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History of Cricket in Canada

Cricket Canada is the governing body of the sport of cricket in Canada. It was established in 1892 and has its current headquarters in Toronto, Ontario. Cricket Canada is Canada's representative at the International Cricket Council and has been an associate member of that body since 1968. It is also a member of the Americas Cricket Association which permits Canada to field a team for the annual America's Cup. Prior to November 2007, the organization was known as the Canadian Cricket Association. Canada is one of the team's in Division 1 of Associate Members of International Cricket Council who has One Day International and T20 International status.

Cricket was once the most popular sport in Canada until the early 20th Century before it was overtaken by hockey. Cricket was so popular it was declared the national sport by John A. Macdonald, the first Prime Minister of Canada. Cricket, today, is a popular minority sport in Canada, although it is growing. Cricket is the fastest growing sport in Canada. Canada has well over 40,000 cricketers across Canada.While Canada is not sanctioned to play Test matches, the team does take part in One Day International (ODI) matches and also in first-class games (in the ICC Intercontinental Cup) against other non-Test-playing opposition, with the rivalry against the United States being as strong in cricket as it is in other team sports. The match between these two nations is in fact the oldest international fixture in cricket, having first been played in 1844. This international fixture even outdates the Olympics by over 50 years. There are a few grounds in Canada that are sanctioned by the ICC to host official ODI's. The most famous Canadian cricketer is John Davison, who was born in Canada and participated in the Cricket World Cup in 2003, 2007 and 2011. At the 2003 World Cup, Davison hit the fastest century in tournament history against the West Indies in what was ultimately a losing cause. In that World Cup he also smashed a half century at a strike rate of almost 200 against New Zealand. One year later, in the ICC Intercontinental Cup against the USA, he proved the difference between the two sides taking 17 wickets for 137 runs as well as scoring 84 runs of his own. In the 2007 Cricket World Cup in the West Indies, John Davison scored the second-fastest half-century against New Zealand. Canada has participated in the 1979, 2003 and 2007 Cricket World Cups. Canada has traditionally had a strong Women's team. Also The Canadian Under 19 team have competed in the Under 19 World Cup on two occasions. In 2002, they were eliminated in the first round, meaning they competed in the plate competition, in which they did not win a game. They repeated this performance in the 2004 competition.

Source by: wikipedia