Canada's Shreyas Movva, left, celebrates with teammate Dilon Heyliger, right, after dismissing United States' captain Monank Patel during the men's T20 World Cup cricket match between the United States and Canada at Grand Prairie Stadium, in Grand Prairie, Tex., on June 1.Julio Cortez/The Associated Press
Although Canada came up short in its men’s T20 World Cup debut on Saturday night – losing by seven wickets to the United States – the occasion could still do much to begin shaping the future of the sport in this country.
With the Canadian cricketing community hoping for a breakthrough campaign at the international tournament of the shorter, 20-over version of the sport, the team has leaned heavily on one of the iconic moments from Canada’s sporting past.
So when captain Saad Bin Zafar and his men went out to bat in Dallas, they did do so wearing a red jersey bearing a gold Maple Leaf with heavy – and deliberate – overtones from another global tussle for sporting supremacy that still resonates.
“We saw the 1972 Summit Series as an incredibly powerful moment in Canadian sport that could for one inspire us, but also create a bridge and a way to speak to people who are more familiar with that sports moment [than] they are cricket,” says Rahul Srinivasan, chief executive of Boundaries North. The initiative works in partnership with Cricket Canada and owns the commercial rights to the men’s and women’s national teams.
While Srinivasan was one of the driving forces behind the Summit Series homage, other key stakeholders in Canadian cricket were more than happy to get behind the idea.
Ingleton Liburd, the general manager of Cricket Canada, knows all about the significance of the Maple Leaf, having captained Canada during men’s cricket’s lone appearance at the Commonwealth Games, in Malaysia 26 years ago.
“That sense of pride when you walk out there in that Maple Leaf is something special,” he says.
Given the draw for the 20-country event, Canada will need all the help it can get at the T20 World Cup, a biennial event taking place this year in the United States and the West Indies.
After Saturday’s tournament-opening loss against the hosts, Canada next gets a matchup with Ireland in New York. Then it’s on to a pair of David and Goliath moments to finish up the round robin with fixtures against Pakistan and then India, two of the sport’s titans. The top two from each group advance to the quarter-finals.
“I think just getting to the World Cup is such a big step in helping grow the game so much and the sponsors coming on board, that’s been a great thing for Cricket Canada,” Liburd says
Those sponsors in 2024 include Coca-Cola, Nissan, TD, A&W, and O’Neills Sportswear, which has partnered with Cricket Canada to produce the World Cup jerseys.
The Irish apparel manufacturer is no stranger to supporting some of the less-storied cricketing countries, having supplied Ireland with its jerseys for 11 years before the partnership ended last year.
During that time, Ireland rose up the rankings to achieve full test-playing status from the International Cricket Council in 2017. That rise featured some notable World Cup upsets, including wins over the West Indies and England two years ago in Australia.
According to Philip Murphy, business development manager for O’Neills Sportswear Canada, the moment has presented itself for Canada, just like it did for Ireland, which is currently the world’s 11th best T20 men’s team. Canada is 23rd.
Ireland initially shocked the world by beating Pakistan at the 2007 one-day international World Cup, before famously upending England four years later.
“I think the biggest thing is the opportunity is there,” Murphy says of Canada. “They’re in a great group.”
Like many, Murphy thinks cricket in this country is at an inflection point. He highlights the sport’s global reach, pointing to a superstar such as India’s Virat Kohli, who has more Instagram followers (269 million) than LeBron James (159 million) and Stephen Curry (57 million) combined.
“It’s definitely on the rise,” Murphy says. “With ourselves getting in on the ground, it was just the perfect opportunity for O’Neills to help develop cricket and put Cricket Canada, I suppose, on a more professional standpoint.
“Coming on board as sort of that first marketing and an apparel partnership for them, it’s sort of a no-brainer for us.”
A similar sentiment was shared by A&W, which recently signed a one-year commitment with Cricket Canada. A relative newcomer to sports partnerships, the restaurant chain also has continuing associations with the Toronto Blue Jays and Maple Leafs, but given the international footprint of a sport like cricket, A&W is hopeful that the connection can help bring more new Canadians into its restaurants.
“I’d love to be part of growing the sport in Canada,” says Amanda Wang, A&W’s director of marketing. “I also see it for A&W as a chance for us to connect with people from other countries that are newcomers to Canada or from different backgrounds, because we don’t have the same international presence that our competitors do.”
While Canada making the World Cup is an obvious time to get involved with the sport, Wang says that A&W is also focusing on the grassroots level. Later this month, the company will be bringing a cricket simulator to a South Asian cultural festival called Desifest at Toronto’s Yonge-Dundas Square.
“The way that Tim Hortons has really tied themselves with having hockey roots, I could see that potentially being something for A&W, where we are that brand that’s just connected with cricket long term,” Wang says.
That connection between hockey’s past and cricket seems an unlikely pairing, but at this T20 World Cup, the country’s hockey heritage will be on full display once again, worn proudly on the chests of the Canadian players.
“The idea behind it is that it spurs them on to create their own little bit of history down there,” Murphy says of the jersey.
“Maybe they get a win against one of the big two. If they can get something with Pakistan and get something [against] India, that’s their World Cup, that’s their Summit Series.”