It would come as a surprise to many Canadians, but the fastest growing sport in Canada is cricket.
This is undoubtedly due to immigration in recent years from countries where cricket is hugely popular such as the West Indies, throughout the Indian subcontinent, Australia, New Zealand, many African countries and of course, the UK.
The International Cricket Council has 10 full member countries, 39 associate member countries, and 59 affiliate countries. Canada is an associate member.
In Canada, one of the biggest hurdles for the sport in this country is simply finding a place to play. The Canadian national team often holds practice in an empty warehouse.
Now a group called Canadian Premier League T20, has secured funding for the construction of a 35,000 seat covered stadium dedicated to international cricket.
In fact, the proposed stadium would be the first purpose-built covered cricket facility in the world with a natural grass surface and a fixed roof that will allow for maximum sun exposure.
The league is currently seeking an appropriate location in or around Toronto, Canada’s largest city and largest base of cricket fans.
The league says it hopes to have the stadium built and ready for international cricket in five years.
In the meantime, the league plans to launch its inaugural season next August and September with 10 teams playing a 45-game schedule along with three playoff games.
League president Bob Mitchell says, “We’re looking at several options, including constructing a temporary stadium within the suburban Greater Toronto Area but we might have to start in another city if a location can’t be found,” He also noted that, “Other cities have expressed an interest in having us play next summer. We expect to make our decision by the middle of August.”
Each team will consist of eight Canadian professional cricket players plus three international players. “By attaching immediately recognizable cricket celebrities to our League we can instantly connect to a world-wide audience,” said league CEO and chairman Roy Singh said. “Our games will be televised internationally as well as throughout Canada. We believe the CLPT20 will quickly become a household name in Canada and around the world.”
For reasons beyond our control, and for an undetermined period of time, our comment section is now closed. However, our social networks remain open to your contributions.