By Ravendra Madholall in Toronto
Three players from the Caribbean have been selected in Canada’s team for the 2013 International Cricket Council (ICC) T20 World Cup Qualifiers set to commence mid-next month in Dubai.
Guyanese all-rounder Damodar Daesrath, fast bowler Jeremy Gordon and Trinidadian off-spinner Abzal Dean are the members to represent the country.
Coach of the team, former Trinidad and Tobago and West Indies batsman Gus Logie, also stated the players are ready to make a huge impression, and subsequently gained a spot in next year’s T20 World Cup to be held in Bangladesh from March 16 to April 6.
Daesrath, a former Guyana First Class skipper, represented Canada at the recently-concluded Intercontinental Cup four-day match against the Netherlands, while Gordon also featured in the game that was played at King City, Toronto.
Eager
Both players had impressive performances and are eager to resume with the same degree of confidence and optimism. They are also teammates of Brampton Masters Cricket Club. They played in the Toronto and District Cricket Association Elite Division final two weeks ago against victors Centurions Cricket Club.
Dean last played for Canada in 2010 in a limited overs game against Ireland and is anxious to return to action for his new homeland in this exciting version.
Over the weekend, the team, under the guidance of fitness trainer and strength and conditioning athletic therapist, Scott Stanger, and performance analyst, Keith Deonaraine, fine-tuned the players’ preparations with a number of physical activities.
According to the 53-year-old Logie, the team has worked on every aspect of their game since the selection and commencement of the training sessions at the Scarborough Cricket Centre.
Technique
He also mentioned they have gone through work on the technical aspect of their game since that will help enhance their performance and morale simultaneously. Having played in 52 Test matches and 158 ODIs for West Indies, Logie believes that practice will improve their skills.
“The players are responding well and I think that is noticeably important; they seemed to be in good shape because they take extra care of their diet too on a daily basis, so I think we are mentally prepared given the fact we [are] only limited to the indoor facility owing to the inclement weather,” Logie, who took over the coaching position in 2012, emphasised.
Several players left on Monday while the remainder of the side will depart on October 31 for Sri Lanka, where they will engage in a few warm-up games before heading across to Dubai.
Logie, who led West Indies senior team as a coach to the Champions Trophy against hosts England in 2004, is optimistic that they will learn a lot during their stay in Sri Lanka.
Auty Cup
Earlier, this year Canada also participated in the Auty Cup limited overs competition against neighbouring USA and a number of players emerged with outstanding performances, raising the side’s confidence of matching their opponents’ skills in the qualifiers.
The Canadian team is placed in Group A, alongside Ireland, USA, Uganda, Hong Kong, Italy, Namibia and UAE. With six teams advancing to the next stage, Canada is confident they will be in the lineup.
Canada has never featured in the T20 World Cup since its inauguration in 2006; they had placed fifth and eighth in the two outings at the Qualifiers in 2008 and 2010 respectively.
Meanwhile, this publication also caught up with the Caribbean players and they spoke confidently of doing well for Canada on the tour, which will last from November 15-30. The side will return home and immediately start their preparations for the ICC 50 overs Qualifiers early in January in New Zealand.
Canada will begin that campaign against old nemesis USA.
