Cultural penetration is needed for cricket to become more popular in Canada

Dear Editor,
Sometimes honesty leads to a lot of trouble. I think here of Ramnaresh Sarwan. He spoke out against Coach Gibson and more than once too, and I think that he has sealed his cricketing fate.
This almost happened to Shivnarine Chanderpaul, but some voices came through, and “Tiger” is still ‘pawing away’. How about Chris Gayle? If it were not for the T20s, then he too may have been in Sarwan’s position.
However, many came to his rescue. I hope that a strong lobbying will be made for Sarwan. He deserves this.
Getting to the matter at hand now, it is that former Guyana middle-order batsman Zaheer Abbass Haniff opined that there is an abundance of naturally talented cricketers in Canada, but the lack of a proper structure is doing no justice to the game there. Now, I have to agree partially with the erstwhile cricketer. This may really make some people very upset, but I will not be hypocritical.
I will say my piece. Canada’s talent is really a transported one where cricket is concerned.
For example, Faoud Bacchus, a West Indian reject, played for the team, at the highest level, when he was so very old. On the flip side, I can list a plethora of small name players (Sunil Dhaniram etc) who were club giants here in Guyana, and then in Canada, they were ‘top dogs’. So. I hope that Mr Zaheer will give me a hearing.
Zaheer was good in Guyana and could have gone on to be a major force, but he chose to leave Guyana. The same happened to Hemnarine Chattergoon and Rovindra Mandolall.
The next issue is that of what actually takes place all the time in Canada. The players do not necessarily come through a rigid inter-province trail. I ask that the names be checked – the Canadian team will be mainly immigrant players and a few from the Ontario province. I can hardly recall any player from places like Quebec, Alberta, etc.
The country is not about cricket. Even the children of many Guyanese cricketing fans do not perpetuate the culture of cricket – they gravitate towards hockey, baseball, etc. So, even if some talent is harnessed, it is sporadic and ad hoc. Nothing is there to suggest autochthonous expression.
As a caveat, I am not saying that I am happy or sad with this. I am just saying what I have been noticing. Mr Editor, I remember covering the 1999 World Cup for 680 all news radio in Canada. The news was updated every 15 minutes, and only three minutes was allotted for sports. The two cricket matches I reported on had to be accommodated in 30 seconds. This was like 15 seconds per match – unbelievable, but that is the reality.
So, the media push is not there. Cultural penetration is not an easy thing. I know of no indoor facility for cricket in Canada, and remember, M. Editor, cricket friendly conditions only last for a possible two-month period (late July to mid-September). I remind the Caribbean people how lucky they are – everything is so conducive to cricket playing, and that is why the game should be cherished.

Yours faithfully,
Ryhen King