Cricket is the fastest-growing sport in Canada, and the Canadian Men’s Team hopes to compete on the international level once again.
The Cricket Canada Senior Men’s team wants to regain international status, something they lost back in 2011, and this year they have a little help from a Victoria local.
“This is my passion, I grew up with it, I’ve been involved for 46 years,” says Alphonso Franco, president of the Victoria & District Cricket Association and now manager for the Canadian Team.
The World Cup Qualifiers take place in December. In preparation, the team will travel to Oman to play a triangular series against Saudi Arabia, Oman, and Bahrain. From there they’ll head to Malaysia.
“The next World Cup is going to be 2024, and if Canada does well it stands a pretty good chance to be included,” says Franco.
The 2024 International Cricket Council Men’s Twenty20 World Cup will be the ninth ICC Men’s T20 World Cup, an international T20 cricket tournament.
It is scheduled to be played in June 2024 in the West Indies and the United States, making this the first ICC World Cup Tournament to feature matches in the states.
Franco says all the team has to do is win a few games in order to stay ahead in the standings.
“We have a pretty strong team and we’re currently leading the table with the most wins, we have to complete five more wins in order to make our case to be among the best for the World Cup,” adds Franco.
Currently, four members of the team are from British Columbia, two of which are on reserves. This is a first in the last decades of cricket.
Franco, the 46-year veteran of the VDCA is hoping his experience, alongside a talented head coach, Pubudu Dassanayake, and a focused young group of athletes, Team Canada will once again become a strong contender on the international level.
To follow the team along over the next couple of months click here.
Hannah Lepine
