News

Canada plan schools cricket expansion

Ranjit Saini, Cricket Canada's interim president, has told Cricinfo of his board's plans to expand cricket across schools to reduce the senior side's current reliance on ex-pats

Sahil Dutta
Sahil Dutta
02-Feb-2010
Ranjit Saini, Cricket Canada's interim president, has told Cricinfo of his board's plans to expand cricket across schools to reduce the senior side's current reliance on ex-pats.
"We want it to become huge, much bigger than it was - 150 schools are currently involved and over the next couple of years we would want 1000 to 1500, we want a wider pool of player to pick from and identify and channel into an elite order.
"To get up to 1500 schools we would need $100,000 to $150,000 a year and I think that's realistic. We could get many sponsors involved, in each local area and make the programmes a real community event, which could attract community sponsors."
Saini's ambitions could stumble on the board's finances which are already under strain following the loss of a major sponsor late in 2009 but he remains confident.
"We are in talks with many agents, and what comes out of that we don't know yet, but schools will be a major focus. This is a new time for cricket here and we are a new cricket Canada."

Sahil Dutta is assistant editor of Cricinfo