The unprecedented success of the Canadian athletes in the Sochi Winter Olympics is matter of pride for all Canadians, irrespective of the sport you play or support. The raising of the Canadian flag and the playing of the Canadian National Anthem, generates a sense of belonging, excitement, exuberance with all of us holding our heads very high. Cricket in Canada also needs to create a similar ocean of emotion through success.
Won’t happen here; impossible, not realistic; I am dreaming, you say? Well, you only have to look at Canada’s Own The Podium program model that started in 2003.. And look at the performance and success of our athletes in the Olympics today.
In a meeting in Feb. 2003, everyone involved in various sports got together, put any differences aside, agreed on a common goal, identified and decided on way forward with High Performance Athlete Development (HPAD), a long term program with checks and balances and forged ahead with a total commitment. A comprehensive plan was developed with the help of sports leaders and funding institutions which would allocate funds and monitor its progress and development. The result has been simply amazing in such a short time.
Why can’t Cricket do the same? ICC has been emphasizing that for years. There have been slick AV presentations by Cricket Canada on the subject. So where are the results?
Cricket Canada should take the lead and call a conference of all the stakeholders in Cricket, bring in some experts and develop a framework in which future of Cricket in this country can be secured. This Is not rocket science and will not take up a whole lot of resources. But it will require some courage and a bit of swallowed pride as well. However, this needs to be done well before the start of the season in order to implement the agreed upon plan immediately. The conference should have experts in the field, representatives from Government, Business, players, coaches and all Cricket organizations in this country, putting their heads together for a common goal of bringing excellence back into Canadian Cricket.
Mohan (Mike) Kendall
President, Ontario Cricket Association