Ask a Canadian to describe a googly and you’d probably get a reference to “googly eyed.”
But at Toronto City Hall yesterday, 12 youth from Toronto’s priority neighbourhoods and the GTA not only had the answers but the skills to deliver one.
The budding cricketers are about to embark on the trip of a lifetime thanks to a newly created scholarship called “Cricket Across the Pond.”
Come August, they will be on their way to the Chessington Cricket Club in Surrey, England for a two-week training camp.
They will also be the envy of millions of cricket fans when they visit the prestigious Pavilion at the “home” of cricket, London’s famous Lord’s Cricket Ground.
As Mayor David Miller pointed out, you only had to look around the room to see why world cricket’s governing body is pumping money into the sport across Canada.
“Cricket is a modern Toronto sport,” Miller told the youngsters. “You can see the face of Toronto here today and the face of Toronto today is the face of the people of the world.”
Like many of his team mates, captain Darious D’Souza has his roots in the Indian subcontinent, where cricket is a way of life.
Having moved to Toronto from India with his family six years ago, D’Souza has already represented his adopted country at under-19 level.
The 18-year-old, a student at the University of Toronto, now wants to take the next step to the senior national team. “I think cricket is a sleeping giant in Canada and in a few years it will be a sport everybody knows,” he said.
Funds for the program will come in part from the fourth annual CIMA Canada Mayor’s Trophy, a one-day corporate cricket tournament at Sunnybrook Park Saturday.
Source: TorontoSun | DreamCricket
China to Canada - cricket is booming. Every team’s schedule is packed on the International calendar.
Have these scholarships ever been awarded to cricketers in US team or to any youth in other countries?