By Ravendra Madholall in Toronto
Former Canadian fast-bowler Davis Joseph expressed disappointment that Canada had not been able to qualify and participate in the just concluded International Cricket Council (ICC) 50-over World Cup in co-host countries Australia and New Zealand.
Davis Joseph
The 50-year-old right-hander stated that it is a big disappointment given the fact that teams like the United Arab Emirates, Scotland, Afghanistan and Ireland gained the nod ahead of them.
Canada featured in the qualification tournament early last year in New Zealand and according to Joseph they only snapped up one victory in their four-match assignment.
Canada defeated Nepal by 12 runs but they were then thrashed by Scotland on a 170-run margin and also suffered against UAE and Hong Kong by 80 runs and 9 wickets respectively.
“It [is] a big disappointment for Canada for not taking part in the ICC World Cup; obviously Canada has got talent but the structure of our cricket is the major problem,” Joseph related.
Canada appeared in four of the global events since the inauguration in 1975. They played at the 1979 tournament held in England, 2003 in South Africa, 2007 in the West Indies and 2011 in South Asia, but on this occasion it was very embarrassing for them as Joseph alluding that the game has grown quite significantly over the years.
“For the past 10 to 15 years, we have seen improvements in all aspects of our game; players have become more matured and experienced but nurturing them could have played a part; hopefully, the game can get better and better faster to qualify for the next world cup tournament,” an upset Joseph declared.
After failing to make it to the mega cricketing event, Canada also lost their one-day status until 2018, the year before the next ICC limited-over world cup which is slated to be held in England.
Joseph represented Canada in four World Cup matches in South Africa and still relishing the prestige of being capped in the tournament. He stated that was a life-time experience and this generation of players should really capitalize on the opportunity to make their presence felt.
“It was indeed a great honor to play at the world cup; the guys were all pumped-up and I really thought that could have been very inspiring for other aspiring young cricketers in Canada; however, we played again in 2011 but not to be part of it in 2015 was very disappointing,” Joseph, who was inducted into Cricket Canada’s Hall of Fame recently, lamented.
He further mentioned that Canada should able to make the best out of the pool of great and brilliant players and focus hard to maintain their status especially in the one-day format.
For the past two years, the North American side also received beating at home against the Netherlands, UAE it the ICC Intercontinental matches in both one-day and four-day games.
Just to name a few some of the established cricketers Cricket Canada has seen and shown terrific promises, including Joseph were John Davison, who smashed a century against West Indies 2003 while wicketkeeper/batsman Ashish Bagai and all-rounder Rizwan Cheema came into recognition. Young and talented opening batsman Hiral Patel can be a force to reckon with as well.
Fast-bowler Henry Osinde, the first African player to represent Canada and Guyanese quickie Jeremy Gordon are two other players who have the capabilities to help Canada’s cricket at any level.
Meanwhile, Australia won the 2015 World Cup after trouncing New Zealand by seven wickets at a packed Melbourne Cricket Ground on Sunday.