash to promote cricket in Canada!

10 November 2011: Infuze: Article about Indo-Canadians playing cricket in Toronto

10 November 2011: Newcastle Herald (Australia): Canadian Naeem Bardai Rising to the Challenge of domestic Australian cricket

7 November 2011: North Mississauga: 2nd Mayor's Cricket Festival

7 November 2011: Ontario Cricket Academy: Article on 13 Year Old Abraash Khan who scored the most runs in U-15 tournament

3 November 2011: Press Release: Formation of Eastern Ontario Cricket Association

2 November 2011: CricketWorld.com: First Televised Match In North America

2 November 2011: Brampton (Ont) Guardian: Retirement of Don Doan, Civic Officer, who promoted cricket in Brampton (Ont.)  

27 October 2011: Canada.com: Abbotsford have a turf wicket

26 October 2011: CivicInfo BC: Abbotsford BC have a turf wicket

26 October 2011: Inside Toronto: Crazy for Cricket Gala Helps Valley Park Project

25 October 2011: South Asian Focus: Hasanie elected President of Board of Control for Cricket in Canada

21 October 2011: Ontario Historical Society: Article on Canadian Umpire Fred Heather

6 October 2011: Share.com: Australian Michael Dighton becomes Canada's coach

Same story Cricinfo: http://www.espncricinfo.com/canada/content/story/534822.html

6 October 2011: Sportsnet.com: Sportsnet wins the right to broadcast ICC cricket in Canada

6 October 2011: Carribena.com: Masters Cricket Fest in Antigua to include Mississauga Ramblers

4 October 2011: AmericanCollegeCricket.com: American College Cricket available for all North Americans on TV Asia

4 October 2011: Postal History Corner: 1886 Postcard from Peterborough Ont. Signed Richard Birdsall Rogers

2 October 2011: CricketCanada.com: Ontario beat BC to win the National T20 Title

1 October 2011: SouthAsianDaily.com: Article on history of cricket in Canada

26 September 2011: CBC: Canada's cricketers suffering identity crisis

26 September 2011: West Edmonton Local: West Edmonton's Turf Wicket Ready for Play

19 September 2011: News Stock: Canadian All-rounder Cecil Marshall, who played in 1979 World Cup, has died aged 71

13 September 2011: Heritage.com: Gordon Makin selected for Canadian U15 Team

12 September 2011: American College Cricket: Ryerson University are Canadian College Champs

9 September 2011: The Record (Canada.com): Review of U-15 Cricket Tournament in Winnipeg Involving Canada, US & Bermuda

3 September 2011: Cricinfo.com: Article on Absence of Cricket in Labrador

1 September 2011: Cricinfo.com: Canada Cricket's CEO, Chandra Gocool, Leaves Office

31 August 2011: Royal Gazette (Bermuda): Bermuda deny bad behaviour by U15s in match against Canada in Winnipeg

27 August 2011: Winnipeg Free Press: Article on Canadian U15 cricketers playing against US and Bermuda

8 August 2011: Brandon Sun: Bradon Cricket Club want a proper cricket pitch

5 August 2011: Montreal Gazette: Youngsters enjoy cricket camp at Pierrefonds

27 July 2011: CBC.com: Article on Canada's cricket captain Jimmy Hansra

22 July 2011: DreamCricket.com: Canada beat USA by 10 runs in Americas T20

22 July 2011: Mississauga.com: Cricket camp organised by Peel Regional Police

22 July 2011: Winnipeg Free Press: David Boon in advert for Canadian Club

22 July 2011: Grand Prairie Daily (Alberta): Cricket part of Hindu Heritage

20 July 2011: Cricket Canada: Passing of Pandit Basdeo Maharaj

20 July 2011: Newswire (Canadian): British Consul XI v Toronto select XI

20 July 2011: Barrie Examiner: Cricket Pitch Vandalised Twice

20 July 2011: CBC: Canada defeat Argentina by 9 wickets in ICC America T20

20 July 2011: Photo montage of Canada's 2011 World Cup by Rathan Moorthy

19 July 2011: Cricinfo.com: Canada defeat Cayman Islands by 64 runs in ICC America T20 Tournament in Florida

19 July 2011: Peterborough Examiner: Cricket's History in Peterborough, Ont.

18 July 2011: Media (Australian): David Boon dumps beer in favour of sponsoring Canadian Club

17 July 2011: Daily News (Pakistan): Reports Wasim Akram's comments on Canadian Cricket

15 July 2011: Share News (Canadian site): Canada to field development squad in Florida

13 July 2011: Cricinfo: Jimmy Hansra leading Canada in ICC America's T20 Tournament in Florida

12 July 2011: Cricket Canada: Toronto & District Cricket Association Attempts to Clamp Down on "Illegal" Cricket

11 July 2011: The Voice (Canadian website) Wasim Akram Sparkes Off the Pitch

10 July 2011: The Link (Canadian website) Wasim Akram given an Inukshuk shaped trophy by Pakistan Canada Association for services to cricket

8 July 2011: Facebook: Unsanctioned Cricket: Statement From Toronto & District Cricket Association

2 July 2011: Guardian (UK): ICC rewritten World Cup past to obscure botcthed future vision (4 Associates will be allowed in 2015 competition) 

2 July 2011: The Times Colonist (Victoria, BC): Wasim Akram promotes cricket in Victoria

28 June 2011: Toronto: CIMA Mayor's Trophy tournament a success

27 June 2011: Inside Toronto.com: Thackeray Park opening in north Etobicoke (new cricket pitch)

26 June 2011: Globe and Mail: RBC Bank flies in Wasmin Akram and Sunil Joshi to promote Canadian cricket 

26 June 2011: Cricinfo: Newfoundland and Labrador win two games in Twenty20 Tournament

13 June 2011: RBC announce that Wasim Akram and Sunil Joshi to tour Toronto and Vancouver areas in late June to early July

10 June 2011: Globe and Mail: Former Canadian Cricket Captain Ashish Bagai Urges More Funding

8 June 2011: Mississauga.com: Cricketer John E. Hall inducted into Mississauga Sports Hall of Fame

1 June 2011: CBC Toronto: CIMA sponsor Mayors Trophy Cricket to bring diverse communities together

1 June 2011: South Asian Focus: Launch of new national body: Canadian Cricket Federation

1 June 2011: Quesnel Time: Quesnel Cricket Club issues challenge

1 June 2011: Hounslow Bedford Times: Canada wins Twenty20 Tournment hosted in London

30 May 2011: Cricinfo: Ashish Bagai quits as Canadian cricket captain or CBC: No Regrets for Bagai

27 May 2011: Times Colonist: Victoria Cricket gets $25,000 to Upgrade Beacon Hill Park

23 May 2011: Staebrook News: report on the Malvern Cricket Club in Scarborough, Ontario; recreating a sense of Caribbean comfort

21 May 2011: The Record: Cricket being played in Waterloo, Ontario

18 May 2011: Stoney Creek News: Emil Kenesky inducted to Hamilton Sports Hall of Fame for adapting cricket pad to ice hockey in 1928

17 May 2011: Wimbledon Guardian: London to host a Twenty20 Tournaments with teams from around the world including Canada and champs Germany!

13 May 2011: Newcastle Herald (Australia): Museum to display bison head given to Bradman by people of Canada

12 May 2011: Simcoe.com: 350 students from Georgian College want Council to allocate land for a cricket pitch in Barrie

5 May 2011: Toronto Cricket Club win their third Phillipdelphian tournament

4 May 2011: Gulf Islands Driftwood: Playing cricket around the Vancouver Island area

4 May 2011: St Michael's College (Batticaloa) Old Boys to set up cricket club in Canada

4 May 2011: Mike Henry steps down as the Senior Team Manager of Canada's cricket team

29 April 2011: Blog: History of Mimico Asylum, including its cricket club

29 April 2011: Dream cricket.com: Sunil Joshi to appear at 19th Philadelphia International Cricket Festival 

27 April 2011: ICC Americas U17 competition that was to be held in Toronto 3-10 July 2011 has been cancelled

23 April 2011: Toronto Sun: Canada May Still be able to qualify for the 2015 World Cup

21 April 2011: The Scotsman: ICC U-turn over World Cup places means a political fight for a fair qualification process

19 April 2011: City News Toronto: Kathryn Humphreys explains batting

18 April 2011: City News Toronto: Kathryn Humphreys explains bowling

18 April 2011: University of Toronto: Q&A with UTSC's very own cricket star (Ruvindu Gunasekera)

17 April 2011: Dreamcricket.com: Former Canadian cricket coach Andy Pick wants Canada's cricketers to train in the UK

17 April 2011: Cricinfo: Article by Faraz Sarwat: What next for Canadian cricket?

13 April 2011: Dassanayake stands down as Canada's cricket coach

11 April 2011: Financial Post: Lester Asset Management Makes Profit from ATN shares which broadcast cricket to Canada

8 April 2011: BBC news: Ireland Considering Legal Challenge with other Associate nations at ICC's decision to exclude them from 2015 cricket World Cup

7 April 2011: Twenty20 Cricket Tournament in Toronto in July 2011, to involve teams from Calgary, Halifax, Montreal, Toronto and Vancouver

7 April 2011: Toronto Star: Toronto School Gripped by Cricket Fever

6 April 2011: Toowoomba Chronicle: Jetseeting cricketers pad up: Cavan Ditcheman to coach and captain Meraloma CC, Vancouver

6 April 2011: South Asian Focus: Is Stephen Harper a righty or lefty? Canadian PM poses with cricket bat whilst on the campaign trail

6 April 2011: Cricinfo: Main Reason is to protect Bangladesh and Zimbabwe: Condemnation of ICC decision to not have qualification for 2015 World Cup

6 April 2011: Article by Ron Fanfair on retirement of John Davison

4 April 2011: Article by Dave Liverman on the future of cricket in Canada

4 April 2011: The Telegraph (Calcutta): Indo-Canadians celebrate World Cup win

2 April 2011: Review of World Cup by Toronto Star

2 April 2011: Indians in Canada celebrate winning the World Cup

2 April 2011: Toronto Star: Canadian schools gripped by cricket fever

1 April 2011: Globe & Mail: Cricket needs more support in Canada (note the aggressive indifference in some of the comments!)

1 April 2011: Star Phoenix (Saskatoon): Cricket takes it rightful place in Canada (Immigration Minister Kenney: cricket should be national summer sport 

31 March 2011: National Post: Cricket Night in Canada (States that cricket is a gentleman's game, where there's little risk of head injuries!

31 March 2011: Mangalorean.com: Article on cricket's relevance during Canada's election campaign

28 March 2011: Sudbury Sports News: Northern Ontario Cricket Council Fund Raiser on 2 April 2011

22 March 2011: Cricinfo: Review of Canada's World Cup

20 March 2011: Indian Express: Canada's World Cup Squad & Its Connections to India

17 March 2011: Ten Best Cricket Grounds in Canada

16 March 2011: Winnipeg Free Press: Ronald Turnbull Inducted to Manitoba Sports Hall of Fame

16 March 2011: Armed Canadian cops mistake cricket ball on metal shutters for gun shots

16 March 2011: Cricinf: Hiral Patel's Timeless Moment

15 March 2011: Sydney Morning Herald: Stop Bashing the ICC Associate Teams by Peter Roebuck

13 March 2011: Winnipeg Sun: Canada falls to Kiwis by 97 runs

11 March 2011: CBC: Canada Brimming With Confidence

11 March 2011: The Hindu: Inconsistency Hurts Us: Ashish Bagai

10 March 2011: Times of India: Restricting ICC Associate Teams to T20 will hurt spinners says Balaji Rao

10 March 2011: Times of India: Kiwis' Poor Form Gives Us Confidence: Ashish Bagai

8 March 2011: National Post: Canada Beats Kenya by 5 Wickets

7 March 2011: Cricinfo: Canada Coast to a 5 Wicket Win Over Kenya

4 March 2011: CBC: Does Canada Belong at the World Cup?

4 March 2011: Globe and Mail: Pakistan Overcome Ragged Start to Beat Canada by 46 Runs

3 March 2011: Times of India: Mukesh Narula to coach in Canadian Professional Cricketers league

2 March 2011: Cricinfo: Self-belief Key to Recovery Says Davison

1 March 2011: Times of India: Jimmy Hansra's Indian relatives watching him play for Canada at World Cup

28 February 2011: BBC News website: Zimbabwe Thrash Canada by 175 runs

27 February 2011: The Times of India: Canada has cricket players with Punjabi origins

27 February 2011: The Times of India: 16 Year Old Nitish Kumar Want To Make it Big For Canada 

26 February 2011: The Times of India: Zimbabwe v Canada: A battle of Spin

25 February 2011: The Hindu: Beating Zimbabwe is a Realistic Aim: Ashish Bagai

24 February 2011: Times of India: Ex Tamil Nadu Player Balaji Rao Returns to Chennai

23 February 2011: Online newspaper EyeWeekly: Hitting the Wicket (refers to my book!)

22 February 2011: Cricket Canada secures new sponsor: Base Batteries (What do they charge?)

21 February 2011: Cricinfo: Strauss Says: Wait until end of World Cup before judging second tier teams

20 February 2011: Cricinfo: Article following Canada's defeat by 210 runs. Where do minnows go from here?

20 February 2011: Cricinfo: Article on Canadian cricket written by Sriram Dayanand

19 February 2011: Cricinfo: Sri Lanka prepare to take on Canada in their first game in the World Cup

18 February 2011: Cricinfo: Canadian Coach Slams ICC Decision to Exclude Smaller Nations from 2015 World Cup

17 February 2011: Winnipeg Free Press: Ashish Bagai looking to make his mark on World Cup

17 February 2011: Share News webiste: Tyson Gordon given Canadian citizenship and so can play in World Cup

17 February 2011: Cricinfo: Players back Associate Nations' Right to Play at 2015 World Cup

16 February 2011: BBC news: Canada lose by only 16 runs to England

15 February 2011: The Daily Star (Bangladesh): Rizan Cheema-Star behind the curtain

12 February 2011: CBC: Bangladesh Beats Canada in Cricket World Cup Warm-up Match

11 February 2011: You-Tube: Video of Ashish Bagai looking ahead to World Cup game against Sri Lanka

11 February 2011: Cricinfo: Canada's Youngsters Eager to Perform

10 February 2011: Cricinfo: We are well prepared for the World Cup - Bagai

9 February 2011: Radio Canada International: Interview with Canadian cricket captain Ashish Bagai

9 February 2011: Online article written by me on the World Cup from Canada's prespective: Canada's last chance?

9 February 2011: Article from The Sports Campus: ICC World Cup: Preview of Team Canada

7 February 2011: Aussie Legend Rod Marsh backs one of the lesser teams (including Canada) to cause an upset at cricket World Cup

6 February 2011: Cricket World: Canada defeat the Netherlands by 4 wickets in warm-up game before World Cup

6 February 2011: Video of Coach Pubudu Dassanayake praising Bagai and Davison

5 February 2011: Times of India: Canada Plot Repeat of Famous Win

4 February 2011: International Cricket Council News: What we need is 3 wins: Bagai

3 February 2011: Cricinfo article: Canada's visa problem resolved

1 February 2011: CBC article: Bagai is Canada's Cricket Chatterbox

31 January 2011: Independent (UK) article: Stuart Broad hopes to fit for pre-World Cup game against Canada

29 January 2011: CBC article: Visa wait has Cricket Canada holding its breath

25 January 2011: Sudbury News article: Ice Cricket Debuts in Northern Ontario

23 January 2011: CBC article: Canada Derailed and Caribbean Twenty 20 (headline unfair in my view - Canada did well in the Tournament!)

20 January 2011: Cricinfo article: Bagai to Lead Young Canadian Side in the World Cup

 

 

If you are interested in Canadian cricket generally then you might want to visit my facebook page dedicated to the subject.

 

The Book 

I hope that you will feel able to comment on the facts that I've uncovered and to add any facts or opinions of your own. Please note that scorecards for important games played in Canada and elsewhere can be found on the excellent website www.cricketarchive.com

 

 

Please see links to the pages below, each of which represents a chapter in my book.

Introduction

The-First-Established-Clubs 

The Early International Matches 

Early Tours From Britain, Australia and Ireland

The Early Tours To Britain

The International Series Continued From 1879 to 1912

The First World War

The John Ross Robertson Trophy

The Brave New World

 

The appendices:

John Ross Robertson Trophy (list of winners)

Who's Who of Canadian Cricket

 

Below are links to issues of interest, where there is insufficient material for a complete chapter. Inevitably some facts are duplicated in both the chapter summaries and the text below.

 

Amateurism

Canadian Cricket Association 

Cricket in Relation to Other Sports in Canada

Governors of Canada and cricket

Interprovincial Tournaments

Junior Cricket

List of officials

Picture References

Provincial Champions

Zingari Teams 

 

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