Now Canada has gotten into the act to stage the popular Twenty20 cricket and has organized a new professional league, Global Twenty20 Canada, which was recently launched.
International Twenty20 cricket stars include Chris Gayle, Andre Russell, Sunil Narine, Darren Sammy, Dwayne Bravo from the West Indies along with Sri Lanka Lasith Malinga, Australia’s Steve Smith, and Chris Lyn, and South Africa’s David Miller.
Cricket Canada and Mercuri Canada, revealed the teams and venue for the league, the first to be fully staged in North America from June 28 to July 5.
Global Twenty20 Canada will consists of six team, five representing Canadian cities- Edmonton Royals, Montreal Tigers, Toronto Nationals, Vancouver Knights and Winnipeg Hawks- with a sixth Cricket West Indies (CWI) representative team, consisting entirely of players from the Caribbean, as part of an official partnership with CWI.
Commenting on the Canada’s involvement in Twenty20 cricket, CWI President Dave Cameron said “we support Cricket Canada and look forward to working even closer going forward.”
Teams will be stocked with players through a draft. Four roster spots will be set aside for Canadians reflecting organizer’s plan to leverage the league to develop future Canadian talent that will lead the men’s national team to success in international competitions, in both Twenty20s and Test formats.
The league will comprise 22 matches culminating in playoffs and the championship match on July 16.
The contests will take place at Maple Leaf Cricket Club, a cricket facility just north of Toronto that will be expanded to a capacity of 7,000 seats.
