Postcards From Canada
The 187-year wait
Nearly two centuries worth of emptiness was reversed in a weekend for Newfoundland and Labrador. World Cup in another four years?
Liam Herringshaw
June 26, 2011
As I may have mentioned before, cricket has a long history in Newfoundland. The Encyclopaedia of Newfoundland states that St John's Cricket Club was in existence in 1824. What it does not have, however, is a long history of success. The provincial cricket records are far from complete, but they indicate that, in all that time, a Newfoundland team has never beaten another Canadian province.
As a Leicestershire supporter, I'm used to long periods of regional mediocrity, but 187 years without a win is pretty exceptional. So could Cricket NL reverse history in the 2011 Atlantic Twenty20 Cup, held in Halifax, Nova Scotia, and claim an inaugural victory?
Last year's debut in the competition had been great fun, and though we'd gone home with three defeats out of three, a hat-trick and a Man-of-the-Match award were encouraging signs. And encouragingly for Canadian cricket, the tournament had expanded again. The addition of a strong Quebec team meant that this year's cup would feature an impressive five provinces, completed by the hosts Nova Scotia, last year's runners-up New Brunswick, and Prince Edward Island.
Still lacking a pitch suitable for hard-ball cricket, but with a newly appointed player-coach, Kathir Chenthilnathan, the Newfoundland team set out for Halifax early to enable some pre-match practice on the tournament wicket. And, as opposed to last year, an entire squad of players came over from the Rock.
The first day of competition on Friday featured two games for Team NL, starting with the hosts. Last year we had been steamrolled by Nova Scotia for 38, and lost by eight wickets, but the 2011 version of Team NL was made of sterner stuff.
In damp conditions, some exceptional bowling from spin maestro Ashwin Gupta (3 for 22) helped keep Nova Scotia to 155 for 4. Then a couple of good knocks from captain Rakesh Negi (23) and Kathir (22 not out) ensured there was still a contest after a dozen overs.
Nova Scotia bowled tightly to restrict NL to 94 for 6 in the end, but a 61-run defeat was much more respectable than last year, and Ashwin's display with the ball got him the Man-of-the-Match award. One game in and already the provincial trophy cabinet had doubled its wares!
Full Read - Cricinfo Article -
Link