Cricket was once Canada’s national sports

Yes! Cricket was once Canada’s national sports declared by Sir John A. Macdonald, Canada’s first prime minister. Cricket has been played in Canada since 1745. The earliest known reference to this game in Canada is of matches played at Ile-Ste-Hellene in the province of Quebec in the year 1785 on the site where the Montreal Exposition Buildings now standing. It is generally assumed that the game was introduced into the country by British soldiers following the historic battle at the Plains of Abraham near Quebec City in 1959.

The roots of Canadian cricket spring mainly from the regions of Upper Canada and in particular from around the little town of York, now known as Toronto, in the Province of Ontario. During the early years of the nineteenth century the game was encouraged in the town by George A. Barber, a young English schoolmaster. Today he is considered to be the father of Canadian cricket.
Barber was a man of many talents - he was publisher of the Toronto Herald and also a master at Upper Canada College. In 1827 he helped found the prestigious Toronto Cricket Club and in 1829 played a large part in introducing cricket into the newly established college. It was Barber who instigated the historic series between the Toronto Cricket Club and Upper Canada College in 1836. These matches are still played annually, and through the years both clubs have turned out a host of talented cricketers who have gone on to represent their country.

MISSION STATEMENT

Cricket Canada

“To grow and develop cricket across Canada in order to compete successfully at the highest level of the international game, while operating in a professional, organised and fiscally responsible manner.”

CRICKET IN MODERN CANADA

• North America has the largest online cricket audience in the world Canada matches the U.S. for players with just 10% of the population Sports participation in Canada is declining, yet cricket is on the rise
• In 2007, ESPN acquired Cricinfo, the world’s most popular cricket website
• North America is seen as ‘the next big cricket market’. Canada possesses the audience, players, vision and demographics to capitalize

RICH IN HERITAGE

• Cricket was once Canada's official national sport, as declared by Sir John A. Macdonald, Canada's first Prime Minister
• Cricket has been played in Canada since 1745 (50 years before the first modern Olympics)
• The world's first international sporting fixture took place in Montreal, 1844 - a cricket match between Canada and the United States
• In 1886, the now legendary West Indies cricket team made its first overseas tour to Canada, playing in Montreal, Ottawa, Toronto, and Hamilton
• From the 1880s - 1930's Canada was a regular tour destination for many of the world's best teams, including England and Australia
• Australia came to Canada in 1974 and played Ontario in Toronto . . . and lost!
  
  
  
  

  CANADIAN CRICKET FACTS

  Cricket First Recorded in Canada
  Cricket was first recorded in 1785 at Ile-Ste-Helene in Montreal, Quebec
  Oldest Cricket Club in Canada
  The oldest cricket club in Canada is the Toronto Cricket Club which was founded in 1827.
  Canada in The World Cup
  Canada has appeared in the World Cup on four occasions, in England in 1979 and South Africa in 2003, the West Indies in 2007, and the South Asian Subcontinent in 2011.  
  Canada has registered two wins in the Cricket World Cup, defeating Bangladesh in 2003, and Kenya in 2011.
  John Davison & Ashish Bagai have appeared together in 3 (three) World Cups; South Africa 2003, The West Indies 2007, and South Asia 2011.
  Canada defeated ICC Full Member New Zealand in the 2010 Cricket World Cup
  Canada has also appeared in three Under-19 World Cups (New Zealand 2002, Bangladesh 2004, and New Zealand 2010).
  
  
  
  
  
  
  Provincial Members:
  Cricket Alberta
  Cricket BC
  Cricket Council of Ontario
  Cricket New Brunswick
  Manitoba Cricket Association
  NEWFOUNDLAND CRICKET ASSOCIATION
  Nova Scotia Cricket Association
  PEI Cricket
  Quebec Cricket Federation
  Saskatchewan Cricket Association
  
  
  
  
  
• Source:
  http://gocricketgocanada.com/cricket-canada
  http://gocricketgocanada.com/history