The blinkered world of the Canadian Cricket Association

In April 2006, Eddie Norfolk joined the Canadian Cricket Association as their marketing and communication manager. A little more than two months later he was effectively ousted without reference to the main board.

It was obvious from the moment he arrived that Norfolk would be a breath of fresh air in a previously semi-secret organization. Before his arrival the CCA provided almost no information on the game, had no functioning media department, and at times even seemed hostile to attempts to give the game there a higher profile. Within weeks that had changed.

However, it seemed that Norfolk quickly rubbed senior CCA figures up the wrong way. Looking in from the outside, it is hard to see just what he did wrong. But it seems that some within the CCA would have preferred to retain a cloak of anonymity. There is also a clear suspicion that people were jealous that Norfolk was becoming more identifiable as the voice of Canadian cricket than they were.

Since his removal from office, Norfolk has continued to provide an invaluable service to the media off his own back. This week, he has revealed what went on.

What is clear is that Norfolk cares passionately about Canadian cricket. "My time with the CCA opened many doors," he said. "Hopefully at some point I might be able to formally help cricket or Canadian cricket. However, I do not believe I could return to the CCA fold under the present leadership, but I have worked in interesting/difficult situations in my previous work experience, and it might be possible.

"My efforts were based on making Canadian cricket more visible, once it is appropriate to make them visible. There is a lot of discontent, innuendo and rumour, some going back years, that I believe stems from inadequate disclosure and management. This needs to be addressed, somehow. If it is not, then a rival body may seek to replace the CCA. There is at least one with a defined constitution sitting in the wings. I know because they approached me and I spent several hours talking with them on substantive issues and plans."

So what was the problem. The answer, Norfolk says, was Ben Sennik, the CCA's rather idiosyncratic president. On June 21 he spoke to Norfolk and effectively fired him. "I was told I was 'not a team player' and that he could not work with me. I regret, that my efforts were not appreciated, or possibly it was a case of understood, by the president."

Norfolk realised that the CCA were way off the pace regarding sponsors and administration, and that was not necessarily welcome news. "The fact that I raised a number of issues on business aspects of the CCA's management and operations would clearly be a factor in my release. The lack of response to the various proposals and issues put me in a position where I realised that the internal stumbling blocks and some key concerns meant I should, in any case, leave the CCA for the time being."

Norfolk cited the example of the proposed development of a major cricket stadium which first surfaced after the 2005 AGM and which, from the off, seemed wildly ambitious. "The stadium capacity had risen by some 10,000 people to around 27,000 and there was talk of a retractable roof. This seemed to be a major white elephant project for an organization that lacked major funding outside of ICC monies. I did learn that this project stemmed from potential annual matches with the West Indies, something not brought out at the last AGM. There was talk of the stadium housing soccer matches, but I pointed out and our host concurred that a new soccer stadium to host Toronto's Major League Soccer team was already under construction at the Canadian National Exhibition Grounds.

"This venture was unrealistic in my view. If the money was available, there would be more point in developing multiple less extravagant facilities in different locations in Canada's cricketing centres than this proposal. A potential saving grace was the intent to conduct a feasibility study, although that was expected to have significant costs.

"Some plans for soccer grounds in the Toronto area that had funding from at minimum two levels of government and Maple Leaf Sports and Entertainment had been deemed not viable with costs of some $85-95 million dollars. A possible figure of $300 million was put in the air as a base.

"Canada leads the world in retractable roof stadia and related cost overruns. The SkyDome, with hotel, was once projected around $225 million but final costs hit over $600 million. The Olympic Stadium in Montreal cost $1 billion to build and has interest and debt service costs that more than double that amount (up to $1.4 billion). A cricket field has a bigger playing area than baseball, so the roof must be bigger.

"I failed to see the business payoff and acumen behind this venture. I subsequently received no further invites to meet with this communications company. I should point out, the company leaders we met had no cricketing knowledge but were solid on major league North American team sports.

"There had been talk of me working on an ongoing basis with this company on the stadium project which seemed removed from the need to build various relationships quickly and seek funds to support the summer's home matches and the World Cup preparations. If there really is big money sitting around, why would one put all the eggs in one basket?"

During his brief tenure and since his official departure from the CCA, Norfolk has worked tirelessly - and often at his own expense - to promote Canadian cricket. But he admitted that his "departing discussions with Sennik, made me wonder about his knowledge of the media". "In pointing out the Atholstan Cup was covered on Cricinfo, Sennik asked if 'that was the Jon Harris website?' The Barbados-based Nation described 'Cricinfo' as 'the sport's largest and most popular website'. Yet the CCA President seemingly did not know the site.

"Perhaps one day somebody may work out that if Canada held media conferences to name national teams, some of the selection quirks or squad expansion activities might not occur. There would be some transparency in the overall process and some of the issues over who really picked whom would come out."

In conclusion, Norfolk said: "If someone could harness some of the hot-air in Canadian cricket, that might provide significant income to support our cricket! All kinds of opportunities are being left by the wayside on the international and, sometimes, on the domestic scene in CCA land. It is more than time to start garnering those opportunities."

Norfolk has been a most welcome breath of fresh air, opening the door to allow a glimmer of what has been a very secretive organisation. Sadly, as his dismissal shows, those running the CCA seem happy to keep the media in the dark and it seems unlikely that anything will change in the coming months.

Earlier this year, in a rare public utterance, Sennik said that he wanted Canada to be a Test-playing country in a decade. That just highlighted the gulf between reality and the world according to the CCA. Norfolk briefly seemed to be on course to bridge that gap. Sadly, the door seems to have been slammed shut once more.