In a city with major professional hockey, baseball, basketball, football, and even soccer teams, the only marquee sport unaccounted for takes place between the wickets.
Cricket may never have taken off in North America, but in most of the world it’s still the primary bat n’ ball sport for players who just don’t understand what all this baseball fuss is about.
Fortunately, Toronto is gradually welcoming this storied sport into the fold, with the annual Celebration Of Cricket CIMA Mayor’s Trophy, in which prominent figures in the local community play the game to raise money for the Cricket Across The Pond (C.A.P.) program that sends local high school students to England.
C.A.P. offers an extraordinary opportunity for Toronto youths with a passion for the game.
Each year, 12 players from the city are selected for the CIMA Toronto Mayor’s Team, sending them on a two-week training camp and pitting them against some of the finest young teams in England.
One of the lucky young players selected for this year’s team is 17-year-old Muhammad Hassan, who is thrilled about the opportunity.
“It’s quite exciting because going to London and seeing Lord’s Cricket Ground is a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity,” Hassan told Metro.
Hassan is the star of his high school cricket team and tried out for this program twice in the past before making the cut in his senior year. He’s keen to see the sport he loves expand in this country.
“Cricket is definitely at a developing stage in Canada,” said Hussan. “But looking back to only five or six years ago, there’s been a huge growth. Cricket has a bright future and certainly that will continue.”
