Bowled over: Canada falls back in love with cricket

'It's come back home'

Canada's founding Prime Minister John A. Macdonald declared cricket Canada's national sport in 1867, and, across the country, major corporations and government departments fielded teams.

The world's first international cricket match was between Canada and the United States in 1844 in New York City, more than two decades before Canada officially became a country. The then-British colony of Canada won the game.

"Wherever the British went, they took cricket," said Nishant Jeet Arora, a British Columbian organizer of the Canada Super 60 Cricket League tournament held in Vancouver this month.

In the early 20th century, interest in British-style sports like cricket and soccer faded, but a century later, enthusiasm for cricket is surging again, fueled by a growing legion of fans watching TV broadcasts of the Indian Premier League and other global Twenty20 tournaments.

Canada is not without success on the international stage either, qualifying for four 50-over World Cups, including the 2003 tournament in South Africa where John Davison made 111 against the West Indies, reaching his century off just 67 balls, which, at the time, was the quickest hundred in the tournament's history.

Arora wants Canada to take its place alongside the game's world powers like India, Pakistan, South Africa, Australia and England.

"It (cricket) has its roots in this country," said Arora. "Cricket has come back to its home in Canada."

Cricket in Canada faces unique challenges compared to temperate England, warm Australia and South Africa, and the tropical and sub-tropical conditions of most of South Asia.

Snow and sub-freezing temperatures blanket the country for nearly half the year, making yearlong outdoor cricket impossible outside of a tiny wedge of British Columbia.